《A Sinner's Eden》


 Ch 01 - EVO

    ***Secure Gateway Facility ¨C Cell 0-03-230, Tibet, Earth***


    ***Magnus***


    The man sat down at his side of the table and shuffled through his stash of papers, pointedly not looking at me. He wore an expensive suit and had the looks of someone who had done this job for years and was getting tired of it. His expression told me that he arrived long ago at the point at which his human charges were nothing more than yet another case study to him.


    I pulled at the restraints that held me in my chair, but they didn''t budge.


    He nonetheless shot me a magnificent glare, telling me that I shouldn''t make the situation any worse than it already was.


    ¡°Magnuson Elrod, born 07.10.3893 in Europe, Iceland. Got a degree in physics, programming...¡± He hesitated and shook his head. ¡°And historic pop culture of all things? Worked at the Iceland Space Research Institute. Then transmigrated to Australia when you were twenty-eight. Two years later, back to the EU, Germany. One year later, you relocated once again, this time South America. And then nobody knew where to find you for the next two years. Which makes you thirty-three right now.¡±


    I only blinked in reply and enjoyed that the man looked somewhat irked at my apparent refusal to speak. He had already made a show of how much he had researched about me, laying out what little he actually knew, so I stayed silent.


    When he realized that I didn''t care for his spiel, he dropped his tough-guy charade. ¡°Magnus, you are being charged with over a hundred homicides on various political figures all over the world. They are trying to stick you with connections to several anti-governmental groups, which is reason for exile in of itself if they can prove just one of those affiliations. The accusations the world government is throwing at you are past the point of humor. If I can help you, I will ¨C but I need information.¡±


    I said nothing. It wasn''t as if the charges were completely wrong. Though I guessed that the people in power were just throwing all the shit they had in their buckets, hoping enough would stick to convict me.


    He leaned forward. ¡°Talk to me, man. I am only doing my job here, and you aren''t helping. Even I know ninety-nine percent of their claims must be bullshit! But they are going to exile you if you don''t help me here. Together, we may keep you on Earth. You will have to face a few years in a re-educational facility. It won''t be a walk in the park, but at least you won''t be dead. Or worse. You know the stories about Tirnanog.¡±


    Ah, the rumoured world of terror that was now Earth''s special penal colony for undesirables and inhumane experiments.


    I shrugged but acknowledged that he was showing some genuine emotion towards my plight. Maybe this man was one of the few good people caught in the world government''s shitty system. So, I decided to throw him a bone.


    Though, would it help him to sleep better if I talked, or would it make everything worse?


    Figuring that it wouldn¡¯t change anything, I cleared my throat. ¡°Three weeks ago, I sat in front of the African parliament in Egypt. I waited for Senator Idama to leave the building. From what I have learned during my travels, he was one of the driving forces behind Project Exile. He and many others are responsible for the organized deportation of innocent people. Some who simply overheard things they shouldn''t have. Others who had ideas that they shouldn''t, and yet others I don''t have the faintest idea why they were exiled in the first place.¡±


    I leaned forward, but the chair''s restraints automatically tightened and pulled me back.


    ¡°If you tell anyone I told you this, you will probably be exiled next.¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°I stood up when Idama walked past me. Then I shot him thrice in the chest, and once in the knee when he didn''t go down like he was supposed to. I took out the other knee and his shoulders. I emptied the entire magazine into him. And then, because that wasn''t enough for the genetically manipulated bastard, I took the spike and the hammer that I had prepared and nailed the thing through his eye socket. At just the right angle that my informant had told me was necessary to get through the weak point in his fibre-glass enhanced skull. Grisly work, I tell you.¡±


    The man drew his lips taut, then looked towards the camera that observed the room. The thoughts that were rampaging through his brain were written plainly on his face.


    ¡°They don''t have a microphone in here, so don''t worry. But that''s not everything I did,¡± I continued. ¡°I am one of the leaders of the secret organization that hacked and redirected the Phenes weather satellite from its course and had it blow the American legal firm Kelen Rights to orbit. An agency whose main employers are the very people who supported our beloved senator and his cohort. They were instrumental in clearing the waters of bureaucracy for their employers.¡±


    The lawyer''s face paled. ¡°You couldn''t possibly know that. You were incarcerated and without access to the outside.¡±


    I waved my hands around as much as the restraints allowed me to. ¡°Only proof for you that I am at least a part of the perpetrators. How else would I know about it if I hadn''t been aware of the operation beforehand? Don''t you think?¡±


    ¡°Over four thousand people died in that terrorist attack! The Kelen Rights firm was located in a densely populated district in Manhattan! They still haven¡¯t found all the bodies!¡± He quickly covered his mouth, knowing that he wasn¡¯t supposed to tell me anything about the outside world.


    ¡°Ah, so the operation was a success. Then I am nothing more than a man who deserves his exile.¡± I nodded gravely. ¡°Though, I believe that I and my people didn''t achieve much with our actions. The world is just like that. Corrupt and unforgiving. We cut off the snake¡¯s head, but the body keeps on moving. Even now Idama''s subordinates are surely fighting to take over his position in an attempt to get a piece of the power. To keep the machine going and to uphold the status quo.¡±


    The lawyer straightened. ¡°Then why? So many innocents!¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Why do anything? Why let them get away with what they do? Because fighting them would mean the death of good men, women and children? Their mistake wasn''t to piss off a good man. I am a simple man Mr. Lawyer. If you give me a reason to hurt you, then I will hurt you. There isn''t much more to it as far as I am concerned.¡±


    ¡°They will kill you,¡± he replied. ¡°Look at you. There is no way that you will survive being exiled to Tirnanog.¡±


    I looked down at my middle-aged self. Slightly overweight and certainly having failed my daily exercises, I didn''t look like much. The ministry of healthcare scoffed at citizens like me. Even with the enhancements I was to receive upon exile, survival in Tirnanog was highly unlikely.


    ¡°I still have to go,¡± I reaffirmed the decision that I had made years ago. ¡°I have to go. There is nothing that keeps me here.¡±


    The good man stood up and took his stash of files. Then he practically flew out of my cell as if he had just visited the devil himself.


    It was strange. I didn¡¯t feel like the monster that he probably saw me as. Many humans could see the world only in black and white, not realizing that their perpetual white probably created more harm and suffering than a few short years of black. I saw myself more as a grey person.


    I smiled, wondering whether I would meet the lawyer again in exile, or whether he would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut. The very fact that he was still working in this facility as a cog in the machine made me suspect that the latter was the case.


    My cell stayed lonely for the next two hours or so. Or was it three? It was hard to tell the time without my captors providing any clock. They were surely doing their damnedest to jump through the bureaucratic loops that would get me exiled as quickly as possible.


    The next visitors were two clerks in white. One placed a tray with several needles and intravenous packages in front of me, while the other read from his notepad. ¡°Wow, we have a multiple murderer here! He is to receive the standard experimental nanites and virus zero.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Standard combination for anyone who isn''t supposed to survive,¡± the clerk with the needles stated without much emotion and looked at me. ¡°Some of the higher-ups must really hate you to administer the outdated stuff.¡±


    ¡°Don''t place any of this week''s bets on him!¡± Notepad-man commented with a chuckle. ¡°They don''t last long without the advanced enhancements that come directly from R&D.¡±


    While facing away from his comrade, Needles-guy switched out the ampoules that his compatriot had administered with something that he had hidden inside his chest pocket. Using practised motions, he loaded an injector with them.


    Without much fanfare, he pressed the injector against my neck and the two of us made eye contact. He nodded, hinting that all was well, and proceeded to install one of the IV drops that the pair had brought with them on my chair.


    ¡°Let''s go.¡± The other man signed something on his tablet and was already on his way out of my cell. ¡°129 more to go today! We can hook him up to the IV on our return trip.¡±


    They kept chattering while the door fell closed, but I didn''t catch onto what they were saying. The world was already spinning into darkness, my mind fading away.


    Time and unification hadn''t done much for humanity ¨C aside from changing the players and the battlefields. The world governments had united, but that didn''t mean some regions wouldn''t still be exploited ''for the good of humanity''.


    People were starving for resources, and so they looked towards space ¨C which turned out to be another dead end when the limitations of physics assured homo sapiens would stay within the confines of its prison.


    Hope arrived with the development of wormhole technology.


    Scientists managed to punch a tunnel through space and time, finally reaching out to other worlds... or one world, as they later realized. For some yet unexplained reason, their hyped new tech was a two-station ticket.


    One was Earth.


    The other was Tirnanog.


    Some joker had decided to name the new land after the Celtic Otherworld and the label had stuck. A paradise of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance, and joy.


    He couldn''t have been further from the truth.


    The world government sank uncountable amounts of resources into Tirnanog''s colonization and exploitation. But Tirnanog refused to be tamed by the humans and their technology. Its harsh conditions, its fauna and flora, it all proved too much for the feeble human body.


    Colonies quickly perished to the environment or the biological pests that infested Tirnanog. Humans were an invasive species in this place. But for once, it turned out that most things on Tirnanog found the strange bipedals to be a tasty thing.


    After decades of failed attempts, the world government abandoned its pet project and demoted the place to a penal colony long before my birth. A place to get rid of anyone who might step on their toes without resorting to imprisonment or death penalties. It was also a good testing ground for the newest weapons and genetic mods that they would grant to their elites.


    The words imprisonment or death penalty were no longer feared among Earth''s countless multitudes. Instead, the worst possible punishment would be exile to Tirnanog.


    I came back to myself when something rattled the chair I was in. Blinking at the moving lights, I realized that I was being moved down a corridor at a slight decline. Cell doors were passing to both sides, but there weren''t any guards as far as I could tell.


    My throat felt dry and I was covered in sweat. Otherwise, I noticed that I felt great. Better than in all the years since I had embarked on my quest to get back my last living family members.


    Someone had transferred me into a wheelchair with much sturdier restraints than the ones that had held me earlier. Heavy steel cables forced my limbs and torso tightly into place, ensuring that I wouldn¡¯t make a run for it.


    Upon looking around, I realized that I was being transferred out of my cell alongside other inmates. Each of us was bound to their own wheelchair, which was guided by what looked like a magnetic railway.


    The silent procession felt eerie until some of the others woke up and voiced their objections. Prisoners cried out their displeasure at the treatment and were quickly quieted by electric shocks. The entire process of deportation was apparently automated from here on out.


    Though, I found it surprising that nobody had found it necessary to inform me about my sentence after the lawyer had left me.


    I closed my eyes and kept quiet, having no desire to suffer an electric shock of my own. A thing which I had become very good at in the past years.


    The others took a little longer to learn, but the induced electricity quickly silenced even the most stubborn of the men.


    When my chair stopped, we had arrived in a large, round hall. Fifty prisoners in total had been arranged around a dark pit. I couldn''t see its bottom, which made the situation all the more ominous, but I guessed that this was a part of the large Synchrotron Collider that would open the wormhole to Tirnanog.


    The only hint that something was happening was a faint humming sound and a bright light that seemed to rise from the dark.


    A pillar that lowered from the ceiling caught my attention. Several screens on it faced in all directions, ensuring that every prisoner would be equally informed on what was about to happen next.


    A man in a snobby doctor¡¯s outfit appeared on the screen that was facing me. He looked somewhat dishevelled and corrected his glasses as he looked into the camera. My best assumption was that all the prisoners around the pit would have their own view of the same picture.


    The man cleared his throat and started speaking while ignoring the called-out questions from the men around me. So I assumed that he either didn¡¯t give a shit about us or that it was a recording.


    ¡°Ahem, my name is Professor Everhart, and I am the leading scientist of this project. Dear test subjects, listen well, so that you may provide the best results for further study and the improvement of humankind. After all, performing well in your coming trial means your survival in Tirnanog.¡±


    The screen changed and showed two images of what looked like bacteria and some highly complicated molecule.


    ¡°You were injected with nanites, microscopic robots that are able to change and alter your bodies. While you were unconscious, they built their own neural network inside of you and strengthened your bodies to be able to survive the transition. A second injection held the latest version of a DNA-recoder, a phage that is capable of rewriting your DNA into new configurations. It will be up to the nanites to guide this process and to ensure there aren¡¯t any unwanted consequences.¡±


    The man chuckled self-deprecatingly as if he knew all too well that this didn¡¯t work even nearly as well as he wished it to.


    ¡°You likely all heard of this in school, but we are reaching for the limits of what¡¯s possible with our technology when it comes to conquering Tirnanog. This project is an attempt to accelerate human evolution to the point that survival on Tirnanog is not only possible, but for humanity to thrive under its harsh conditions. The average man among you will probably be unable to understand the details. Rest assured that your sacrifices are for the good of humanity and will eventually allow us to colonize the other worlds within our solar system. Even if Tirnanog remains out of reach.


    ¡°What¡¯s important for you to know is that your altered and improved bodies will be able to go through rapid mutation. In the beginning, any genetic material you come in contact with in your new world will cause rapid changes to your bodies as the nanites adapt and incorporate hopefully beneficial traits of native gene sequences into your DNA.


    ¡°Since this process will be the most effective in the beginning, we have an affiliate waiting for you on the other side who will provide you with genetic samples that should start you on your evolutionary path. And who knows, maybe it will be one of you who becomes the progenitor of a new race of humans who call Tirnanog their home?


    ¡°But I digress. I should stick to the stuff that actually helps you to survive. Well, as I said, anything you eat will be incorporated into your evolution. First, small amounts of genetic material will suffice, but as your genetic code gains in complexity, alterations will be harder to make and the process will slow down. You will have to hunt the animals whose traits you wish for in increasing amounts. Or die trying. The intention is for each of you to forge your own path through chance and opportunity, to eventually achieve an acceptable outcome.¡±


    The doctor winced as some thought struck him.


    ¡°Just try not to eat any plants or bugs before you are provided with some proper genetic samples by our affiliate. Those work out only in the rarest of cases, as their genetic traits are often too different from the human genome. It would be a shame to lose a test subject to such an easily avoidable mistake.


    ¡°Be aware that you can exchange genetic traits with other humans who share your nanites through regular intercourse, and that this can only happen between members of opposite genders. After all, the point of this project is to create a stable population of evolved humans on Tirnanog. Even if the government has given up on the possibility and is more interested in the more practical applications of our research¡­ but that doesn''t concern you...¡±


    The man on the screen kept talking, but my attention was drawn to the pit. The light grew brighter and brighter as the humming increased.


    ¡°¡­ Lastly, let me remind you that while you might feel very good at the moment, that won¡¯t be the case on Tirnanog. The planet has roughly two times the gravity of Earth. The changes to your bodies should have already accomplished the bare minimum to have you survive under those conditions. Additionally, Tirnanog is revolving around a white dwarf in very close proximity. Meaning that it will be unpleasantly bright until you have adapted to the environment.¡±


    The man on the screen nodded gravely.


    ¡°Let me wish you the best of luck. However inhumane your punishment may seem, random evolution and mutation is the only path that¡¯s left to move forward for humanity. All other attempts have failed, so our hopes rest on you.¡±


    I desired nothing more than to curse this man and his speech, but at that moment my wheelchair tipped forward over the pit''s edge. I was left hanging at a ninety-degree angle above the flickering energy effect that now filled the entire pit.


    The whirring noise became all-encompassing as it droned out the so-called scientist¡¯s voice. From my point of view, his methods sounded like nothing more than the random experiments an alchemist of old may have used.


    Already guessing at what would happen, I tried to fumble for purchase with my hands, but it was futile. Whoever had designed these chairs made sure the prisoners had no easy handholds.


    Wavering, and whirling, the light rose from the bottom of the pit. It wasn¡¯t what I had expected the wormhole to look like. But hadn¡¯t the scientist said that the other side was illuminated by a white dwarf?


    Before I could finish the thought, my restraints and those of forty-nine other exiles released, dropping us into the pit and onto another world.

 Ch 02 - EVO

    ***The other side of the Gate, Tirnanog***


    ***Magnus***


    I fell through the fucking rabbit-hole.


    On my way down into the pit, I screamed, utterly blinded by the light that was bright enough to make me see the red of my eyelids even after covering my eyes with both hands.


    Together with the other exiles who had lost it, we created a somewhat embarrassing chorus of screaming men that reminded me of a particularly nasty roller-coaster.


    Then I hit the ground face-first... or rather... the water. My hands and arms that had protected me from the light additionally softened the blow. Still, it didn¡¯t feel like landing in water helped much.


    The height of the fall made it feel as if I had kissed the concrete of a street, but my new physique apparently allowed me to shrug off the impact.


    Struggling and kicking my feet like a newborn, I tried swimming upwards while swallowing handfuls of water. Finally, I managed to resurface and take a look at the new world while gasping for air.


    The sun high above was too bright and large to even look at.


    It was indeed like Tirnanog''s landscape was exposed to an oversized flashlight, making it hard to see much. But I could make out the shore of what seemed to belong to the small lake that I had landed in.


    Not wanting to waste any time, I started to swim, pushing aside fellow exiles who weren''t as quick on the uptake. My organization couldn''t find out much on Project Exile, but we managed to get some information. Like that getting out of any water quickly was important for survival.


    Some of the other exiles were calling out to the heavens to take them back to Earth. Others were simply venting their frustration by beating the water.


    Only a rare few of us were actually trying to reach the shore as quickly as possible.


    At least that was the case until the screams of outrage turned into cries of terror. From their complaints, I collected that there was something with us in the water. Something that had dragged someone beneath the surface.


    I neither cared, nor looked back as I made my way towards shore as quickly as possible one stroke at a time. The shore was so close and yet so far. When something wanted to take a bite out of you, twenty meters felt like a kilometre.


    I had heard the stories about this world and I had no illusions about surviving some aquatic predator by dodging it in its own element. My best hope was that the others would provide a sufficient distraction for whatever had an empty belly.


    Someone or something grabbed my foot in an attempt to pull me down ¨C or itself forward.


    Screaming, I simply kicked out, hitting something that quickly let go.


    Then I was swimming again and reached shallower waters only to crawl onto land with the last of my power. By the time I had reached the rocky shore, I was struggling to breathe. Rising to my feet to walk the last few steps out of the water required a feat of strength I wasn''t used to.


    But I managed through an effort of pure adrenaline and will. Whatever had been in the water had put the fear of mother nature into my bones.


    Turning, I surveyed the blue lake that had welcomed us so softly to this world.


    Some of the other people were still in the churning waters, but most were reaching solid ground by now.


    Further out, the lake''s water had taken on the pinkish colour of diluted blood.


    I couldn''t help but shake at the thought of returning to the lake when I realized there was no guarantee that whatever had eaten some of my fellow exiles would actually have the decency to stay in the water.


    Looking around, I bent down and picked up one of the sharper rocks with a good edge to it. Pummelling some monster with it would likely turn out to be futile, but I felt better holding it.


    Watching the others dragging themselves out of the water took a moment of my attention before I searched the unfamiliar forest beyond the shore for this so-called affiliate the researcher had mentioned. Sadly, I couldn''t find anyone human enough to fit the expectation.


    There was some furry critter in a tree further away who was watching us with interest. Three-legged and with a long bushy tail, it had similarities with an ape, but yet clearly wasn''t anything from Earth. Thankfully, it didn''t look like it intended to go on a murder spree any time soon.


    Something leathery that was probably the equivalent of a bird flew from tree to tree, not paying us any attention.


    By the time I got bored of my inspection, the last survivor had made it to shore and was emptying his belly on all fours.


    My legs already started to shake just from standing upright and the rock in my hand felt unusually heavy. The gravity on this world was a nightmare.


    Once more I checked the water for any sign of the predator, but it had apparently eaten its fill.


    More screams and curses turned my attention away from the dangerous waters and towards the other exiles.


    Some men had tried to make their way away from the rocky shore and onto what looked like a field of grass. It formed a little clearing next to the lake. Only, what went for grass in this world was apparently slightly different from what we were used to. So were the trees and other vegetation.


    Everything seemed familiar but was slightly... off.


    The grass for example. It was green and about the size of what would be expected of grass. But instead of the familiar blades, they were tiny stems ending in pointy needles.


    I stepped closer and gingerly tested the grass with my stone.


    The green lawn was a field of pointy spikes rigid enough to stab right through the rubber sole of a shoe. Which was exactly the fate that the first unfortunate fool who tried to leave the shore had suffered.


    Clad in a baggy, grey one-piece prisoner''s garb, combined with the cheapest shoes the prison could purchase, there wasn''t much of a question traversing the vegetation beyond the shore would be a short-lived and painful experience.


    Backing off, I surveyed the clearing in front of me and the thick forest vegetation behind it.


    When I couldn''t make out any obvious way forward, I sat down to think. It looked like even this world''s plants were out to get us.


    Some of the other exiles were trying to organize themselves. At least those who hadn''t given up or lost it. The ones whose minds hadn¡¯t coped were sitting on the ground and bemoaning their fate.


    I ignored them. There was nothing that could be done for them.


    Given how straining just standing upright was, I decided to conserve my energy until I could decide how to proceed.


    It was fortunate that I looked just like one of the many other exiles who had lost it. Aside from those who were trying to organize themselves, many had apparently given up on life and were just sitting on the shore. A scarce few were even fighting with each other.


    I was just glad that nobody seemed to pay attention to me for the moment.


    Our plight of being caught between the deadly lake and untraversable greenery ended when something approached us through the underbrush, cursing up a storm while doing so.


    I watched with rapt attention, as a monster of a man made his way onto the clearing. He was at least two meters tall and carried a worn-looking crate.


    His skin had a greyish hue and white tufts came out of his slightly pointed ears. He wore a mane of long white hair. Together with his ragged clothes that were made out of animal hides, he was quite the sight.


    I would have probably laughed at the ridiculous getup if it hadn¡¯t been for the muscular body and the large spikes that protruded from his elbows. His forearms alone looked like he could pick up any of the exiles and break his victim like a twig.


    Ah, and he walked barefoot on the spiky grass, protected by hoof-like growths that came from the soles of his feet.


    He was cursing because he was being followed by a flock of little saurians who were the size of large rats. They squawked like chickens and were flitting around the man, nipping at his heels and jumping up to his waist to nip at a piece of small game he had hanging from his belt.


    Somehow they managed to navigate the spike-grass, never setting foot on any of the needles.


    Whenever the newcomer struck out at one, they moved so fast, it was almost like they teleported to another spot, leaving behind a small trail of sparks.


    His attempt at stepping on one of them apparently agitated the creature and it jumped at his thigh, causing an electrical discharge that made the man flinch.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    He finally had enough and made his displeasure known by stomping his foot and roaring like a madman. The flock of little saurians was startled by his scream and dispersed in all directions. Some simply ran off while others spread the plumage on their backs two-ways and flew off into the trees.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Okay, so maybe not rats, but more like pigeons?


    ¡°Little pests!¡± He huffed and dusted off the heavy leather kilt that protected his upper legs.


    He finally took notice of our sorry group and waved a hand that could have probably crushed the head of any of us normal humans.


    Or were we still normal humans? A human from Earth would probably be in the right to question such a claim.


    ¡°Hello, I am Roderick.¡± He looked around, searching for something. ¡°Has any of you seen a crate?¡± Roderick placed his huge hand on the banged-up metal container that he was carrying like a rucksack. ¡°Looks like this, just less damaged?¡±


    I watched as the other exiles exchanged dumbfounded glances, but there was no crate to be found.


    Roderick sighed and dropped his crate onto the clearing. ¡°Fuckers must have dropped it into the water again. Why do they always drop it into the water? It¡¯s like they are intentionally avoiding opening their stupid portal above a nice clearing.¡±


    While Roderick complained and walked past us into the lake, I and many others only glanced at the spike-grass as we imagined what it would have been like to land there instead of in the water.


    Roderick went under like some rock, not even trying to swim.


    Personally, I was more concerned with the image of landing in the spike-grass.


    I mean, the water had monsters, but having whatever side I landed on pin-cushioned with five centimetre long needles didn¡¯t sound appealing either. Nothing had given me the idea that training as a fakir was a necessary skill before coming here. That, and I had to remind myself that I had managed a very ungraceful faceplant into the lake.


    Yeah, the monsters inside the lake were probably the better option when it came to a group¡¯s survival rate.


    Roderick resurfaced, carrying a brand-new crate. He had apparently simply walked across the lake¡¯s ground to get his prize ¨C untroubled by whatever had eaten quite a few exiles.


    I made a quick count, but couldn¡¯t make out much more than thirty people. Which meant that we had lost more than ten exiles to the lake monster. Or was it simply a case of them being unable to swim?


    Roderick sighed and dropped the new crate onto the clearing. He knelt and opened it, then took out a large Havanna cigar. He bit off one end and ignited it with a lighter from inside the crate.


    Then he closed it and sat down on top of it, looking at us with a pleased expression. ¡°Let me welcome you to the land where blood and guts flow freely and splattered brains bloom from every unaware neck.¡±


    He took a long pull. ¡°I could give you guys the long version, but let me make it short: You are fucked!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± one of the exiles screamed. ¡°Tell us how we can get out of here!¡±


    Roderick didn''t reply. Instead, he bent down and ripped out a fistful of spike-grass. Then his hand blurred as he threw it at the complainer without any sign of hesitation.


    The result was a face and upper torso full of needles that the now screaming man could have probably avoided if he had just kept his mouth shut.


    Our new compatriot rolled his eyes. ¡°Could someone shut him up? There are murderers among you, right?¡±


    The men looked at each other.


    Roderick whistled. ¡°Imagine what would happen if his screams attracted one of the larger predators. I would have to leave you all here while I escaped to safety.¡±


    I winced when one of the men picked up a large stone and brained the guy who had caught a case of needle-face.


    Roderick sighed in relief. ¡°That''s one less to worry about. Now, let me count. There are... thirty-one of you! That''s a lot, given that you landed in the lake.¡±


    A lot? They had thrown fifty of us through the wormhole and less than half an hour later we were already down to almost half our number.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I have only twenty pieces of meat with me this time. And you will have to eat almost all of it to activate your nanotech for the first time.¡± Roderick turned around and pulled the banged-up crate closer. ¡°Which means that eleven of you have to go. Sorry, guys. How do you want to do this?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Another exile dared to speak up. ¡°Haven''t they told you how many they would send?¡±


    Roderick scratched his head. ¡°Yeah, sorry. Normally, there are less than ten of you left when I arrive. I should have probably walked slower.¡±


    ¡°Dude! Not cool, man!¡± another exile called out. ¡°Why would they do this!¡±


    ¡°Too many men,¡± Roderick replied, sounding a little sarcastic. ¡°Haven''t you thought about any of this? Earth exiles a lot more men than women. You are a group of fifty. They send probably less than ten women at once and they dump them all directly into the Old Camp. This science project is fucked up. They don''t need so many males, so they cull our numbers by running you through a survival of the fittest trial.¡±


    ¡°Bastard!¡±


    ¡°Who was that?¡± Roderick searched the crowd with his eyes, but the culprit didn''t dare to speak up a second time.


    The large man harrumphed when he couldn''t make out his next victim. ¡°Anyway. I am just the paid help. Don''t blame me if you are too weak for this world.¡±


    My eyes wandered towards the crate he was sitting on.


    More like a ''bribed'' help. And a highly unreliable one at that.


    ¡°Well, be that as it may.¡± Roderick pointed somewhere behind him. ¡°In that direction lies the Old Camp. It''s at a cliff-side, protected by a river on the left and marshlands on the right. Your task is simple. Eat the meat I will provide you and reach the camp. Join one of the groups there and survive. With that, my task is done.¡±


    Roderick stood up and threw the crate he had brought with him into the group of survivors.


    Humans being humans, and the exiles being some of the worst of them, the result was to be expected.


    Most of the exiles went for each other''s throats as they tried to get to the crate.


    I got back to my feet, glad that I had held myself apart from them and at the edge of the group.


    Ready to fight, but holding back, I waited, hoping that enough of the others would knock themselves out for me to get a piece of mystery meat without risk to myself.


    The insanity of people smashing and beating each other to a pulp wasn''t lost on me.


    And my plan would have worked flawlessly if it hadn''t been for one simple fact.


    Human greed.


    The man who eventually managed to claim the title of ¡®king of the hill¡¯ was a more human version of Roderick. Dark-skinned and with the body of a weightlifter, he managed to defend the crate for long enough for the others to realize that there were only eighteen of us left. So fighting no longer made sense.


    It was the same guy who had brained the man earlier.


    The rest of the exiles littered the ground. They were either crying about their injuries or not moving at all. Those who were still standing made quick work of anyone who was unable to defend themselves. It showed there wasn¡¯t much love lost among us.


    I started to develop a serious dislike for Roderick. He had definitely lost some marbles during his time in exile. I mean, I probably wasn¡¯t anyone who had the right to judge, but at least I didn¡¯t delight in causing senseless suffering when there was probably a solution to something as simple as a handful of meat.


    ¡°Haah...¡± The dark-skinned man breathed heavily, but evenly. ¡°And now, I am going to decide who is going to get a piece of the cake.¡± He straightened and smirked at the rest of us. ¡°If you want to join my group, you will have to prove your worth to me.¡±


    I looked towards Roderick, but he showed no motivation to interfere. He was much more interested in sucking on his cigar while using us as some sort of entertainment.


    ¡°How are we supposed to prove-¡±


    One of the other exiles spoke up, drawing Mr. Muscle''s attention when I threw my trusty rock. If the fuckers thought to create some deranged jungle tribe with Mr. Muscles as their chieftain, then it would be without me. I had better things to do than to play survival in the forest.


    My rock hit its target dead-centre on the back of his head.


    While Mr. Muscles went down, I was already moving towards the crate, glaring at any exile who might object. They didn¡¯t, so I knelt and unclasped the locks to open it.


    Twenty unmarked compartments with one piece of meat each greeted me.


    I simply grasped one and took a bite before something knocked me over from the side.


    Mr. Muscles was back up and pissed. Which was a development I definitely hadn¡¯t expected after braining him with a heavy, fist-sized rock.


    He knocked the meat out of my hand and delivered a punch into my jaw that would have knocked out or killed any normal person, but we exiles weren¡¯t quite normal anymore. The hit rattled my brain quite well, but I wasn¡¯t out of the fight yet. It was something I could have thought about before trying to back-stab the largest ape in the group.


    I managed to grasp a fistful of gravel from between the larger rocks and threw them at Muscles¡¯s face. Then I rolled away and backed off, searching the ground for a larger stone capable of bashing in a skull.


    While doing so, I quickly chewed what little meat I had gotten and swallowed.


    But before we could go at it again, the roar of something huge shook the clearing.


    ¡°Oh, I told you guys not to be so loud. Gotta go!¡± Roderick didn¡¯t hesitate. He picked up his brand-new crate and ran. The huge man who could have probably manhandled any of the exiles ran away like the devil itself was about to enter the clearing.


    Then a huge head broke through the underbrush.


    I had often watched documentaries of dinosaurs as a kid, and the creature reminded me of a triceratops, but this one had just a single eye and its physique looked a lot more nimble. Its maw was more like a mix between a canine and a shark, hinting it wasn¡¯t a vegetarian.


    It opened its maw and its throat bulged like toad¡¯s before a stream of liquid fire shot at the group of exiles, catching two of us.


    Cursing, I dove to the side and threw myself into the shallower water instead of fleeing along the lake¡¯s shore like the others. I could only hope the lake monster was already satiated or unwilling to leave the deeper waters.


    Hugging one of the larger rocks on the lakebed, I drew myself beneath the surface while another gout of fire showered the shore, followed by an explosion.


    Now I knew why humanity had problems with conquering this world. Judging by Roderick¡¯s earlier interactions with the little saurians, the pigeons were frigging tasers and the local cows were the size of a pickup truck and had inbuilt flame throwers! Oh, and they seemed to prefer meat.


    Not to forget that stupid grass!


    I stayed underwater for as long as I could. Even when I no longer heard anything, I stayed beneath the water until my lungs burned like fire.


    When I couldn''t hold out any longer, I slowly peeked my head above the surface.


    The coast was a mess. A part of the clearing had been ignited. Luckily, the flora wasn¡¯t dry enough to start a forest fire and was simply smouldering while the fire extinguished itself.


    The triceratops monster was chilling out no less than ten meters away from me. It was busy, happily slurping up the bodies of the ten or so losers Roderick¡¯s stupid game had produced. Which included the two bodies the flamethrower attack had caused.


    Its belly was already bulged out beyond what looked to be healthy, but it kept going anyway.


    And then there were three more dead bodies further down the shore. Some explosion had taken them out. Also a skill of the monster? I didn¡¯t know and I had no interest in testing the creature. Could the triceratops monster shoot rockets?


    I didn¡¯t want it to use whatever long-ranged attack had taken out the others to drive me out of the water. So I drew in another slow breath and returned to hugging my stone.


    The next half an hour was agony as I regularly resurfaced for a short breath of air while I waited for the monster to finish its meal.


    And the damned thing was a meat destroyer. It ate all the bodies on the shore, emptied the crate that was intended for us, and then waddled down the shoreline to get the other bodies.


    There was no sign of my fellow exiles, but I guessed they had risked the forest instead of staying within easy reach of the monster.


    It took at least an hour until I felt safe enough to crawl back on land.


    Once back on the rocky shore, I had no idea how to proceed. Roderick was gone, the crate had been emptied, and I had gotten only one bite of whatever mystery meat was inside.


    The only ones who still shared the shore with me were some of the damned pigeon-saurians who had pestered Roderick earlier. They were picking through whatever blood and gore the large monster had left behind.


    I had the insane thought of catching one of them but sobered when I remembered Roderick hadn¡¯t come close to touching a single one.


    That was right up until I saw the injured one.


    Its tail was wounded and it was dragging it after itself, attached by not much more than a strap of skin. Maybe it had been caught up in the explosion?


    I looked in the direction, noting that it had been strong enough to take out a few branches of what was the equivalent of a tree.


    I slowly knelt down and picked up a stone. Then I approached the little fucker who was cleaning out the crate. Somehow, it immediately noticed I was sneaking up on it. It stopped licking the blood from the crate and squawked, looking at me.


    Seeing no other chance, I threw my stone ¨C and missed.


    The little saurian blurred and was right next to me, nipping at my heel.


    My leg shook and seized up as the little monster electrocuted me!


    ¡°Arrgh!¡±


    Flailing, I went down.


    I could have sworn the saurian mocked me with a grin as it jumped right in front of my face and dashed off.


    Cursing, I sat up, only to realize all the little saurians had left the shore for good now.


    I allowed myself a moment of self-pity at my ill-thought-out plan of coming here. How had I expected to survive this place alone and without resources? I had been a fool. All I had accomplished was to die a fool''s death in this horrendous world.


    That was until I noticed the little tail lying next to me.


    However fucked up it may seem, the lost appendage was a ray of hope in this blighted situation.

 Ch 03 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog***


    ***Astra Frost***


    The firehorn wasn¡¯t the fastest nor the most dangerous creature on this world, but the exiles hadn¡¯t gone through a single evolution yet. Hence, they had no chance against such a predator. Not even I was comfortable with coming too close to something that could spit napalm and regurgitate exploding fireballs.


    I fumed as I watched them through the tremor senses of my filaments.


    The exiles paved their way through the underbrush as fast as they could. It was agonizing just to follow their pitiful struggle. Luckily for them, the firehorn had eaten its fill for the moment.


    Unaware of Roderick¡¯s presence, the creature waddled along not far away, unhurriedly following the exiles¡¯ trail through the forest. Its belly was bloated like a balloon and hard at work to digest the bodies. Bones, hair, and clothes included.


    For the time being, the exiles were faster than their hunter, but one defining feature of firehorns was their relentlessness. Mama firehorn would stay on the exiles¡¯ trail until it caught up to them.


    I guessed it would take a few hours for the firehorn to digest and crap out its meal and then it would go after the survivors at full speed. It would inevitably catch up to them and eat another dozen or so.


    If nothing was done, the game would repeat itself once more until all the exiles had gone down the firehorn¡¯s gullet.


    The big question was, why was an alpha-predator from the marshlands in this relatively safe part of the forest? An area that firehorns normally avoided because the vegetation was too thick for them to move easily. Additionally, this forest didn''t belong to their preferred hunting grounds for the lack of easy prey.


    Most of the forest animals were adapted to moving through the underbrush quickly, while firehorns were definitely not. They weren''t small enough to weave past the larger trees. Nor large or strong enough to simply break through the underbrush. The main danger which came from them was their flammable saliva.


    Thankfully, I already knew the answer for the creature''s presence.


    ¡°You are a cunt, Roderick!¡± I commented from above while I watched the newest batch of exiles run for their lives. From my hidden spot high up in the tree, I had a perfect view.


    Roderick flinched slightly when I revealed my presence.


    He looked around, then up to the canopy of leaves. ¡°Hah, Astra! Don¡¯t surprise me like that. I almost had a heart attack!¡± He reached for his chest, trying his best to look like the surprised party, instead of the guilty one that he was.


    His eyes searched the canopy, but I could tell he failed to discern me between the leaves. His evolution had taken him down a road of physical power, but his senses were woefully inadequate for survival.


    Roderick smiled up at where he thought I was hidden. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come down so we can have a proper chat?¡±


    I moved the decoy I had created with my filaments, making it seem like I dissolved and re-emerged in a different spot.


    That quickly wiped the stupid grin from his face, as it showed him his own foolishness in wrongly assuming my position.


    Normally, I didn¡¯t bother messing with people in such a way, but Roderick had pissed me off with his stupid games. We made a deal and he had broken it.


    If I hadn¡¯t thought of making sure he held his side of the bargain, I would be wondering a few days from now why none of the newcomers had made it to the Old Camp.


    ¡°So that you could attack me?¡± I asked while sending out my filaments further, having them creep slowly down the trunk and partly emerge from the canopy. A few seconds later Roderick found himself surrounded by an eerie spectacle of shimmering bands which seemed to float freely through the air.


    Some of the other survivors at the Old Camp called them tentacles, but I preferred to use filaments as a description. Thinking of them as filaments allowed me to cling to more of my humanity. ''Tentacles'' felt too dehumanising.


    He chuckled. ¡°Why would I attack you? The Aeries wouldn¡¯t take it lightly. I am not stupid enough to ruin my chances of joining one of the larger clans.¡±


    ¡°Because I caught you flat-footed violating our deal,¡± I explained calmly. My filaments were now creeping further down from the treetop. The little black bands glowed slightly as they writhed and moved, giving me a better impression of my surroundings.


    Roderick found himself surrounded by a floating light show which was just as pretty as it spelt death for anyone who knew the creatures I had gotten my evolution from.


    ¡°I am not aware of going back on any deal.¡± Roderick still didn¡¯t feel the need to run, but he swatted away one of the filaments which came too close for comfort.


    At least I had made him sweat.


    He deserved no less for betraying me. Thankfully, I had learned long ago there were only cut-throats and dishonourable scoundrels in this world. Even among the clans, I wouldn¡¯t dare to present my back to anyone other than my parents.


    I sighed and swung one foot over the other. ¡°I paid you with a really good catch so you would do a proper job with the exiles. To make sure they got a good start with their nanites. Plus, you took the Earth bastard¡¯s bribe too. I really wouldn¡¯t have cared about you breaking your deal with those who landed us on this world. But, as I see it, you took two payments for the same job and didn¡¯t put half the effort you should have into your task.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He circled, trying to keep track of my filaments as his eyes alternated between them and the tree¡¯s canopy where I was hidden. ¡°I did everything you ordered me to. Got them good DNA to start their evolutionary path with. A mix of everything useful. Better than I got at least. Not my fucking problem if they are screaming through half the jungle and go for each other¡¯s throats instead of eating the meat. Why do you blame me for some predator snagging them?¡±


    ¡°Roderick, you really must think me a fool. You raided a firehorn¡¯s lair, slaughtered its brood and led the mother directly to the exiles,¡± I explained calmly and stabbed at him with one of my filaments. ¡°I can still smell the sulfuric stink of the firehorn¡¯s eggs on you.¡±


    Roderick jumped and cursed at the small injury my filament had caused on his thigh. It wasn¡¯t something grave, but even the smallest wound would draw predators with the smell of blood. ¡°Bitch!¡±


    ¡°I think I have explained that the point of your task is to have at least a few of them become powerful enough to make it to the Old Camp,¡± I explained. ¡°I want more options to make it into the trials. At least some better ones than the disgusting idiots who are joining right now.¡±


    ¡°You could have told me you are randy. When you gave me the mission you avoided the core of the topic. If you had just told me plainly what you want, there would have been no problem. How was I supposed to know you want more tryouts in the trials.¡± He licked his lips. ¡°Though, I am happy to provide.¡±


    ¡°You are perfectly capable of reading between the lines.¡± I stabbed him again and he jumped when I got his behind. ¡°I don¡¯t believe for a second your subterfuge with the firehorn wasn''t intentional. You are a stupid brute, but you aren¡¯t that stupid.¡±


    I was almost a hundred per cent certain he had intentionally tried to wipe out the newest batch of exiles so he would have higher chances of being chosen by one of the clans at the next trials.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Ah! Stop it!¡± He turned and drew a knife, ready to defend himself if one of my filaments came close again.


    It had taken him some time, but he had finally caught on that I didn¡¯t intend to let him get away with his games. Especially not after he had taken payment from me.


    That was why I hated staying at the Old Camp. It was a place for the newcomers and those who didn¡¯t fit in with any of the clans. The backstabbers and other filth that could be trusted even less than a sworn enemy.


    With his attitude, it was no wonder Roderick was still stuck at the Old Camp after several years of being on this planet.


    Knowing his methods, any clan would think twice about sheltering him, even if he had some rare evolution. Which he did not.


    The clans depended on each other for survival. Picking new members from the newly arrived exiles could backfire just as much as it could benefit a clan. Because of that, joining a clan wasn''t easy for a new exile. They had to bring some benefit to the table and prove they could be trusted.


    Some groups had tried the tactic of adding as many people as possible to their numbers. Those clans were no longer around. It was proof enough that such a strategy was doomed to fail in this environment.


    Maybe if the people who were sent through the portals were average humans. But with the filth of society at our hands, it was hard to build any working social structure.


    I even dared to say it was almost impossible.


    ¡°I have no interest in a mere strength-evolution like yours,¡± I clarified I had no interest in him. Roderick was apparently the type of person who needed to be told things plainly.


    The mere thought of laying with a brute like Roderick felt like an insult. It would also mess up my evolution even more than it already was. The filaments were a wonderful survival tool in this world, but they also dehumanised me in the eyes of many exiles. No matter that some of them looked grotesque in their own way, humans still found ways and reasons to single out others.


    Most of the people at the Old Camp didn¡¯t dare to approach me because of my appearance.


    Roderick grumbled while he rubbed his butt. ¡°At least I am still mostly human and not some mutated monster chick¡­¡±


    ¡°You said something?¡± I questioned, irked that he had stabbed right at the core of what bothered me.


    ¡°No¡­ no¡­¡± He turned and tried to weave through between my filaments. ¡°I think it''s best for me to leave.¡±


    I crossed my filaments in front of him. ¡°No. You will stay here until you have corrected your mistake. I insist.¡±


    ¡°Corrected?¡± He huffed and searched the canopy once more for my main body. ¡°How am I supposed to do that?! I can¡¯t fight an adult firehorn! The thing will roast me before I get close.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I licked my lips and tasted the air with a flick of my tongue. ¡°You just have to stay here for a little longer. If you behave, I won¡¯t even hamstring you any more than necessary to keep the firehorn¡¯s attention.¡±


    Roderick¡¯s eyes widened and he looked at the two small wounds I had caused during our conversation. Then his eyes turned in the direction of the firehorn, which had changed its course. The creature had recognized the scent of the thief who had slain its brood and it was coming to even the record.


    Which reminded me of the second trait firehorns were feared for. They were vengeful suckers. Hurt one of their family group and they would be after you as if you had a blood feud with them.


    ¡°Bitch!¡± Roderick screamed and tried to run, but I moved my filaments to catch his leg, quickly pulling him up into the tree where his larger strength wouldn¡¯t matter so much. All I had to do was to jostle him around without allowing him to get a hold of any of my filaments.


    Which wasn''t as easy as it sounded.


    Naturally, Roderick struggled and managed to catch one of my filaments, ripping it. His knife posed another problem, so I avoided his upper body as much as possible while holding onto his ankles.


    I winced, feeling each time I failed and lost a filament, but over a dozen were on him as I tried to delay him for as long as possible. The filaments were very much a part of me, but losing one was more like getting your fingernails clipped. It wasn¡¯t anything like losing a limb.


    Still, I couldn''t risk losing too many of them, as it would impair me.


    ¡°Insane whore!¡± he screamed as he fought, incurring more small injuries as he struggled.


    His strength was enough to rip my filaments, but the thin bands had sharp edges which cut into his reinforced skin. The injuries weren''t deep, more like paper cuts, but they added up.


    The problem was, I couldn¡¯t just kill him. I needed him alive so that the firehorn would hunt him instead of the newcomers. It was the least he could do as atonement.


    I lost four more filaments before I had to let him go.


    Roderick fell unceremoniously to the ground. His great agility allowed him to turn mid-air and land on his feet. As soon as he was back on the ground, he immediately made his escape, but not without grabbing his crate.


    Moments later, he was running through the underbrush, but thanks to the delay I had caused the firehorn was now close enough to be firmly on his trail.


    I had to make my own getaway and clean my filaments from Roderick¡¯s smell. It would be a nuisance if I had to run from the firehorn in his stead. Luckily, Roderick made so much noise that the creature would ignore its sense of smell for now and go after him directly.


    While the monster crashed through the vegetation beneath, I made my way higher up the tree where I waited until the jungle returned to its normal noises.


    Once I was sure the firehorn was chasing Roderick, I made my way across the interconnected treetops back to the lake where the exiles had been dropped off. I didn¡¯t bother with stealth and instead relied on speed, knowing that the smell of blood on my filaments would make it impossible to move unnoticed.


    I reached the lake unaccosted and launched myself directly into the water.


    The eel-like creatures called starfish which inhabited the small body of water may be a threat to unevolved humans if they attacked en masse, but to most more advanced exiles they were nothing more than a nuisance.


    Using the water as cover, I swam to the spot where the firehorn had attacked the new arrivals.


    My hope was that some of Roderick¡¯s samples had been left behind.


    I could have spared myself the time because aside from the empty crate and one body, the shore had been picked clean.


    A flock of zippers watched me from the trees. I didn¡¯t even bother with them, knowing the small creatures were far too fast to catch. Early arrivals on Tirnanog had surely wasted more than one precious magazine of bullets in a vain attempt to shoot down the agile nuisances.


    They were scavengers by nature, but their agility and swarm mentality allowed them to hunt creatures far larger than themselves, given they were hungry enough to do so.


    Thankfully, creatures the size of humans and bigger targets weren¡¯t on their radar. Though, I was sure that if an entire flock attacked, they would easily be able to paralyse a grown man with electric shocks and pick him apart.


    I blinked and sighed.


    This world was getting to me if I was already starting to make up ways to die which didn''t exist. As if there weren''t plenty of deadly threats just around the next tree.


    My attention was drawn to the body on the ground when it twitched.


    I walked up to the middle-aged man who was apparently still alive.


    The next moment, I realized I had been stupid. The firehorn would have hardly left a body behind.


    His eyes twitched beneath his closed eyelids and an occasional shudder ran through his sweat-drenched body as it changed.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite the spot to go into evolutionary hibernation.¡± I clicked my tongue and cursed Roderick for failing to explain the process. Normally, he should have kept the exiles safe at the shore, watching over them while they hibernated, and then allowed them to make their way to the Old Camp by themselves.


    Hibernation was a process of rapid genetic and physical change as the nanites and the virus rebuilt the body. It always happened upon receiving the first, primary mutation. Then a second time when people partnered up with someone.


    This wasn¡¯t how I had imagined things to go.


    It was a bad omen to wish ill on other humans, but hopefully, the firehorn would catch Roderick.


    I scratched the side of my head and wrapped my filaments around the hibernating man. Then I dragged him beneath some vegetation where he was out of sight and further away from the bloody battleground where his comrades had died. It wasn''t the best solution, but at least he wouldn''t be chewed on by some opportunistic critter.


    Less likely at least, I corrected myself. Going into hibernation without protection was still stupid.


    The fact that the zippers were still around hinted nothing too dangerous was roaming the forest nearby. It would be up to the exile¡¯s luck to survive from here on out.


    I jumped and returned to the treetops, then followed the other exiles. If I wanted more of them to survive, then I would have to take a more active role once the next few batches arrived. According to my sources, Earth would send four more waves of fifty in the coming days.


    The survival rate among them would be next to zero if they too trampled through the woods like the current batch. Not that the current batch could be blamed for fleeing the firehorn.


    It took me half an hour to catch up to the other exiles and to set the remaining survivors on a path for survival.


    When I found them they were already being stalked by a large omnieye. A massive insect-like predator which looked like a tyrannosaurus and a praying mantis had an unholy child. It owed its name to the twelve eyes which covered every direction and granted the creature omnidirectional view. Hence, omnieye.


    The monster was intimidating, but all its brethren had a fatal weakness in the protective plate on the back of their heads.


    The eye located there sat directly in front of what substituted for its brain.


    A single precise stab with one of my filaments was enough to bring down the apex predator. From there on, I didn¡¯t waste any more time with the current batch of exiles.


    Killing one of the larger predators stalking them might have looked like I had done them favour, but it wasn''t. Even if they ate the omnieye¡¯s flesh, the evolution they would get wasn¡¯t a desirable one.


    In fact, most of the evolutions provided by the larger creatures of this world weren¡¯t desirable.


    Us older exiles had learned the hard way it wasn¡¯t the large things you had to fear on Tirnanog. Not knowing an omnieye¡¯s weakness made them intimidating hunters to newbies, but omnieyes were large and loud. Such creatures were easily avoided if someone knew to hone their senses.


    The things you had to fear were the things faster than yourself and the monsters you couldn¡¯t see which went bump in the night.


    But those of the newcomers who survived the next few hours would learn this soon enough - once the sun fell beneath the horizon.

 Ch 04 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog***


    ***Astra Frost***


    I had no desire to spend the night outside if there was no pressing need, so I burst from the treetops and spread my filaments wide to create as much surface area as possible. The wind caught on and I was dragged at a moderate speed over the dense forest canopy. Kind of like a tumbleweed.


    The thought made me smile.


    When I didn''t go in the direction I wanted, I bundled and angled my filaments slightly to imitate wings. Then I started to move them so that they created the necessary propulsion.


    It looked a little like a starfish wiggling its way through the air. A dedicated flyer with real wings would have been faster, but it worked well enough for me. Countless hours of trial and error had gone into figuring out this much. Concentration and coordination were the limiting factors for me.


    The treemonae from which I had gotten my main evolution achieved flight in a very similar way. Only very few people managed to watch them and live to tell the tale.


    This form of travel wasn''t the safest, since I had to be on constant alert so that nothing could snatch me from above or below. It was necessary to be high enough above the treetops to be able to avoid a predator that decided to jump off a branch, and low enough to dive back into the canopy should something airborne come after me.


    But every decision on Tirnanog was one between possibilities of death. Spending the night outside was still considerably more dangerous than exposing myself during daytime. At least I would see an enemy coming from further away. That was more than I would get during the night when only my filaments provided me with a sense of my surroundings.


    Through them, I was able to feel the tiniest air movements. Which was, in a way, a kind of seeing for me. Sadly, this sense was very limited in range and it wouldn''t warn me of a creature that was holding still.


    Thankfully, returning to the Old Camp went without further troubles and the sight of a cobbled-together village surrounded by a large wall greeted me about five hours later.


    The Old Camp was located on a plateau that was elevated above the jungle. The site had been chosen by one of the last colonization expeditions that had inevitably failed.


    Protecting the settlement''s north was a large cliff that went over into a long mountain range. If I followed it, it would lead me back to my clan''s lands.


    Cutting out a large valley, a river created another of the plateau''s boundaries to the west.


    To the south, the plateau slowly lost its elevation until it turned into untraversable marshlands.


    I pulled in a few of my filaments and drifted lower once I passed over the outer wall. The Old Camp''s first defensive line was made out of interconnected treetrunks. It was crude, but it held out the larger predators. The smaller ones had to be taken care of by the guards.


    The guardsmen took notice of my return but didn''t challenge me. Once someone was recognized as a member of the clans, they were generally left alone.


    Women, in particular, had a special standing in the Old Camp, whose main population consisted of rejects. Seeing a woman here meant that she was either from a clan and likely had a powerful evolution, or that she had been thrown out of a clan and therefore had to be avoided for the same reason.


    I completely retracted my filaments and wound them tightly around me once I touched the ground of what could be called the Old Camp''s central street. Doing so provided me with a form of reactive armour, but it wasn''t as good as having a real carapace ¨C which wasn''t uncommon among some exiles.


    The Jeng clan loved to hunt the iobeetles in their territory, which resulted in most of their members developing a fitting evolution. Their reinforced skin was tough enough to withstand all but armour-breaking bullets and most of their tribesmen were capable of bending steel with their bare hands.


    My way back to the central building where I was staying led past numerous stalls that provided all kinds of goods.


    Those who traded food could be found right next to a weapon''s shop, followed by a vendor for miscellaneous items. People tried to make a living with things that many others regarded as trash.


    When the man in the weapon''s shop saw that I wasn''t carrying anything, he increased his pitch, loudly praising his wares which ranged from medieval swords and maces to modern firearms.


    I ignored him, seeing him for what he was. A charlatan who lived off the ignorance of newcomers.


    Admittedly, having a rifle from Earth was nice, but it would do nothing against a creature like an omnieye unless you were an expert marksman and capable of hitting its weak spot. Even if a bullet penetrated its carapace, it would most likely only make the omnieye mad.


    On the same account, bashing an omnieye with a sword or a mace was utterly ineffective if you didn''t possess a strength-type evolution. And given that you had such an evolution, you would be capable of wielding a much heavier, more powerful weapon.


    Certainly nothing like the toothpicks that the merchant sold. Those had been designed for baseline humans. Probably left behind by some failed colonists who had tried to turn to other methods once their technology was worn down. Having a few tank cannons was fine and good against Tirnanog''s wildlife. Right up until your supplies dwindled without constant supply from Earth.


    Whether intended or not, Earth''s scientists had already turned our bodies into weapons.


    So, an evolved exile''s weapon had to be customized to a person''s evolution. Someone like Roderick would probably work best with an oversized warhammer if he wasn''t such a coward.


    I chuckled at the thought of him still being chased through the jungle. At night. By a firehorn no less.


    As I made my way further down the road, I observed the merchants packing up their stores to retreat for the night. Everyone would bunker down in safe shelters once night fell. Not even the guards would stay on their posts on the outer wall. They would retreat to the Old Camp''s inner fortress, a large, star-shaped bunker at the centre of the settlement.


    The next morning, they would head out and clean the streets of any creatures that had wandered into the settlement during the night. Afterwards, the general population would re-emerge.


    The old bunker was pretty much the only building that remained from the time of the original settlers. The Old Camp''s most powerful and its leaders had chosen it as their hideout.


    I arrived at the central square, a large, open area in front of the bunker which merged with the arena to my left and the pond to my right.


    The arena was essentially a fighting pit surrounded by a grove of trees that carried observation lounges. It was a place where newcomers could prove their worth to the clans.


    The pond was a worn-down leftover of the original colony. Originally, it had likely been a part of a large fountain or cistern that the first settlers had created. Now, it was just a large body of deep water that softened the fall of the female newcomers.


    Several clanswomen were arguing over there.


    I recognized members of the Aerie, the Jeng, Thich, Vier, and Hochberg. Pretty much all of the high and mighty that were currently residing in the settlement.


    There were more clans who had their territories close enough to the Old Camp for travel, but not all of them bothered to visit every year. Only the large groups maintained a permanent presence.


    One of the arguing group was an Aerie clanswoman who I recognized as a friend of mine, Thalia. She noticed me and waved me over, probably to assist her in creating some political pressure with numbers instead of arguments.


    I wondered whether I could pretend not to have seen her, but that likely wouldn''t go over well with my reputation at home once I returned to clan lands.


    Damn! She was a friend, so...


    Drawing in a deep breath, I wandered over to the group and prepared myself for some social shenanigans. When the large and powerful people flexed their muscles to impress each other, stupidity was assured. At least that much we had managed to bring with us from Earth.


    Sadly, it didn''t matter whether the people in charge were men or women.


    ¡°Thalia,¡± I nodded at the older woman who had a pair of leathery wings draped around her shoulders like a cape. Then I extended the same courtesy to the other clan representatives. ¡°What''s the problem?¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°As usual, the Thich are being snobby bitches!¡± Thalia exclaimed unashamedly. ¡°And the situation is fucked up. No matter what we do.¡±


    ¡°It''s about the new arrivals,¡± the Jeng clanswoman who was present pointed one of the feelers on her head at a wet group of new female exiles who sat next to the pond. ¡°They have sent us children this time. Children!¡±


    I frowned and studied the six newcomers. Someone had given them blankets, but I knew well enough what it felt like to be talked about like you were some piece of meat.


    At least they had it better than the men.


    Three were your average exiles with ages from anything between twenty to fifty. It remained to be seen what reason they had been exiled for. In some cases, even women couldn''t be trusted and had to be left to their fate at the Old Camp. But we would have time enough to judge them through conversation. The clans had gotten pretty good at filtering out undesirables over the years.


    Another exile was a bedraggled-looking teenager who was eyeing us as if we were monsters.


    She would have her own appearance issues soon enough if she wanted to survive.


    The really fucked-up thing was the two crying kids who were no more than seven or eight years old. Curiously, both were redheads. From the way they were clinging to each other I also guessed that they were sisters.


    ¡°So?¡± I chewed on my inner cheek. ¡°We know that those who are responsible for the deportations are fucked up in their heads, but there is nothing we can do about it. They sent me when I was thirteen.¡±


    ¡°Clan Thich wants them both! Plus, the blonde!¡± The woman from Hochberg accused the violet-skinned Thich. The Hochberg was standing at least two heads above me and I guessed her to be a strength type.


    I couldn''t make out what kind of evolution the Thich was. Her skin was violet, but otherwise the lucky bitch looked entirely human. Which made me envious.


    Their names were Sarah for the Hochberg and Ivonne for the Thich if I remembered correctly. We had been introduced briefly at the beginning of the season.


    ¡°They already took more than they are due during the previous trials!¡± Thalia complained. ¡°And now they want even more.¡±


    Give them a finger and they will bite off your hand.


    It was a well-known saying among the outcasts to describe the Thich.


    Given how few women the people from Earth sent us each year, female exiles were pretty much the main reason why the clans would gather at the Old Camp aside from picking out the best men from all the rest.


    Each year, there would be at least five batches of fifty men and two batches of ten women if we were lucky. That they had sent us only six with the first group probably meant that there wouldn''t be any more this year. Which meant that any clan getting a few female recruits more or less was even more noticeable this year.


    It was common practice for the clans to send female recruiters to fetch some new blood. Pretty much every woman who would increase the possibilities of partnering up with a clansman was welcome. This practice of unquestioningly adopting women and the high death rate among men often resulted in the clans having more women than men.


    The clans were constantly existing at the edge and striving for more. A clan couldn''t have too many skilled members.


    If someone had to risk their life, then the guys had to risk theirs first.


    And as fucked up as it was, each woman meant a new chance at viable offspring.


    After all, a clan with a functioning breeding pair who had powerful evolutions had a future. No children meant no future.


    Some of the exiles'' evolutions may have resulted in the ability to survive on this world, but only a few were capable of actually breeding more humans. It didn''t feel so great when your own offspring was more monster than sentient being.


    My own clan had some failures in that regard. Which was one of the reasons why my parents had adopted me.


    ¡°I also remember the Thich taking more than they were due in the previous year,¡± I voiced my thoughts carefully.


    Then added as an afterthought. ¡°And in the year before that.¡±


    Sarah looked triumphantly at Ivonne. ¡°So, I am not the only one who remembers that.¡±


    The four-handed clanswoman from the Vier also raised a hand. ¡°I haven''t been here as a recruiter before, but we are keeping track of such things. The Thich have indeed taken in more female exiles than any of the other large clans. General tradition is that any clan who visits the trials is to choose some new blood, so why don''t they stand down for once if they are already ahead of their quota?¡±


    Once it looked like the Aerie, Vier, and Hochberg would unite against the Thich, Ivonne deflated slightly and lowered her demands. ¡°We may make do with just one of the little girls.¡±


    ¡°That''s unacceptable!¡± the Jeng intervened. ¡°They are obviously sisters! We can''t separate them. That would make us no better than the monsters who stole them from their parents and sent them here.¡±


    Ivonne raised an eyebrow and studied the Jeng. ¡°So you take them?¡±


    The woman with the bug-evolution shook her head. ¡°We can only take someone who can contribute to the clan.¡± She left it unsaid that they wouldn''t feed two useless mouths for years to come without actually knowing whether they would turn out to be a boon or a bane in the end.


    I guessed from her behaviour that the Jeng had experienced harsher times than usual.


    Before Ivonne could further change the narrative of this dispute, I intervened. ¡°What about the Thich taking...¡± I looked over the new arrivals, then pointed randomly at one of the adult women who looked like a mean bitch. ¡°That one.¡±


    It wasn''t the fairest method, but the only one I had available without interviewing them. I also didn''t want to give Ivonne the teenager, since she had voiced her desire for that one earlier.


    Everybody knew about our animosity towards each other, so I didn''t bother to hide my intentions of foiling Ivonne''s plans.


    ¡°And whoever can prove that they have the most resources to spare takes the twins,¡± I added as an afterthought. ¡°It''s the fairest solution that I can think of.¡±


    A lot more haggling ensued, mainly concerning the point of how to prove that we had the resources we claimed to possess. I knew that the Thich were likely capable of contending with any of the clans, but I gambled on their well-known secrecy towards us. They wouldn''t share information about their resources just to recruit two or three people who were nothing more than blank slates.


    In the end, we managed a solution that nobody was happy with, not even Thalia. Which was a win-win situation in my book. In the future, she would think twice about calling for backup from me.


    Ivonne and her Thich were left with the grumpy bitch that I had pointed out.


    The teenager would go with Sarah to Hochberg.


    And the other clans each took one of the remaining adult women.


    Which left the Aerie with the crying and traumatized twins.


    ¡°That wasn''t what I called you for,¡± Thalia whined while guiding the sniffling and inconsolable girls at her hands. We were walking towards our clan''s private quarter inside the bunker. ¡°I wanted the teenager. Her physique looked like she would turn out to be a good flyer.¡±


    What was it with the Aerie''s fixation on flying evolutions? I never understood that.


    ¡°Look, you called me over and I did the best I could,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I am sure some childless pair will be happy with the two.¡±


    ¡°But I am the one who will have to look after them until we return.¡± Thalia didn''t let go of the matter.


    ¡°Which is your job as a recruiter.¡± I refused to allow her to drag me into another argument after those exhausting negotiations. ¡°Aren''t you happy that the Thich didn''t get what they wanted? And we managed it without a pit-fight and somebody being torn to pieces! All is good!¡±


    ¡°I suppose...¡± Thalia grumbled. ¡°Has your excursion beyond the walls found you anything? Are there any sexy ones among the newcomers?¡±


    ¡°Ah... I didn''t look out for that.¡± I groaned. ¡°Roderick fucked up. I followed him, but I fear that the first batch will be useless. I have to look after the others myself.¡±


    ¡°I told you that paying him was a waste of effort,¡± Thalia exclaimed. ¡°I hope you punished that waste of space.¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± I replied. ¡°The firehorn that he tried to set on the newcomers is now hunting him through the forest. If he is smart, he will be running to the Old Camp as fast as he can and hope that the wall guards take it out.¡±


    Thalia''s mouth formed a silent ''o''. ¡°You mean that he will be running through the night? With a firehorn on his ass? That''s just mean. I would have killed him and be done with it. Also, for sure a kinder end.¡±


    ¡°I needed the firehorn to hunt something else than the remaining exiles.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I did my best to save what could be saved, but I haven''t high hopes. Maybe the next batch will have better chances.¡±


    ¡°I hope you do.¡± Thalia smirked. ¡°If there is a nice one that fits, I may take one home with me too.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Just so that you know, I have the first pick. I am the one who came here three years in a row to find someone that matches with my evolution.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah...¡± Thalia waved me off. ¡°You should have just chosen someone at the clan and be done with it.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I have no desire to fail my evolution by meshing it with something that backs me into a corner. No matter how much the clan elders may pressure us to try it. Just look at Jenny and Heinrich and their brood. The clan had to burn out their cave! It was like one of those horror movies that I remember from Earth.¡±


    ¡°You know that they tried it with each other because of love and not because the elders told them,¡± Thalia whispered somewhat downcast by the reminder.


    I crossed my arms defensively in front of my chest. ¡°That came out wrong. I am sorry. But they both had evolutions from highly aggressive species. Both can hardly control their abilities. Pair bad control with more bad control and what you get...¡± I waved a hand. ¡°The statistics we keep in our library speak for themselves. Such a thing doesn''t mesh well.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Thalia replied pensively. ¡°Can we switch the topic? I had nightmares for weeks after that incident. What are you searching for among the newcomers?¡±


    I thought about it and shrugged. ¡°I honestly don''t know. I already have control and power. The only issue is that I look far from human. I guess that what I am searching for is something, anything, that combines well with my filaments without messing with my control.¡±


    ¡°Don''t say that. You are pretty! Like one of those body painters ¨C with added light-show if you get emotional.¡± Thalia sounded genuinely offended on my behalf. ¡°Don''t allow those fools to get into your head. And besides...¡± She leaned over so that the kids couldn''t hear. ¡°Men fuck anything if it has boobs and legs to spread.¡±


    I shoved Thalia slightly. ¡°Thalia!¡±


    ¡°But it''s true.¡±


    We giggled and finally arrived at our quarters.


    Using my filaments, I opened the heavy blast door that separated the area that belonged to clan Aerie from the rest of the facility. Aside from us, there was a contingent of twenty people permanently stationed here.


    Most would switch rotations or return to the clan grounds once the trials ended. But about ten of us would stay during the winter. I always returned to the clan to meet up with my adoptive parents.


    We brought the traumatized children to the medical facility which was currently staffed by an older gent who went by the name of Liam. He was apparently knowledgeable about such cases and waved us off.


    I was thankful that I wasn''t the one who had to deal with the kids.


    The memories of my own arrival at a far too young age were still vivid in my mind.


    For all I knew, I had lived a normal life with normal parents. Certainly nothing that could draw the government''s attention. Honestly, what could a thirteen-year-old girl possibly have done to be exiled to Tirnanog?


    I narrowed my eyes while I walked back to my room, trying to remember the faces of the men in expensive suits who had appeared in dark cars when I had left school. They had taken me to a facility where I had been injected with drugs.


    Sadly, I was no longer certain that I would recognize any of them if I met them now. If I did recognize one, it would certainly not be a happy reunion.


    A few hours later, I had been dropped through the portal right into the very same pond that the twins had climbed out of today.


    My only luck was that my new parents from clan Aerie had been waiting there as recruiters. They had failed to have children of their own not too long ago and for some reason, they simply decided to adopt me on the spot.


    Thankfully, they were good people.


    I was lucky that things didn''t turn out to be worse.


    Finally, I arrived at the room that I had been using during the last three trials and stepped inside. Now enclosed in darkness, only my filaments provided an eerie, blue light.


    ¡°Home, sweet home,¡± I mumbled and immediately regretted the words. Thalia was right about me taking too long when I began to call a little, damp room in a contested outpost my home.


    I really had to find someone suitable at this year''s trials.

 Ch 05 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog***


    ***Magnus***


    The comfortable darkness of semi-unconsciousness permeated my entire being. I was at peace and most importantly, safe.


    Then the thought of some monster slurping up human bodies like wet noodles surfaced into my awareness.


    ¡°Graah!¡± I shot upright, returning to the world''s harsh reality from one moment to the next while I frantically looked around, remembering that I was on Tirnanog. My animal brain expected to find some predator standing right above me, but there was nothing.


    Why had I been asleep? It was mere luck that nothing had eaten me while I was out cold.


    The last thing I remembered was that I was forcing myself to chew that stringy saurian tail raw and then¡­ darkness.


    How long had I been out? Were the little monsters poisonous? How stupid was I? The possibility that the creatures weren''t edible hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind! Not to mention the grossness of eating something raw.


    I squinted my eyes, but it looked like it was still the same day.


    One moment! Why was the world no longer unbearably bright? And why was everything so blurry?


    I rubbed my eyes, but my issues didn¡¯t vanish.


    Previously, I had been barely able to look at things as a result of the sun¡¯s brightness, but now it felt like the light of a normal day. Although, everything being some shade of blue with blurred outlines was annoying. Aside from the stones on the shore. They still looked normal and sharp.


    And why was I tucked away beneath the forest¡¯s shrubbery? Had I deliriously crawled into the underbrush and thrown branches and leaves over myself?


    I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.


    Stop it!


    Freaking out wouldn''t help me.


    I had to do my best to concentrate on one thing at a time. Hadn¡¯t the world been painted in normal colours when I arrived?


    Once more, I opened my eyes and the world looked suddenly normal and sharp. Spike-grass was green. Treetrunks were brown. Just as I was used to.


    What was wrong with my fucking eyes?


    I concentrated and the blue tinge was suddenly back!


    Normal.


    Blue.


    Normal.


    Blue.


    Several times, I flexed the newly-found switch in my brain, changing back and forth until I managed to control this strange new ability as I desired it. For some reason, it was just like opening and closing my eyes. In fact, it wasn''t unlike having an additional set of eyes that I could open and close as I wished to...


    Fuck! Just don''t freak out again, Magnus. This was only me gaining some new, previously unknown sense.


    Ultimately, I decided on going with my normal sight until I found the time to figure out what the blue meant.


    I swallowed, noticing only now that my throat felt as dry as a sheet of paper. Slowly, I turned and crawled out of the shrubbery.


    That was when my eyes fell onto my bare lower arm.


    ¡°Aieeh!¡±


    It was the horrified shriek of someone who had found something moving beneath his skin that shouldn¡¯t be there. Like some woman''s reaction to finding a rat on the ground between her feet. It was the primordial angst of parasites that every human shared with our distant ancestors.


    I flopped around on the ground like a fish on land, hitting my arm in an ill thought-out, knee-jerk reaction until my brain finally switched back on. Only then did I realize that I had embarrassed myself.


    Luckily, the other exiles had already been eaten.


    To my great relief, the strange movements weren¡¯t caused by something burrowing through my flesh.


    Upon closer inspection, it was revealed as a fucking muscle. One that I could flex!


    I laughed a little insanely about my own stupidity when I realized the surreality of the truth. The reason why this had freaked me out was that this muscle shouldn¡¯t be there.


    And I had them apparently everywhere.


    I wasn¡¯t some expert on human biology, but I knew where I was supposed to see the muscles through my skin. They weren¡¯t supposed to be visibly flexing through the back of my hand when I strained it. Nor on my elbow ¨C at least not with the level of training that I had.


    When I opened my shirt, I revealed the toned musculature of a gymnast. Though, a real gymnast would have probably freaked out because normal humans were supposed to have a six-pack. And I had... well...


    I decided not to dwell on a little number difference as long as I didn''t look too freakish.


    Even normal humans could change their appearance from healthy towards unattractive by overdoing it. Like the Mr Muscles who had tried to become the new exiles¡¯ tribe chieftain. That guy had definitely overdone it with the steroids.


    But hey, my beer-belly was gone. Well, not gone-gone. But what had been a definite lifebelt could now be easily pinched between two fingers. And it was almost invisible when I drew in my belly. Most importantly, I looked healthy. Like one of those models that were pumped up with beauty treatments and nanite enhancers, combined with a dietary plan that they had to follow religiously.


    That counted as ''gone'' as far as I was concerned!


    I apparently underwent this evolution thing that everyone had mentioned. And two obvious changes were the blue sight and muscles. Many little, tiny muscles all over my body. It still looked like I was a mostly normal human being, but when I poked at my upper thigh, expecting the layer of fat that I was used to, there were steely muscles instead.


    Okay. So how about flexing just my biceps?


    Suddenly, my left arm experienced a very uncomfortable spasm. As if I had suffered a seizure.


    ¡°No. No.¡± I winced and pressed the entire arm to my chest. ¡°I get it! No more biceps as such! Bad idea!¡±


    There was apparently some disconnection between what my brain was used to and my new physique. Old instincts that didn''t play well together with the new.


    I slowly tried again, doing my best to not consciously think about the movements, and this time it worked.


    Consciously flexing just a single muscle was no longer as easily done as when I had been a baseline human.


    Confirming the details would be difficult without cutting myself open, but it felt like my whole musculature and most of my fat tissue had been replaced with a network of countless tiny fibres.


    After spending half an hour doing slow stretches and rolling around on the ground, I felt comfortable enough to get back to my feet.


    The lakewater was already like a magical attraction by that point.


    I stumbled forward until I was a little more than ankle-deep and fell to my knees. Pursing my lips, I lowered my head and drank my fill.


    Nothing had ever tasted better in my life.


    I should have probably worried about dirt and bacteria, but the mad scientist¡¯s nanites had just rewritten my genome and altered my entire body in less than a day.


    Given the survival situation that they had forced upon me, I felt like it would be a grave oversight to allow something as negligible as cholera to kill me.


    At least I hoped so.


    My worries turned towards an entirely different topic when I noticed the movements beneath the water in front of me.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Still pursing my lips, I raised my head.


    The lamprey-eel-anaconda thing rose from the water and looked at me from less than half a metre away.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    I had barely gotten out the word when the mother-fucker tried to kiss me.


    Not knowing what else to do, I just so managed to shove my elbow into its maw instead.


    The horror wasn¡¯t particularly concerned by my obvious rejection of its romantic advances and began to chew.


    ¡°Aieeeh!¡± For the second time that day, I screamed with a very unmanly high pitch.


    My scream only increased its overture when something else bit into the back of my thigh and I realized there were more than just one of the freaky things!


    I grabbed the one that was chewing on my arm with my free hand and squeezed with all my might until my fingers dug through the skin and into the creature¡¯s flesh. But the monster eel wasn''t weak either and my efforts ended there.


    Then the creatures attempted to wrap me up in their coils and drag me deeper into the water! I could feel myself being rolled around while they tried to squeeze the life out of me.


    Existential angst overcame me and at that moment a ripple went through my entire body! It felt like one of those times when an unpleasant tingle overcame your nervous system upon being touched unexpectedly, only magnified a thousand-fold.


    It started in my spine, and then the sensation rippled forth from my chest, into my arms and legs, and then struck the world around me like a thunderblow.


    The lamprey-eel lit up as an electric shock grilled its head in my arms. There was an audible snap as my fingers broke through its now weakened tissue and rearranged something hard that probably wasn¡¯t supposed to give way.


    I was suddenly free as the creatures went limp around me or let go altogether.


    Moving faster than ever in my life, I was out of the water and back on the shore. Breathing heavily, I looked back at the churning lake as the other lamprey-eels fled back into deeper waters.


    The sensation of something chewing on my elbow brought it back to my attention that the fucker that had tried to kiss me was still attached to my arm. And somehow still alive!


    ¡°Arrgh!¡± I screamed furiously and punched the thing four times until it came loose. Then I stomped on the motherfucker. And when that didn¡¯t make the thing stop twitching, I grabbed the largest stone I could lift in my adrenaline-fuelled rage and brought it down on the creature¡¯s head-maw.


    Three times, just to make sure.


    When the stone broke in twain on the third impact, I collapsed, leaning onto one half that was the size of my torso.


    ¡°I hate this world!¡±


    I looked at my arm and sighed in relief when I saw that it wasn¡¯t as bad as I had feared.


    I mean, I was still injured and that was no joke. But I had expected a grave, potentially lethal injury. Instead, the lamprey¡¯s teeth had cut through my skin but had been stopped by the new layers of muscles upon muscles that permeated my entire body.


    It looked like that one time when I had been mauled by my enraged cat and had been too stupid to just let it run off to fight the competitor cat who had dared to enter his territory. I only ever made that mistake once. When cats wanted to fight, they fought, and that was it.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I picked a broken-off tooth out of the wound. ¡°I don¡¯t know when, but I will find some kind of fish poison on this godforsaken world. And when I do, I will drop a ton of it into that fucking lake. So I swear! I will get each and every one of you.¡±


    Fuck environmentalism. Those things needed to die!


    I drew in a deep breath to gather my courage and then slowly approached the water once more to clean the wound. This time, I stayed with my feet on dry land and paid very close attention to every ripple that might move in my direction.


    Having done the best I could, I decided that without medical supplies there was no other choice but to let it dry. The same counted for the bite in my lower thigh. I would have to count on the power of the nanites to ward off infection.


    Then I noticed that I had unconsciously gone back into blue-vision mode during the fight. It allowed me to see a spot of brighter colour approaching me through the lakewater. The winding, blurred outline reminded me of a snake.


    Growling, I bent down to pick up a rock and threw it at the spot.


    When one of the eel-creatures broke through the surface and quickly changed its course towards the spot where the stone had landed, my suspicion was confirmed.


    I wasn¡¯t completely sure how that was possible, but I had something like energy vision.


    That was why the stones on the shore still looked normal. I could see the electric fields that were produced by living beings. Given its strangeness and how it blurred the outlines of only living things, I didn¡¯t believe that it was the average heat-vision that so many movies liked to portray.


    Maybe it was like the ability that birds used to sense the planet¡¯s magnetic field? Just a million times more sophisticated. Or something similar at least. I had to find a way to prove my theory before I jumped to conclusions.


    Something squawked from behind me and I turned, finding that one of the little saurians was back and picking at the horror-eel''s corpse.


    ¡°That''s mine!¡± I complained and stomped my foot, causing the little creature to flash brightly and dash away.


    Then it was back ¨C with friends!


    ¡°Oh, no you don''t!¡±


    I couldn''t save the whole corpse.


    Just about a tenth of it.


    It wasn''t that I could have eaten any more eel-sushi on my own, but after having won a life or death battle against the horror eels, losing to a saurian chicken swarm was a blow to my pride.


    The remaining nine-tenths of the eel went to the little monsters. They were worse than piranhas once more than thirty of them got going.


    After I had realized how many of them there were, I was kind of glad that they didn''t decide to nibble me to death. They could have totally done it if they wanted to, but I apparently didn''t fit their prey spectrum.


    From the looks of it, the little saurians preferred to be scavengers. Not that I would ever complain about such a development. It made them more likeable than anything else I had met on this planet.


    At least it wasn''t as if they didn''t repay me for getting them a free meal. As the apparent main originators of my new abilities, just watching them do their thing was a learning experience in itself.


    The easiest part was to figure out how to do the electric shocks.


    My whole body had apparently turned into an oversized super-capacitor. My muscles were the electrodes and by moving them I could statically charge myself. Very much like rubbing a plastic balloon against hair or fur.


    Once I had realized that much from watching the little monsters with my new blue-vision, it was easy enough to copy.


    The other trick they had to show me was the high-speed movement ability that allowed them to blitz from one position to another.


    The first thing I noticed was that whenever they performed their ability, they also always fixated on the spot they wanted to go to. With their destination confirmed, they somehow rippled their whole musculature, forming some kind of wavy pattern of tenseness and relaxation covering their entire bodies.


    I didn''t know how else to describe it.


    Sadly, that little detail was hard to observe because I had to get very close for that and they disliked me getting close.


    Once they had pre-charged themselves, their blue auras turned bright and expanded outwards from their bodies right before they dashed off.


    I watched them do it for hours, paying close attention to every step they took.


    Sadly, I didn''t quite get how they managed to control their sprint ability. I had the feeling that it was a matter of training and control. Something that I wouldn''t be able to learn in a single afternoon.


    At least I managed a bastardised version of it. I thought of it that way because my version was a comparatively slow, brute-force method compared to theirs.


    First, I had to charge my muscles as if I wanted to electrocute something. The second stage was to concentrate really, really badly on having my muscles create that unique wavy pattern of tense and relaxed areas. Then I had to let go with the movement that I desired to perform held firmly in my mind.


    It was very much like tensing myself for a jump. Though, it required a lot more preparation and forethought.


    All I could manage for now was to accelerate a single arm or leg to superhuman speeds.


    That didn''t help much when it came to my original intention of being able to run away really fast. Another downside was that the skill strained my muscles pretty badly.


    But I could throw a stone hard enough to punch a hole through one of the smaller trees. Not the big and old ones that were prevalent in this forest, but as a general rule, if I could hug the trunk with my arms, hiding behind it would be a very bad idea for any enemy of mine.


    The thought came to mind that I might be able to do some real damage with a spear.


    So, the rest of my time was dedicated to searching the lake¡¯s shore for some good throwing rocks and straight sticks that could be sharpened into primitive spears. All too soon, the daylight started to dwindle without me having moved away from the lake more than a few steps.


    The self-loathing that I had felt yesterday was mostly forgotten by that point. Yes, I had mindlessly run off once I found out where my little sisters had been sent to. Also, there wasn''t nearly as much planning involved as there should have been.


    But I was here. I was alive. And I had managed the first step.


    It also had to be said that I had little to no motivation to leave the relatively safe lake at this point.


    Aside from the saurians and my mortal enemies, the eels, I got visitors only once. A herd of tripod-like animals visited the lake on the opposite side from where I had been at. They drank some water with their tentacles and then quickly retreated into the forest.


    I returned to my own business once I had verified that they weren''t after my life.


    The lake provided water and food ¨C although eel sushi wasn¡¯t to my liking. And while I wasn¡¯t excited about the idea, I supposed it would be possible to retreat into the water if something more dangerous than the snake-eels showed up.


    And, embarrassingly enough, I was still a child of civilisation. In the absence of toilet paper, water was the next best solution.


    Without having access to poison, I satisfied myself by training my skills with living targets as I slowly travelled around the lake. Every snake-eel that came within reach was torpedoed with spears and stones and electrocuted before I dragged it on land for the flock of little saurians to feed on.


    The swarm of little monsters quickly caught on to what I was doing and followed me on my tour around the lake. They profited from my kills while I got to watch and study them. To my misfortune, word got around quickly within the eel''s community and they learned frighteningly fast to keep their distance from me. Certainly faster than I would have expected from an animal.


    By that point, I regained a little of my confidence to venture deeper into the lake''s water. I wasn''t ashamed to admit that I had started a quest of extermination against all eel-kind.


    Watching my little comrades, I also wondered whether taming them was a possibility. I definitely would try it once I was no longer concerned about my immediate survival.


    On my way, I gathered a sorted collection of sticks and plants that seemed useful, and by the end of the day, I had made myself something like a backpack. It was a carrying contraption made out of sticks and seaweed. It looked like a square framework of sticks that I could carry on two braided seaweed ropes. The things that I found to be useful could be fastened to it with seaweed cordage.


    First and foremost among those things was my collection of projectiles, one particularly sharp rock that had proven useful in gutting the eels, Roderick''s banged-up crate, and some skeletal eel remains that my saurian friends had left behind.


    I wasn''t sure what the bones could be used for yet, but something may come up. Maybe I would use the pointy ribs to make spearheads once I found a way to attach them reliably.


    While getting a grip on my new surroundings, I had almost made a complete round-trip around the lake and was expecting to return to my starting point by tomorrow morning.


    Like that, my first day in this world ended.


    Once night came, I learned that my blue-vision, or second-sight as I decided to call it from now on, provided perfect night vision.


    Though, seeing perfectly in the dark wasn¡¯t a great help against the eerie sounds that came with the night. My little saurian friends had left me once the sun fell beneath the horizon and being alone didn¡¯t feel great at all.


    The solution to my sleeping arrangements came with climbing one of the larger trees as high as I could and using seaweed cordage to secure myself to a fitting, forking-out branch. I simply needed rest at that point and figured that if I stayed awake to defend myself from whatever wanted to eat me, I would be too tired to put up a proper fight anyway.

 Ch 06 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog***


    ***Magnus***


    I awoke when the sunrays of a new day started to grill my face and hurt my eyes with their brightness. Upon opening them, I had to amend the conclusion that my half-asleep mind had come up with.


    The day probably wasn''t so new anymore, since the blue orb that seemed far larger than Earth''s sun dominated the sky of this world. I knew that was wrong since white dwarfs were generally much smaller than our own sun. It was simply a case of the planet being much closer to its star.


    Which had already risen high in the sky, telling me that I had slept through the early morning hours.


    ¡°Nothing found and ate me during the night. Probably used up all my luck for the next year,¡± I commented in a clipped tone while drumming on my legs to get some feeling back into my body.


    ¡°And I am already talking to myself,¡± I muttered. ¡°That''s not a good sign. A single day on this world and I am already behaving like a lonely recluse.¡±


    I stretched and groaned in pain once my nerves and muscles reacted to the movements and made their displeasure known. My new physique was phenomenal, but it apparently didn''t help one bit against spending the night in a tree in an awkward position.


    Once I paid some more attention to my surroundings, I froze.


    Well hidden by their plumes of green and blue feathers, the flock of saurians had settled in on the branches around me. And they were watching every movement I made.


    Given their scavenger nature, the little fuckers were probably waiting for me to fall off the tree and break my neck. Then they would swarm and eat my corpse.


    Or they were just waiting for me to get them more food. Which would mean that they were just lazy! And far too smart for their own good.


    I grumbled, telling myself that I probably shouldn¡¯t get too comfortable around the saurians. They were by far the least fearsome creatures I had encountered on Tirnanog. But that didn''t mean that they wouldn''t go for my throat if I showed weakness.


    Ignoring them for now, I started picking at the injuries that I had received yesterday. There wasn''t anything I could do if they decided to swarm me, so worrying about it was pointless.


    The blood had turned into a dark scab that was covering the wounds, but the flesh around them looked hale enough. Touching them still hurt, but I was fairly certain they weren''t infected. My limited medical knowledge made me assume that an infection would have made itself known with red, inflamed tissue by now. Maybe some pus? I wasn''t sure.


    At least a little relieved, I loosened the cords I had made with the gathered lake algae. They had kept me from rolling over and falling to my doom while I slept.


    Then I made my way down the tree.


    After relieving myself, I cleaned up with lakewater and shouldered my backpack. With my needs taken care of, I continued much in the same way as the day before, catching two eels for breakfast on the way.


    Two, because I needed a little more food to store away for my intended excursion into the forest. Sadly, most of my two catches went to the insatiable swarm of saurians that was following me around. Somehow, I had gotten used to reaching in between the swarming creatures in order to claim my part of the catch.


    I was wondering whether I was in the process of taming them when I remembered Roderick. They had followed him too, paying no heed to his attempts at killing them. The only thing that mattered was the food on his belt.


    ¡°Probably not...¡±


    I muttered to myself and increased my pace until I arrived at the point where I had started the journey around the lake. All signs of the drama that had played out here the day before had vanished.


    Something had cleaned away the last traces of blood. And whatever other animals had visited the shore during the night, had trampled down any signs of a previous fight.


    I huffed and had to ignore the long faces that the little saurians made once I deviated from my path around the lake. They looked like they understood this meant no more eel for them. Once the flock was certain I wouldn''t turn around, they nonetheless followed me.


    My path took me through the denser underbrush. That wasn''t a nice experience, but it allowed me to avoid the spike-grass that was still capable of piercing my shoes and my skin.


    Given the general sturdiness of the plants on this world, I expected it to be only a question of time until all my clothes gave up the ghost.


    A few strands of the lake''s seaweed were strong enough to hold my entire weight, but that didn''t mean I could turn them into clothes.


    I just hoped to find other humans before I was forced to weave something from what I had gathered. Some braided cords and knots were well within my capabilities.


    But weaving? Hell, no! The attempt alone would likely turn into an ugly mess. It would take me days to figure it out.


    The best course of action in my mind was to try and see how braving the forest went.


    I could always spend more time around the lake, but I needed to find other humans. Roderick''s directions were the only hint that I had. The large man had been an asshole, but his demeanour and equipment made me assume that the people in this world did at least a better job at survival than me.


    Most of the exiles who were sent to this place were criminals, but I didn''t believe there would be no society at all because of this. No matter their deeds, they were still the children of civilisation. It couldn¡¯t be that all of them turned into solitary cavemen after being deported from Earth.


    My pace was unhurried as my path led me deeper into the forest. All the while, I tried to think of positive things. Like this Old Camp for example. It would surely be a place of safety with none of the native species around.


    Well, there were likely a lot of untrustworthy humans there. They were possibly an even greater threat than the monsters out here. But at least I knew humans.


    After about half an hour, I came across the first new thing that stood out from the strange vegetation. It was a human in the grey prisoner''s garb of an exile and he sat leaned sideways against a large tree.


    I had seen him only thanks to the colour of his clothes that stood out amongst the green and otherwise colourful vegetation. If that hadn''t been the case, I could have walked past him just twenty metres away, never the wiser.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I called out to him and got no reaction. Which was strange.


    I stopped walking.


    Yesterday, I had proven myself dumb enough to almost become worm-food.


    But not today!


    This time, I would think before I acted.


    Even I could smell something wasn''t right about this situation. Why would someone just sit leaning against a tree in a place like this? Staying still was just asking to be found and eaten by something. Not to mention that you would die of thirst fairly quickly. And if he was dead, then why was the corpse untouched?


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I turned and looked around while I pondered. My gaze found some of the saurians who blending seamlessly into the shrubbery on the ground. So I pointed at the body. ¡°Look, food!¡±


    They looked but didn''t show any more interest than that.


    ¡°Okay, so now I know definitely that something is wrong.¡±


    If those insatiable sacks of hunger wouldn''t go for a body, then something was wrong with it. Wary of a trap, I circled around the scene, keeping a respectful distance from the tree.


    Now that I had seen it from different angles, I realized that it looked strange. The bark was very odd and stood out from everything else nearby. Covered with pointy cysts, its enormous trunk tickled something in the back of my brain.


    The tree looked wrong compared to the others in the vicinity. Maybe it was more similar to a cactus? Also, each cyst had a pointy tip.


    I just couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong with it. Even my second sight didn¡¯t reveal anything that set the tree apart from its surroundings. With the exception of its looks.


    Well, it definitely wasn''t an animal. Those appeared much brighter than the surroundings in my second sight. And I had already the eels and the saurians, and myself as a comparison.


    Once I had circled far enough, I got to see what was hidden to me earlier.


    The man was somehow nailed to the tree and held upright by a set of serrated spikes that emerged sideways from the front of his chest. Together with the paleness of his skin, I concluded that he was most definitely dead.


    I bit my inner cheek and chewed on it as I thought.


    The guy was unlikely to possess anything I needed for survival since he had entered the world the same way as me and must have died last night when he ran from the monster.


    The point that the body hadn¡¯t been eaten by something remained strange.


    Ergo, I had no reason to approach the body and risk falling into a trap.


    The sensible course of action would be to turn my back on the scene and to walk away.


    Contrary to that, not knowing what had killed the man was equally bad. What if I unknowingly ran into a similar trap because I hadn¡¯t bothered to investigate? Surviving meant knowing your environment.


    I sighed and came up with a compromise.


    Two stones.


    I would throw two stones, and if that didn¡¯t trigger the trap, then I would walk away.


    After readying one of my primitive spears, I retrieved a stone from my seaweed pouch and threw it at the corpse.


    ¡®THUD!¡¯


    I blinked ¨C then slowly turned my head to look at the serrated spike that had hit a tree not half a metre away from me.


    Ever so slowly, I looked back at the large cyst in the tree which had fired the spike and was now connected to it via a long cord of pulsating flesh. And now, it was slowly reeling the spike back in.


    Slowly, I took one step backwards, then another step sideways, bringing the nice, normal tree between myself and the flesh-eating harpoon cactus.


    Then I turned around and bit into my knuckle. ¡°Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Even the trees are evil!¡±


    After quickly checking the surroundings trees for similar cysts or warts, I relaxed slightly.


    ¡°Fucking trees!¡± I cursed and continued on my path even slower this time.


    Now, I was using one eye to check every tree and bush for things that looked even slightly threatening. The other one, I kept on the saurians, figuring that if they started to behave oddly or fell behind, then something was up.


    I wandered for a little less than an hour on what appeared to be a natural path through the forest. It was likely a trail maintained by wild animals.


    My journey was blessedly uneventful, right up until I stumbled upon a huge corpse.


    The creature was the size of a tyrannosaurus and looked like some alien dino twisted together with a praying mantis on four legs.


    If I had encountered a living one, my immediate reaction would have been to run for my life.


    Thankfully, this member of its species was quite dead. A husk that had already been fed upon by creatures large and small. I didn''t want to wrestle with whatever had cracked open its torso and slurped out the insides.


    My little friends swarmed forward and all over the corpse, followed by a roar that had the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.


    Something rose from the monster''s emptied shell and took a swipe at one of the saurians who neatly dodged the attack. Unbothered, the saurian bit into the dead giant¡¯s flesh and started to feast.


    The saurians kept dodging the slow monster that had declared the corpse as its shelter, showing the creature no respect at all.


    This new monster was too slow to do anything to my saurians, but it had been birthed directly from hell in my eyes.


    The creature''s head was strangely warped and covered by a multitude of eyes. Some pitiful tufts of hair remained of what was likely a neat haircut just hours ago. Human skin had turned to pallid chitin. Only the joints remained fleshy. The arms were warped and twisted. It looked like they had been in the process of transforming into something else and then decided to stop. Even more disconcerting was the shredded prisoner''s garb that still covered the mutant in some places.


    ¡°We should have dropped that satellite onto their research facilities,¡± I muttered as I stared at what had been one of my fellow exiles just yesterday.


    My throat felt dry as I raised the spear in my hand.


    The creature saw me and roared again, showing no sign of human intellect.


    It jumped out of the cavernous husk and rushed towards me. The lower jaw split, revealing a set of mandibles that didn''t look friendly.


    My hand blurred as it launched the spear.


    It was almost impossible to miss with my attacker¡¯s straightforward approach. The weapon flew true and struck the mutant''s upper torso.


    Wood proved to be no contest against hardened chitin and the weapon split. A larger splinter was deflected upwards and impaled the mutant''s less protected throat, while most of the spear harmlessly bounced off sideways.


    The creature gurgled as green blood spewed forth from the wound, but it kept coming.


    I didn''t think.


    I just grabbed another spear that was attached to my backpack by a lighter cord and ripped it free. Using the same accelerated movement that helped with throwing, I brought it around, swinging it like a baseball bat!


    There was another ''crack!'' as the mutant''s head whipped around at an odd angle. The force of the blow sent the creature tumbling off course, which allowed me to sidestep it. It still hit me with one of its deformed arms, driving the air out of me.


    Thankfully, whatever mutation the creature was undergoing wasn¡¯t finished. The knobby appendages hadn¡¯t fully transformed into the sharp weapons of its larger counterpart.


    Gurgling, it fell and continued flailing on the ground.


    I recovered from the unintended blow and stepped forward. Then I adjusted the grip on my stick and made the most out of its reach as I brought it down on the mutant several times. At last, the strong chitin on its head cracked open, allowing a white mass to spill out.


    It finally stilled.


    The last blow had also finished off my second spear, which left me with four more serviceable ones.


    I spit and threw the broken remains to the side. Not even driving a stake through someone''s eyeball compared to this world''s goriness.


    Using my ability so many times in direct succession had taxed me heavily and the muscles in my arms ached, so I took a moment to have a breather.


    Maybe it would have been more effective to electrocute the thing to death. My new electric ability would have definitely bypassed that armour.


    But I did not want to touch the creature. Almost kissing an eel would haunt my nightmares for weeks to come. There was no need to add Frankenstein''s Praying Mantis to that imagery.


    The tension left me when some of the saurians started picking at the corpse. If I had learned one thing so far, then it was that they wouldn''t touch living things, so I relaxed a little.


    I nonetheless retrieved another one of my spears to have it ready at hand. This time without ripping the cord. On my path ahead, I would have to look out for some straight branches to replace the two spears that I had lost just now.


    I didn''t look forward to that!


    Making a primitive spear with a sharp stone was time-intensive. Chipping through the wood of a decently sized branch took half an hour without my ability and sharpening it properly required even more time.


    Not that having a sharp point on my projectile had helped me in this particular case.


    Maybe I should just look for the sturdiest piece of wood that I could find and caveman the shit out of the next monster that tried to kiss me.


    In the aftermath, I didn''t even try to gather Mantis meat, but I managed to break off some pointy bits of its chitin, which provided me with a set of natural daggers.


    The saurians could have all the meat they wanted from that one if it turned people into mutants!


    I narrowed my eyes as I remembered the doctor warning us away from eating insects once we arrived... because adding their DNA first was problematic... or something like that.


    My eyes wandered to the mutant and then to the tyranno-mantis. ¡°Nah! He couldn''t have meant that. Right? He definitely didn''t mean that!¡± Then I realized that I hadn''t noticed anything that would count as a bug in this world.


    Fuuuck.


    After a decent pause, wondering whether the tyranno-mantis was this world¡¯s version of an insect, I continued on my path through the woods, hoping I had packed enough eel-meat for the trip. How long it would remain safe to eat?


    Suddenly, my worries weren''t just about getting eaten by something. They were also about eating something that turned me into a fucked up mutant.


    Well, I probably was already a fucked up mutant, but not as fucked up as the guy who had eaten the mantis and I wanted it to stay that way!


    Things got a little more interesting in the evening.


    I encountered something stomping through the underbrush, but I didn¡¯t bother to stop just to check what it was. Having seen the tyranno-mantis, I decided that I didn''t want to tangle with whatever had made the noise.


    Hence, I quickly hid in a tree after having fled in the opposite direction. With the sun already setting, I decided to stay there for the night.


    Like the night before, the flock of saurians settled in around me, greedily staring at the food I had brought with me.


    I had wrapped the eel sushi in large leaves, hoping to keep it as fresh as possible in this environment. Nonetheless, I anticipated to suffer from diarrhea after the flesh had ripened for a day, only protected by the banged-up crate I had revitalized as a backpack.


    To my great surprise, the eel meat had dried and tasted even better than when it was fresh. The fishy taste was gone and had been replaced by a slightly sweet flavour that had me salivating.


    I wondered what that was about.

 Ch 07 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Astra Frost***


    I groggily opened one eye, still feeling a little spent after yesterday. Braving the forest alone wasn''t something that should be taken lightly, even for people who had lived in this world for most of their lives.


    Sadly, spending the night in supposed safety hadn''t been exactly restful. Alarms had gone off four or five times throughout the night as some very stubborn critter tried to force its way into the bunker. But the combined forces of several strong warriors repelled the creature each time.


    The safety of the bunker was a matter that all the clans were interested in, and so there was always at least one capable person on watch. Though, that didn''t mean I hadn''t woken up each time they activated that damned siren. Full of adrenaline, I rushed out of my room, again and again, to check whether my help was needed.


    Moaning, I rolled out of bed and flopped onto the floor of my little, spartan room. It offered barely any comfort aside from the bed itself, but that was more than most exiles would ever get.


    The cold concrete greeted me on the ground. It was always a good way to get me going in the early morning hours.


    Grumbling, I stayed down until I couldn''t stand the cold any longer.


    So I got to my feet and untangled my filaments. They had the uncanny tendency to move on their own when I slept, and come morning, I had to suffer the joy of untangling them. They were attached to the back of my neck and ran all the way down my spine ¨C which could get problematic at times.


    Normally, sorting them out took me just a few seconds. But today, I had somehow gotten a nasty knot right between my shoulder blades. Groggy as I was, I spent at least five minutes getting that taken care of, one filament after the other because my brain simply couldn''t handle more. And I had over a hundred of them, each between ten and thirty metres long.


    Once I had taken care of the worst of it, I slowly intertwined them over my body to create the illusion of clothing.


    Today, I created a skin-tight suit that covered me from the shoulders down to my toes. To add a little variety, I touched myself up with a split skirt and a double-layered cloak which took care of all the excess filaments still left over.


    I placed my hands on my hips and studied myself proudly in the mirror. If I went out like this, nobody would even think about calling me a monster. This getup had the style of a queen!


    My feelings promptly shone through which involuntarily had my filaments glow a little brighter, making me shine like some deep-sea jellyfish. The luminescent markings on my skin flared, adding to the ambience. I rubbed at the ones underlining my eyes like makeup gone overboard.


    That brought me back to reality.


    I sighed and forcefully controlled my emotions. Once my colourful outburst was under control, I allowed my clothes to sag a little in all the wrong places, making my figure look ungainly and malformed. This may seem strange to someone who hadn''t lived in my shoes, but there was a method to the madness.


    Once I was sure I would no longer attract certain men like shit does flies, I left my room to look for breakfast.


    There were three ways people would react to someone like me ¨C a person who had a little more radical mutation than was normal.


    First, and most common, were those who went apeshit once they saw the ''tentacles''. They would think of me as yet another monster, followed by them doing something stupid. This was why I avoided using my filaments¡¯ full capabilities while I was among people.


    Then there were those who ignored my uniqueness and tried to woo me, mainly because they wanted a ticket out of the Old Camp. They nonetheless thought of me as a monster.


    And finally, there were the creeps. Those who were genuinely attracted to me, for whatever reason. Or those who simply wanted me for my power and nothing else. Sadly, I had noticed the hard way during my early adulthood that ninety-nine per cent of those types had a few screws loose.


    Hence my decision to give up on something like love and to choose my partner purely with rationality and survival in mind. The gods knew I would need every scrap of power once I officially ascended the clan¡¯s ranks further and got to my parents'' level.


    I reached the common room and helped myself to some broth that one of my peers had left steaming in a pot. It was a common ritual for most of the people who belonged to our clan to eat together in the morning before they went out to do whatever they had planned for the day.


    Since I had slept in, I had missed the others.


    ¡°I have to get going, or will be late,¡± I mumbled to myself and spooned the food into my mouth as fast as I could.


    Once I was done, I deposited my plate with the used dishes and headed out. On the way, I greeted the lone guard who kept watch on the entrance to our section of the bunker.


    Outside, I walked directly to the arena where people without affiliations could demonstrate their merits. On my way there, I noticed the camp had already been reclaimed by the common people. The guards likely had already driven out the last of the creatures which had made their way over the walls during the night.


    I returned my attention to my goal and headed to the table where the arena organizer had made himself comfortable.


    ¡°Gurney, how is it going?¡± I said and raised a hand in greeting.


    ¡°Well enough,¡± he harrumphed. ¡°The thing that bothered the bunker last night broke into one of the common shelters and took all of its inhabitants. Ten people, and four of them owed me goods. Couldn¡¯t you guys have just killed the beast so that it wouldn¡¯t search for easier prey?¡±


    I smiled and decided saying nothing was the best course of action. Defending the bunker was one thing. Running out into the night after some alpha predator to fight it on its own terms, that was an entirely different pair of shoes.


    Safety was relative in this world.


    Pointing that out to Gurney wouldn¡¯t tell him anything new, so I kept silent.


    He was a rotund man, but that didn''t make him less dangerous than the average exile. He had gained a very powerful strength evolution. That alone would probably allow him to join a clan if he ever wished to, but he happened to have another high-quality sensory ability on top. Some women would take him for his abilities alone. Hell, some of the lesser clans might take him for his abilities'' sake.


    But for some reason, he preferred to stay in the Old Camp, doomed to never achieve more strength while playing the arena organizer.


    It wasn''t as if the job didn''t come without benefits, like the backing of all the clans who wished him to stay neutral. He could probably live a better life than the average person who got exiled to this nightmare of a planet.


    Once he was over his misgivings, he looked up at me with a more business-oriented expression. ¡°Astra, same old question?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Anyone new?¡±


    Gurney sighed and shook his head, but he searched through a stack of handwritten papers only he knew the order to. ¡°You have to lower your requirements, girl. There just isn''t something like a perfect match when it comes to things like these. Ever thought of taking someone just because you like them?¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I wrinkled my nose. ¡°Haven''t I explained myself often enough? I don''t want to just survive in this world. I want to thrive-¡±


    ¡°And for that, you need a partner who complements your evolution,¡± Gurney quoted me.


    We had this discussion so many times and it felt like a tradition by now.


    ¡°If you ask me, by limiting our nanotech, those fucked up scientists just made it all the more impossible to survive in this world. Why put a hard limiter on the number of evolutions we can get? And then they go and make the only way to unlock your full potential to get it on with someone of the other gender. It makes no sense.¡±


    He was ranting, but that was normal for him.


    Gurney pulled four sheets of paper from the stack. ¡°There we have them. Already copied and marked with their fighting times. One new exile made it through the woods. One guy who lived through the last season in the Old Camp, but didn''t apply for a spot in the clans. And two youngsters from Clan Hochberg and Thich who wish to try their luck somewhere else.¡±


    I took the papers. ¡°I suppose the scientists limited our evolutions because the further we deviate from each other, the less likely it is for us to be able to have children. If they allow each of us to gain some power on our own, and then blend the genes of two partners, it''s much more likely that... it works... out¡­ between... Don''t look at me like that.¡±


    He shook his head once I had realized he wasn¡¯t interested in me holding a sermon.


    I quickly excused myself and headed into the arena, practically fleeing the scene. It was uncanny, but Gurney was one of the very few residents of the Old Camp who could actually intimidate me.


    Yeah, well, there was that, and he was the arena organizer, someone whose good side I wanted to stay on at all costs. I just wanted to know why he always got so angry when someone talked about the nanotech¡¯s partnering system. Normally, I was good with people, but Gurney¡¯s misgivings eluded me.


    It wasn¡¯t like we could escape the hard facts.


    I reached the natural grove around the central battleground and used the filaments that made up my cloak to latch onto one of the trees. Then I boosted myself up towards the observation lounges that were reserved for the Aerie clan. They were twenty metres above the ground, but my filaments made the climb easy.


    I also had ensured years ago that one of the best ones was always booked under my name.


    The lounge was personalized to my likings with its own furniture, another sign that my willingness to pilgrimage year after year to the Old Camp had long ago turned into an obsession.


    Thankfully, my lounge hadn¡¯t been defiled by one of the beasts overnight. I took a peek up at the canopy. The trees were massive, rivalling redwoods according to one of the books I had read about Earth.


    Satisfied, I drew up the lounge¡¯s shades and sat down in the woven chair that I had bought on the market. It was just at the right height to allow me a perfect view of the pit which served as the arena¡¯s battleground.


    Some people had made their way to the lower viewing ranks. Their bad equipment marked them as inhabitants of the Old Camp. As far as I knew, their only purpose for being here was to get a kick out of watching the fights and I assumed there was some betting going on even though the clans forbade it.


    Knowing about it, I probably should have put an end to the practice, but I didn¡¯t see the point. If I investigated and punished the organizers, it wouldn¡¯t even take a single season for someone else to pick up the job.


    It was one of those things where the clans officially took the stance of being against it, but didn¡¯t actively enforce their own law. So people did it anyway, following the motto: Where there is no prosecutor, there is no judge.


    There was still a little time until the petitioners would demonstrate their skills.


    I settled in and took a good look at the first sheet of paper. It held a small biography of the candidate, combined with a summary of his abilities and mutations.


    Mark Whetherton was a former bank employee and had been exiled for taking part in a money scheme that cost his entrusted customers millions. I was never sure whether these little background stories could be trusted ¨C since they relied on the exile¡¯s testimony.


    It wasn¡¯t like Earth would give us a neat database with names and a fitting reason for someone being exiled.


    Still, it said something about a person when they decided to share one story or another with Gurney when he took their information.


    Mark had arrived in this world one year ago but hadn¡¯t applied to the arena during the first season. It wasn¡¯t too surprising. Many exiles thought they could make it on their own until they learned the Old Camp was a dead end.


    By not demonstrating his skills in the arena, Mark was forced to hold out for one winter before he got another chance with the clans. It said something about his abilities, since surviving the winter in the Old Camp was harsh.


    There was a good reason why I travelled each year back and forth between the clan-grounds and the Old Camp.


    Sadly, his evolutions didn¡¯t seem to match with mine at all. He had the minor healing that most new exiles got once they ate a starfish. The critters were pests and infested the lake at the men¡¯s arrival point. But the regenerative ability they granted could fix most things in time. So it wasn¡¯t the worst thing to have.


    Another evolution allowed him to spit poison and had his blood turn to acid.


    I considered the benefits of joining with him.


    Best case, I got the ability to deliver poisonous attacks with my filaments.


    Worst case, I would simply get his abilities added to mine, affecting just my main body without the filaments. And since my filaments couldn''t bleed, it would likely be the latter. Anyway, relying on anything which forced me to lose or damage some of my filaments was bad, given their slow growth.


    My fighting style relied strongly on stealth. While hiding my main body, I often relied on my filaments strangling the enemy. So having poisonous spit and acidic blood wouldn¡¯t help me in most cases. Many predators were so powerful that when it came to the point of being discovered, I would likely die before poison or acid could take effect against my enemy. It really depended on whether I could deliver the poison with my filaments.


    Whether or not that was possible was a gamble. One I wasn¡¯t willing to take.


    My filaments were strong enough to contest with a strength-based mutation like Gurney¡¯s, but the rest of my body was fairly weak. Even someone like Roderick could easily snap my neck if he got a hold of my main body.


    Ideally, I would want a partner who provided me with a strong defensive mutation that would guarantee protection for my main body while I used my filaments offensively. Then maybe something that provided utility or more offensive capabilities.


    As good as acidic blood sounded, I found it to be kind of a waste of potential.


    Even with improved healing, shedding your own blood meant that something had injured you. And on Tirnanog, the things that managed to injure an evolved human more often than not could also kill them in one hit.


    And now that I thought about it, shedding my own blood intentionally was an absolute no-go. I couldn''t even count the number of predators that were magically drawn to the scent of blood.


    Lurkers would be drawn from kilometres away if they scented something that smelled like wounded prey. Getting a scratch in their territory meant you had to prepare for waves of attackers until either they expended their last hive-member or you were dead.


    On top, I didn¡¯t care whether my attacker died to poison and acid after eating me.


    Dead was dead.


    I put the first sheet aside for now and turned my attention to the next.


    The first clanner was a similar case to Mark. He provided a pure strength evolution, but his other skills were mediocre at best. Minor healing, same Spiel as before.


    Though, he had a sensory ability that increased his hearing dramatically. Kind of like echolocation. The issue was that my filaments already provided me with something similar. Not so sophisticated, but I would yet again waste some of my potential.


    The second clanner also fell through. He was a pure evasion type with no offence to speak of. He had the ability to camouflage himself by changing the colour of his skin. According to the file, the effect was so sophisticated that he could turn almost invisible.


    Again, I didn¡¯t think I needed to improve on my ability to hide, something that was easy enough in this world¡¯s flora. It would be nice if I got better at it, but it felt like doubling up on a skill I already possessed. Once I found a partner to unlock further evolutions, I could improve that aspect naturally. There was also the downside that this guy offered no offence to speak of.


    Not to mention that joining up with a Thich would result in a political disaster at home.


    I gave the invisibility a few more moments of thought, but the longer I did, the less interesting it appeared. This type of invisibility was purely visual. With the number of sensory abilities, mere camouflage wasn¡¯t going to cut it. Things like thermal vision or even my own mediocre echolocation could defeat such a skill easily enough. And I couldn¡¯t even count the number of exiles whose improved smell would probably allow them to point out an individual¡¯s exact position.


    Both papers went to the side.


    The last one was the newcomer who had survived the trek through the forest. It was immediately clear that he had eaten from the omnieye I had killed to save the group.


    Surprisingly enough, he was one of the few who hadn¡¯t gone insane.


    For some reason, gaining an evolution from an omnieye could have one of two outcomes.


    The most common result was that you mutated into something utterly inhuman and went batshit crazy. I assumed there was something about the omnieye¡¯s DNA which made it incompatible with humans.


    The other possibility was you came out relatively sane at the end, but were turned into a monster. Often enough people ended up with some form of mental malfunction, like heightened aggressiveness, or the inability to cope with the social aspects of human life.


    The clans had researched the problem out of necessity, and it was common knowledge that an evolution should always be started with a lifeform that was preferably not something completely unrelated to human biology. A second criterium was that the lifeform needed to possess some social aspect. Some herd or pack animal was preferable to something that lived most of its life in solitude.


    Many evolutions brought instincts with them that made it easier for the evolved human to use his or her new abilities. This could be a boon or a bane, depending on what you got.


    I sighed dejectedly when I noticed Gurney waddling into the arena, leading two blokes who I assumed to be the two clanners.


    Well, if they weren¡¯t partner material, then they may as well be entertaining.

 Ch 08 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Astra Frost***


    Just as I had anticipated, watching the contestants'' performances didn''t reveal any exceptional partners who would synergize with me.


    Despite that, the duel between the two clanners was slightly surprising to watch.


    The Thich''s camouflage ability was exceptional, allowing him to almost hide in plain sight as long as he didn''t move too fast. There was this slight warping effect when he moved, but once he stood still, he was as close to true invisibility as someone could get!


    His counterpart, the Hochberg, was a powerful strength-type, but not very fast.


    It was a true match of David versus Goliath.


    His speed and flexibility were the only things that saved the Thich as he ran circles through the arena while avoiding his opponent''s clutches. The impressive thing was that the Thich even managed to hide three or four times in plain sight by dodging at an opportune moment and then holding still. The move actually led the spinning Hochberg astray when he lost sight of his enemy for a second.


    Unfortunately for the Thich, the Hochberg wasn''t stupid and started throwing dust around once he got outmanoeuvred. Which quickly ended with the two of them running in circles again.


    It was impressive that the Hochberg needed to do so and I was tempted to spread my filaments just to test my echolocation on the Thich. But that would have certainly unsettled the watching crowd and interfered with the duel, so I refrained from going through with the idea.


    Now that I thought about it, didn¡¯t the Thich have to go commando if he wanted to use his ability? Was it purely skin based? What would happen if it failed? Would the Hochberg be chasing a naked man through the arena?


    I didn¡¯t really want to know the answer, but some dirty part of me wished for such a thing to happen. I wasn''t a saint and appreciated to see some bare skin now and then.


    The crowd on the lower seats wasn''t pleased about the direction the fight had taken. They hadn''t come here to watch two people playing tag with each other. Their desire was blood and entertainment.


    I was of half a mind to chase them out of the arena when some started booing. Likely because the majority of them would lose their bets if this went on.


    Thankfully, Gurney put a stop to their shouting before it could get out of hand.


    The arena wasn''t a place meant for bloodsports.


    Tirnanog was a harsh world. It tested a person''s power and skills every day. Accidents and lethal fights could and would happen in the arena anyway, but Gurney''s primary goal was to show off his charges'' skills. That was what the clans paid him for. If someone''s abilities weren''t meant for trading blows, then that was just as well.


    Despite my distaste for the Thich as a group, I had to admit this guy down there had a good ability.


    The arena ring was a pit about thirty metres in diameter. There was nothing but flat, packed dirt, which should have made it impossible for a person to go through with a pure evasion strategy.


    After ten minutes, Gurney decided to call an end to the match, announcing it as a draw. The Hochberg may not have managed to land a single blow on the Thich, but in turn, the Thich didn''t manage to put a single scratch on the Hochberg.


    I found it to be a fair decision.


    Next was Mark Whetherton who had to fight an anape, a gorilla-like creature with sharp claws. It had probably been caught by a hunting party to use it in the arena.


    Mark fought with poisoned arrows and a bow. His sole strategy was to use his poison and rely on distance. It was probably a very valid technique in the wilds, but in the arena, he had trouble pulling it off. The fight lasted less than five minutes until the poison took effect, but during that time Mark actually struggled to survive.


    I had been right that his acidic blood wasn''t something to be relied upon in actual combat. If Mark wanted to make use of it, he needed someone with an extremely powerful healing ability to choose him.


    That wasn''t me.


    Then it was the new exile''s turn. His opponent was another anape.


    The man who had actually survived eating the omnieye was a sun-darkened mountain of muscles. Additional eyes had grown on the centre of his forehead and the sides of his temples, giving him almost 360 degrees of vision. Something that looked like armoured plates shifted in a disturbing way beneath his skin and a set of chitinous spikes emerged from his elbows, turning his arms into nasty weapons.


    I stopped paying attention to the fight as soon as I saw his mutations. There was no way I was going to deal with that on top of my filaments!


    My gaze wandered astray until I happened to notice someone was looking at me.


    Or rather, was inspecting my lounge. I didn''t believe she could see me behind the shaders.


    Ivonne was glaring towards me with an expression of such livid hatred that I was tempted to dodge the death stare. Something had her really riled up.


    Was it about my interference with the negotiations yesterday when it was supposed to be Thalia alone? Yes, I had turned the narrative against the Thich, but they had it coming. One clan just couldn''t hog all the female exiles Earth sent to us.


    It would have been just a question of time until the others were annoyed enough to stand up against it.


    This couldn''t be solely about us taking the two girls, could it?


    Then Ivonne looked away and steeled her expression.


    I promised myself to make sure I would always have my back to a wall when Ivonne was nearby. That expression had promised a long-lasting grudge.


    The sun reached its zenith in the sky when Gurney finally decided to call it a day and announced that the arena would close for today.


    I had kept an eye on Ivonne''s lounge, wondering whether she had just looked in my direction by accident. Maybe she had been livid about something else.


    But no, that didn''t sound right to me. I had been coming to the Old Camp ever since I was old enough to do so. Everyone knew exactly where my lounge was, meaning that glare wasn''t an accident.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    At the very least, Ivonne had thought about something related to my clan when she looked at my lounge.


    I stayed in my seat until I was sure I wouldn''t run across any Thich upon leaving the arena. Then I departed, heading for the market to spend the rest of the day perusing for goods.


    The Old Camp wasn''t the wealthiest of places, but I had found one or two treasures over the years. Sometimes, an exile got lucky and stumbled over a discarded piece of technology from Earth that was still working.


    Like the old music player I had found two years ago. It was compatible with the solar panels at the Aerie compound. So I had immediately snatched it up and transported it with enough care to make my parents think I had found something which increased a person''s evolutionary potential.


    I wistfully remembered the music, but I never dared to transport the music player since then. It was safe in my quarters back home and it would stay that way.


    My search of the market stalls didn''t bring up anything of interest today.


    There was this one case of a vendor trying to sell me an old battery. But it was in such a bad state that I didn''t believe it to be salvageable. The price was also ruinous, even to someone like me.


    I left him sitting on the thing, not believing he would get it sold if he didn''t lower his expectations.


    Working devices from Earth were almost priceless ever since the colonization efforts had been stopped. Tirnanog just didn''t have the chance to build the necessary infrastructure before the supply chain was cut.


    Once I had read up on the matter, it was of no surprise to me. Modern technologies just relied on too many different resources, like metals, salts and other elements. Unless you hit the jackpot and found a location that provided everything in abundance, it was impossible to start the necessary industry to become self-sufficient.


    The reality was that humanity would have had to colonize a sizeable part of Tirnanog to gain access to these resources. That meant an enormous investment of resources before the colonists'' tech base would become self-sustainable. Because just like on Earth, not every metal deposit was conveniently located in the same place.


    And Tirnanog''s fauna and flora did a pretty good job at preventing the early settlers from doing so. There was just no other way for humans to survive than to dig a deep hole and bunker down. And against certain predators not even that worked.


    Once the sun threatened to settle beneath the mountains, people began to pack up their things and retreat to whatever hidey-hole they had made for themselves.


    I also returned to the bunker and settled down for the night.


    This time, I had a blessedly uninterrupted sleep until someone knocked on my door.


    I cracked an eye open and saw some rays of sunlight filtering through the very small and heavily reinforced window that my room came with. Normally, it wouldn''t have been enough to light up the room, but Tirnanog''s bright sun created just the right lighting conditions for an unenhanced human. Hence, the bunker''s architects saw no reason for bigger windows.


    Thanks to the uninterrupted sleep it felt like I had just lied down a moment ago.


    ¡°Mh...¡± I didn''t get up, but I used one of my filaments to open the door just a crack. If this wasn''t something important, then I would have no bad conscience about sleeping in.


    Thalia used the chance to barge into my room!


    ¡°Wakey! Wakey!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I turned around and covered my head with my pillow.


    Thanks to my echolocation, I knew exactly what Thalia was doing when she spread her wings and used them to fan cold air all over me. Since she had thrown the door wide open, it was coming into the room from outside. She knew exactly what got me going in the morning.


    ¡°What!?¡± I turned around and threw the pillow right into her face.


    Which she took stoically.


    ¡°You have to get up.¡± She bent down with a grin and took the pillow, then threw it back at me. ¡°Guess what. I heard Roderick came back during the night. After he didn''t return the night before I seriously thought he became firehorn poop.¡±


    ¡°What do I care about Roderick?¡± I asked grumpily.


    Even if I was properly awake now, it didn''t mean I was happy about being woken up in this manner for nothing. ¡°I mean, he could have gotten eaten for all I care, but I won¡¯t deliberately go out of my way to kill him. He betrayed my trust, but being chased by a firehorn for two nights should be enough of a punishment.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. It''s not about that.¡± Thalia patted a device she had hanging next to her hip, a camera. It was her most prized possession.


    ¡°We have to go and record this moment in history because rumours say the firehorn got in a lick or two.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I frowned, understanding nothing. Maybe I wasn¡¯t as awake as I thought.


    ¡°He had a little bath in its flames,¡± Thalia clarified. ¡°It scorched off all his hair, including the eyebrows.¡± She wiggled hers. ¡°And then he took a dive into firehorn poop to get rid of his scent trail!¡±


    I pulled a face at the thought. Firehorn excrements were like a chemical weapon. They stank so much, that most beasts immediately vacated the area. Not to mention getting any of it onto your skin. The stuff was corrosive and the smell lingered days after.


    There was this unpleasant memory of my dad taking me out as a child. And then I stepped¡­


    Yeah.


    I didn¡¯t need to be reminded of that.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Thalia gestured for me to get up. ¡°Roderick is an extremely powerful regenerator. There is no telling when his hair will decide to grow back!¡±


    I got to my feet with a sigh and untangled my filaments. Then I quickly changed my underwear and formed my filaments into the same set of clothes I had gone with yesterday.


    ¡°That just makes me so envious, you know that,¡± Thalia commented while she led the way through the bunker.


    ¡°It¡¯s my woe and my bane,¡± I replied with a smirk.


    ¡°And it¡¯s a waste on you because you have no imagination,¡± Thalia continued. ¡°You have literally three, maybe four different styles and that¡¯s it. And why always a cloak?¡±


    I stopped smiling. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s enough. There are only so many ways to use up my filaments if I don¡¯t want to disturb people with questing tentacles.¡±


    Thankfully, Thalia let it go and we quickly grabbed a bite to eat. This time together with the rest of the clan.


    Liam, our doctor, was still taking care of the two kids we had ended up with. They looked a little better than yesterday, but I knew better than to pry for what was obvious.


    Thalia and I continued and left the bunker.


    She spread her wings and took off into the air as soon as we were in the open. I was forced to follow with my awkward sea star technique.


    My friend took the lead and had no trouble guiding us directly to Roderick thanks to her tracking skill.


    Less than ten minutes later, we landed on the rooftop of a house next to the market.


    Roderick was sitting at an open food store and looking pissed. His high-quality clothes were gone, but he still had that crate he got from Earth. Instead, he was wearing the simplest of robes.


    Normally, I wouldn''t have been interested in seeing someone with his mutations naked, but Thalia had been right. The fact that all of his hair was gone made him look ridiculous. Like a chicken without feathers.


    Add to that the little issue of his smell and I couldn''t hold back from smirking while Thalia took the first photo.


    People who were unlucky enough to walk downwind from Roderick actually pulled faces and changed the side of the street they were walking on. The store owner was looking very pissed and was trying to kill Roderick with his glares.


    It was no surprise because Roderick chased away any other customers with his smell.


    Sadly, the owner didn¡¯t dare to chase the huge man away.


    A commotion distracted me and I looked towards the wall where the guards were hollering and cheering.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Thalia asked.


    I pointed towards the wall. ¡°It¡¯s the guards. Something is up.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look.¡± Thalia secured her camera. ¡°I have obtained all the remembrance I need.¡±


    ¡°Just what did Roderick do to you?¡± I asked. ¡°Usually, you aren¡¯t hounding others like that.¡±


    Thalia didn¡¯t reply and took off into the air, heading for one of the guard towers.


    All I could do was follow her.


    Less than a minute later, we landed on the roof of the guard tower to watch what had the guards so riled up.


    An exile was running over the intentionally cleared area between the Old Camp and the forest border. He still had about 500 metres to go, but he was being chased by a group of gutters. They had earned their name because they really liked to gut their prey, eat the innards, and leave the rest for carrion eaters to take care of.


    The creatures looked adorable from afar. Like little white Persian cats that had enough hair to make them look round.


    In reality, the beasts were two to three metres in height and had one large retractable claw on each paw. Their long snouts with several rows of teeth also made them look more similar to hounds. And I knew from experience the damned fur was extremely tough to get through. Crafters really liked to use it as armour padding for additional protection.


    ¡°Wow! Run Forrest! Run!¡± Thalia exclaimed, cheering with the guards. ¡°I have never seen someone run so fast. Could be one of the new exiles. If so, then he took one night longer than necessary.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Yeah, though it''s impressive. I doubt many can keep up with a gutter on foot. The things are faster than they have any right to be. But I am worried about his sanity. Why is he laughing? Maybe he broke out there. Some just can¡¯t deal with this world.¡±


    ¡°Who cares!¡± Thalia kept cheering. ¡°Forrest!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this about a forest?¡± I asked, confused about what a running man had to do with a forest. Or did she want him to turn around? That would be just mean!


    ¡°An old movie,¡± came the reply.


    I shrugged and joined the cheers.


    After all, the guy was fast.

 Ch 09 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Forest***


    ***Magnus***


    The next morning brought a pleasant surprise with it. When I awoke in the treetops, I saw what the dimming light had hidden from me the previous day.


    Civilization!


    In the distance, I could clearly see an impressive wall of at least forty metres in height. Someone had used the enormous trees of this world to build a wooden fort! Something else caught my eye. It was a grove of enormous trees which did a good job at dwarfing redwoods. It looked like it originated directly from within the settlement.


    If I had pushed myself a little harder yesterday, I would already be over there and in safety.


    Moving quickly, I packed up my rope and got my gear ready. Then I climbed down the tree and watered it as a thank you gift for keeping me safe during the night.


    Then I was on my way, moving with vigour through the forest.


    Knowing my ultimate goal was so close, I totally overlooked the fact my little saurians were gone until it was almost too late. I realized something was up when the forest turned eerily silent around me. Normally, you could hear the cries of one animal or another, but my surroundings were suddenly quiet.


    Then I noticed that my little friends had bidden me farewell.


    I activated my second sight and searched my surroundings. Thanks to that, I was already in the process of readying my spear when a white fluffball appeared from the thick brushwood less than twenty meters away from me. The creature was large, but it looked adorable with its huge, round eyes.


    Maybe people would call me a monster for trying to kill such an innocent-looking creature, but I was fed up with the flora and fauna of this world. Everything I had met so far had tried to kill me. Except for the saurians, but they didn¡¯t count.


    My spear was already flying before the creature had noticed me, landing point-blank in its fluffy chest. The shaft snapped in the middle and was stuck, still quivering from the force of my throw.


    The fluffball stared in stunned shock at the wooden stick which had dared to ruffle its fur.


    Seeing that wooden sticks were no contest against fluffball fur, I was already running with all my might towards what could only be the Old Camp.


    One could say I was a wise person and wanted to avoid a fight in which I was clearly the underdog. Well, maybe that was the case, but several more energy signatures that I had seen wavering behind the fluffball had convinced me this wouldn¡¯t be a fair fight.


    The fluffball¡¯s bellow of outrage assured me a few moments later that it was calling for its family.


    Since my quick decision to run for the hills had bought me a few seconds worth of a head-start, I dared to throw a look at my pursuers.


    More than ten fluffballs were bouncing over hill and dale after me. Their paws had revealed sharp claws which were more than a match for Utah-raptors and their maws had a few more rows of teeth than was biologically necessary in my opinion.


    That had me turn my attention back to my goal and run even faster. I wanted to scream for help, but arriving at the Old Camp while screaming like a bitch would have probably ruined my social chances.


    So I decided to hide my fear of the creatures with insanity.


    ¡°Ha! Hahahaha!¡± I ran like a madman, laughing about the fact that I could actually run faster than them. Nonetheless, my legs kept pumping like crazy.


    Behind me, I heard the frustrated snarls coming from the pack of monsters. They were after me like crazed fluffballs, but couldn¡¯t catch up. Two-meter-sized fluffballs, more fur than creature, with huge claws. And if I had seen correctly, then the leader scratched on the three-meter mark.


    The monsters were relentless, showing no sign of getting tired, but the wall was already within sight.


    To my great displeasure, the bastards who were manning the wall found my plight to be funny. As soon as they noticed me, they started cheering as if they were watching a race!


    I concentrated on breathing correctly and put more effort into moving my legs.


    Unfortunately for me, it looked like my muscles weren''t built for long-distance sprints. I felt the ache in my feet. My lungs were burning while my heartbeat hammered in my ears, but I had to keep going.


    I activated all of my reserves and abandoned my improvised rucksack, figuring my meagre belongings weren¡¯t worth my life.


    ''More! Just a little more!'' I told myself while my body screamed its dissatisfaction.


    The wall was so close and I started to get tunnel vision, but there was a ray of hope!


    The men on the wall were lowering a rope ladder.


    Once I was close enough, I concentrated on charging the muscles in my legs similarly to when I threw something with my arm. Performing the complicated motions necessary for running was currently impossible, but a single jump was well within my capabilities.


    I launched myself upwards and smacked flatly against the wooden wall. The force of the impact drove the air out of me, but I grabbed the rope before I could fall while someone else pulled me up from above.


    Beneath me, I heard the fluffballs¡¯ yips and snarls of anger when spears with real spearheads came raining down around me. Judging by the yowls, they managed to inflict some damage, but my eyes were on the wall¡¯s parapet.


    Then I was finally up and two strong men pulled me over the wall and onto a walkway. ¡°Thhhanks!¡± I wheezed out on the intake of air between hyperventilating breaths. I was so winded that I had to go to my knees and lie down. My body felt like I had taken a bath in battery acid.


    ¡°Hahaha! No problem, Newbie!¡± One of the men slapped me on the chest. ¡°You won me an evening of as much as I can drink! Are¡¯ya from the first batch they sent this season, or have they sent a second already? You are late. Two nights out there is one night too much if you ask me.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to answer, but I nodded and shrugged in reply while I tried to breathe normally.


    ¡°Right. Just catch your breath.¡± The man looked at his comrade. ¡°I will bring him to the registration.¡±


    The other guard grunted. ¡°Just don¡¯t get lost prematurely on the way there. I won¡¯t pay if you leave me hanging for the rest of the shift.¡±


    The friendly guard returned his attention to me. That was apparently all the rest I would get because he bent down and pulled me to my feet. ¡°Simmens is the name, lad.¡±


    I allowed him to pull me up but bristled at being addressed as a ''lad''.


    ¡°Lad? I am thirty-three!¡± I complained while I was being shown towards a ladder which led down into the Old Camp. Which turned out to be a wooden village.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± The guard laughed. ¡°Now you are zero. Zero years of survival in this hell of a world. But what I saw was a good start.¡± He gestured along the walkway towards the ladder. ¡°That''s the way down, lad. Remember for the future, the wall is for the guards alone. If we catch you up here next time, we''ll throw you down the other side.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I replied grumpily and did as instructed. The last two metres on my way down, I tested my finger strength to slide down the ladder.


    It worked perfectly and left me waiting for the guard.


    Following the authorities right after arriving on a supposedly lawless world grated on my nerves, since it simply repeated the same problem I had back on Earth. But there was little choice at the moment. I knew literally nothing about these people.


    The guard, Simmens, arrived and pointed down what looked like the main street. ¡°Follow.¡±


    Then he set a brisk pace that left me almost no time to take in my surroundings. The wooden village was a confusing mixture of medieval necessity and modern considerations. The people were mutants, some as horrific as others were beautiful.


    But aside from that, the people behaved like I would have expected them to. Some were walking towards some unknown goal, paying us no attention. Others were sitting at open restaurants or perusing a merchant¡¯s wares.


    We had gone over fifty metres before I remembered to ask questions. ¡°Could you please tell me what¡¯s going on? Where are we going?¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°No sense in telling you. That''s Gurney''s job,¡± the guard replied. ¡°All the newcomers are taken to Gurney to register. That''s one of the few rules. He will be interested in someone who can outrun gutters.¡±


    ¡°Gutters?¡± I asked, dumbfounded.


    He gestured for me to move faster. ¡°The creatures that were hunting you. We call them gutters because they like to use their claws to rip the intestines out of people. They eat all the organs and leave the rest for the scavengers. Hence, gutters,¡± Simmens explained.


    Maybe gutter was a better name than fluffball.


    I tried to ask a few more questions, but my guide wasn¡¯t very forthcoming with his answers from then on.


    At least I learned that the local money system was based purely on trading goods. Or that the law of the strongest ruled. Which meant people did what the clans wanted.


    Okay. Maybe Simmens wasn¡¯t to blame for me not learning much. Aside from asking questions, I had my hands full with gawking at the townsfolk and the buildings in general.


    Even Simmens had some strange mutation that turned the hair on his head into spikes!


    The buildings created a unique log-house town. Everything was built as sturdy as possible with the available natural materials. Nobody paid us any attention as far as I could tell, though I noticed the population was almost exclusively male. There was also nobody younger than twenty as far as I could see.


    The few times I saw a woman wandering around, I noticed that she was much better dressed than the rest of the townspeople. It either hinted that these clans got supplies from Earth, or that their technology level was higher than that of the Old Camp.


    We eventually reached a plaza.


    It had the first building made out of concrete that I encountered in this world. Sensibly enough, it was a bunker.


    There was also a pond to my left and a grove of gigantic trees to my right. Looking up at the distant canopy, I figured these were the trees I had seen from afar.


    Simmens led me to the grove and I doggedly wandered after him.


    Beneath one of the trees, protected by the shade, a well-fed man sat at a desk with a lot of papers to his left and his right. The fact that he was writing with a quill felt quite quaint to me.


    Simmens gestured at the man. ¡°Newbie, this is Gurney. Gurney, this is a new exile.¡±


    Having done his job, the guard turned around and jogged back the way we had come.


    I looked after him until I was sure he wouldn¡¯t turn back, then turned my attention to this Gurney character.


    The rotund man looked at me and gestured at the chair opposite from him. ¡°Please take a seat. Name?¡±


    Instead of doing as told, I hesitated. ¡°Why do you want my name?¡±


    He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and started to write with perfect letters. ¡°I am Gurney. I am something like an unofficial leader of the Old Camp and I am organizing the arena.¡± He pointed behind himself at the grove. ¡°In reality, I am working for the clans as a lookout for new talents and members. They are paying me well. For that purpose, I keep track of everyone who enters and leaves this place.¡±


    After his obviously rehearsed speech ended, he looked up to me and raised both eyebrows questioningly.


    ¡°Why would I want to register?¡± I kept asking, seeing no point in being hasty about this.


    Gurney sighed. ¡°You have seen the Old Camp on your way here. This place is a garbage dump compared to the clans. It¡¯s a dead end. If you ever want to get out of here, you have to throw in with one of the clans. They won¡¯t accept you otherwise.¡±


    I slowly pulled the chair closer and sat down. ¡°Call me Tulkas.¡± I didn¡¯t want someone to know that Magnus had survived the forest until I was sure my enemies from Earth couldn¡¯t follow me to this place.


    ¡°The last of the Valar that came to Arda?¡± Gurney asked with a doubtful expression and smiled.


    I stiffened, cursing my mistake, but I really hadn¡¯t thought someone would have read that old book.


    ¡°I have read Lord of the Rings.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°Listen, nobody will blame you for what you did back on Earth. Being here is enough punishment. Think of it as a new chance. Nonetheless, the more honest you are with me, the better is your chance at ending up with a clan you can live with.¡± He leaned closer and whispered. ¡°I try my best to send each asshole to a fitting place.¡±


    Gurney nonetheless returned his attention to his paper and wrote down Tulkas as my name.


    ¡°Reason for being here?¡±


    I pressed my lips together and tried to think of something.


    ¡°Listen.¡± Gurney put his quill down when I took too long. ¡°Lie if you must, but try to come up with something fitting you. The people who will read this will decide whether they want you in their clan or not. Maybe I should have explained the process a little better.¡±


    Gurney waved his hand at the grove, or arena, as he called it. ¡°I am... a matchmaking service. To say it in modern-day terms, the easiest way for you to get a clan invitation is to be an attractive partner for one of the clanswomen. They are searching for partners with fitting mutations to gain more power. The other possibility is to have an ability so absurdly useful that they want you for that alone.¡±


    I closed my mouth. A matchmaking service!?


    He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°Do you have such an ability? Like, healing others? Laser eyes that burn all the critters out there to a crisp?¡±


    ¡°I don''t think so?¡± I replied questioningly.


    ¡°Okay! So, if you paid attention, you have already heard this from the fucked up scientists from Earth, but your evolution and power growth will stagnate pretty soon unless you partner up with a woman. Preferably to make a lot of babies!¡±


    Gurney scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I also find their methods abhorrent. It wasn¡¯t me who came up with the system.¡± Then he frowned. ¡°But how do they say? We are the ones who have to deal with the facts? So, are you in or not? You can turn around and see for yourself how you survive. Nothing convinces a man quicker than being on his own for a winter or two¡­ if you make it. Most of the clanspeople go home during the winter, so there is a time limit on this offer.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± I thought quickly. ¡°As long as I can back out if this gets too awkward. My reason for being here is murder then. Because of revenge. Someone got my loved ones killed and I offed them in return. It''s as simple as that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, say no more!¡± Gurney wrote down what I had said. ¡°The girls love nothing more than a good, old revenge story because of love. Give me some skills, education?¡±


    We went through a rapid session of questions about my mundane abilities.


    I had been here and there over the course of my life. The more questionable skills I had acquired during my time with the resistance. I explained them away with military service.


    Like my mediocre combat skills. I had received some training, but with my old body, I had never been able to physically keep up with the professional trainers.


    The thought struck me that this was no longer the case.


    He stopped me when I told him I had studied physics. ¡°You remember anything that helps with getting a real civilisation running? It¡¯s a big bonus point with the clans.¡±


    I pointed out I had read up on ¡®How things work¡¯ before I came here.


    Gurney''s expression was doubtful. ¡°They allowed you to read while you were incarcerated?¡±


    ¡°Revenge murder, remember?¡± I reminded him. ¡°I had a pretty good idea I would land here if I went through with my plan. So I prepared as much as I could.¡±


    He bought the explanation.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Gurney looked up once he had written everything down. ¡°Now to your mutations, which will be the main reason why a clan would invite you. You know how this works?¡± He looked at me. ¡°No, you don¡¯t, it¡¯s written all over your face.¡±


    Gurney rolled his eyes while he gathered his thoughts. ¡°The main reason why the clans are even interested in men ¨C there are way too many of us if you have paid attention on the way to me ¨C is because they need people who are compatible for unlocking their full potential.


    ¡°You will demonstrate your abilities in the arena and the girls will choose you if you impress them. Please remember winning a fight doesn¡¯t mean you get to choose the girl. This isn¡¯t like a stallion claiming a mare. More like a peacock showing off to attract the hens.¡±


    ¡°There is something seriously wrong with your analogies,¡± I commented drily. ¡°Are we animals?¡±


    ¡°In this world, we are! Prey animals,¡± Gurney replied with more cheer than I found warranted.


    ¡°Our possible mutations are capped until we team up with a member of the other sex,¡± Gurney explained. ¡°It¡¯s something those sickos back on Earth did to ensure that we breed. So as long as you haven¡¯t found ¡®your other half¡¯ you will forever be weaker than someone who has.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I replied slowly. ¡°They already hinted at something like that.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with basic knowledge. One perk of being one of my charges is that you get exclusive access to my experience. I am no scientist, but I can tell you what turns you into a mindless monster under guarantee. I can prevent you from making a grave mistake that kills you outright. Or to stop you from ending up in an evolutionary dead end.¡±


    That reminded me of the bug-mutant I had encountered in the woods. ¡°I think I know what you are talking about.¡±


    I gave him a short recount of the experience.


    Maybe trying my luck with Gurney wasn¡¯t the worst of ideas. If I understood correctly, then I didn¡¯t have much freedom for mistakes by ¡®testing¡¯ different evolutions. ¡°It would be nice to know what¡¯s safe to eat. On the way here, I refused an easy meal after seeing what it did to that other exile.¡±


    Gurney nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s see. Mind you, I''m no scientist, this is just a personal theory of mine based on what I have seen from all the people I interviewed.¡±


    He quickly drew a table with ten entries onto my paper. ¡°Before we partner up, we have a capability of ten evolution points before our nanotech decides to conk out. Some people have more, some less. But ten points is a safe assumption.¡±


    Gurney placed a hand on a stack of papers. ¡°I have catalogued every mutation I came across and weighed its severity from one to four. There are minor ones like heightened senses, and major ones that do something drastic to your body.¡± He pinched the fat on his belly, indicating it was something special.


    ¡°First, food. If you don¡¯t want an evolution, boil the shit out of everything you eat. An hour at least. That should deteriorate the DNA enough so that the nanotech can¡¯t use it anymore. Or eat stuff that you already ate. It improves the abilities you already have.¡±


    I pulled a face. Boiled meat was the greatest culinary sin I could think of.


    ¡°Then, doubling up on evolutions, don¡¯t do that. Ever!¡± Gurney made a cutting motion with his hand. ¡°To take the example of your eyes, don¡¯t eat anything that adds a heat-vision mutation. Different mutations to the same body part and people go bonkers! If it doesn¡¯t turn you into a mindless beast outright. It¡¯s like trying to write a second piece of code over an existing one and mixing both of them in the process! What you will end up with ninety-nine per cent of the time is something that doesn¡¯t work. At all!¡±


    ¡°How do you mean that?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my eyes?¡±


    ¡°I bet you ate nightstalker. Have seen it before.¡± Gurney pulled a small mirror from his chest pocket and polished it. Then he showed me.


    I looked and froze at what I saw. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t freak out like when I had noticed the additional muscles.


    My eyes glowed faintly blue.


    And then there was the strange, teardrop-shaped, reddish discolouration of my skin beneath my eyes. Right on my cheekbones, and a thin outlier ran to my temples and disappeared right behind my ears.


    Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t as fucked up as many of the other mutations I had seen. Slowly, I raised my hand and touched the reddish spot beneath my right eye. It felt normal, which explained why I hadn¡¯t noticed it up until now. There were few mirrors in the forest. Maybe I could have seen it in the lake¡¯s water, but there had never been the right conditions for it.


    I activated my second sight and the spots opened like a second pair of glowing eyes. Only that everything happened beneath my skin! The white of my eyes also slid away to the sides, revealing the faint glow-effect in full!


    That caused me to jump out of my chair.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I exclaimed and switched off my second sight. Then I rubbed at my face, wishing I hadn¡¯t seen that.


    ¡°Definitely nightstalker,¡± Gurney commented and put the mirror away.


    I settled back down, doing much better than when I had noticed the muscles. That had me hitting myself as if I desired self-mutilation. ¡°Fine.¡±


    Gurney returned his attention to the paper. ¡°So, going above ten points is a high risk, but possible if you decide to take the chance. The more you add, the higher the risk of fucking up. And if you go higher, you will for sure encounter the cap I spoke about. At least once that happens you won''t have to worry about your food. Small things are one point. Stuff that affects the whole body takes two. And there are some mutations I deem as three, but that¡¯s experience-based only. Most first mutations give you a little extra and have to be weighted more heavily. If you tell me what you have, I can go through my lists and check. Together, we will figure this out. No worries.¡±

 Ch 10 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    I slowly recounted the story of my arrival. Gurney''s expression turned contemplative when I mentioned the mystery meat and the little saurian''s tail, but he listened carefully and didn''t interrupt me a single time. Further into the story, I could tell my vendetta with the eels was of much less interest to him than the beginning of the tale. Finally, I finished with my arrival at the Old Camp.


    ¡°That''s a story,¡± Gurney said once I was done. ¡°And you are one hell of a lucky boy. An almost a blank slate with no wasted evolutions to boot! If we don''t mess up your setup, you should have a straight shot at one of the clans. Just don''t forget your good, old Gurney once you rise through the ranks of power.¡± He winked at me.


    ¡°Let''s start with the easy things first.¡± He interlaced his fingers on top of his belly and leaned back, making the chair creak.


    ¡°Thankfully, the mystery meat is an easy-to-solve riddle,¡± he started. ¡°That was nightstalker, a predator which hunts during the night. It''s responsible for what happened to your eyes. You should be able to sense energy signatures or magnetic fields. I am not really versed in the details, since I only got recounts from other exiles with the same mutation. If you ever figure out the exact nature of your ability, please share it with me.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°The other one easy to solve is the starfish, or eels, as you called them. It''s a fairly common mutation among the exiles and should grant you a slow healing factor.¡± He gestured his chin towards the wound on my forearm. The scabs had fallen off during the day and revealed new, white skin. It was still a little tender, though.


    ¡°A minor evolution. Which isn''t to say it''s a bad evolution. Many exiles get it intentionally once they learn of it. The starfish are like... hmm. You said I should stop with the analogies. But let''s say that you can recover from almost anything, given enough time. It''s by no means the fastest regeneration ability. But cut off something and it will grow back as long as you don''t die from blood loss. Like an axolotl.¡±


    He gestured at my wound. ¡°You were lucky you ate the starfish afterwards. Otherwise, the wound might have festered and you would have died.¡±


    I swallowed involuntarily. ¡°I thought the nanotech did that.¡±


    Gurney laughed. ¡°The bastards from Earth giving us more help than necessary? Cut that out of your head, Tulkas.¡±


    He returned to seriousness. ¡°Which gets us to the interesting part. Those little saurians you described were zippers, but I haven''t heard of anyone ever eating one for a primary mutation. They are fast like hell and avoid large groups of enemies. And when one of them dies, they pretty much immediately cannibalize the corpse like little piranhas. So we will need to figure out what you got from eating one. One obvious thing is your muscles. Can you electrocute too?¡±


    I contemplated whether I should reveal everything, but it didn''t appear like Gurney would gain anything from messing up my evolutions. He was literally paid to find the best candidates for the clans. His excessive documentations also made it unlikely that he had lied about that.


    In the end, I opted to be mostly truthful but to downplay my ability to call down Thor''s thunder.


    I explained how my new body increased my strength and speed and demonstrated it by flashing my arm around, explosively displacing the air. Then I created some lightning arcs between my thumb and index finger, which got Gurney a lot more interested.


    Once I finished, he stared at the table that he had drawn onto my file, mumbling to himself, ¡°This is actually pretty good. If we do things right, I could finally get rid of her...¡±


    ¡°Get rid of who?¡± I asked and narrowed my eyes.


    ¡°Nothing!¡± Gurney coughed and picked up his quill.


    He stretched out his hand. ¡°Shake. I want to see how strong you are. Just don''t shock me, or you might end up with broken fingers.¡±


    Understanding his intention, I took his hand and squeezed. When he didn''t seem bothered, I squeezed some more and then put real effort into it. Gurney didn''t even blink until I supercharged my muscles.


    That got him to squeeze back and almost crush my hand in the process.


    He nodded, satisfied, and let go of me.


    Which left me rubbing a hand that felt like it had been almost crushed. If my ability turned my muscles into a loaded spring, then Gurney was a bench vice! Slow and steady made the race in this case.


    ¡°First, we have Lesser Regeneration from a starfish and Second Sight from a nightstalker. Those are both minor mutations, each worth one point. Then we have your zipper evolution, which the nanotech apparently took as your first primary mutation. You certainly remember me mentioning that the first one often gives more. We call that primary. It sounds like you got a major upgrade from the zipper. I am honestly unsure of how to weigh it in my point system, but I don''t want to lose you to a stupid mistake. Getting you into the arena will certainly gain me a lot of bonus points with the clans! So, we should weigh your zipper upgrade with four points. Maybe even five. I am not sure whether the improved speed and strength can be counted as the same thing.¡±


    He started to make some entries into his table.


    1) Offensive: Medium Strength, Short burst of Greater Strength (Muscle-based, zipper)


    2) Offensive: Major Speed (Muscle-based, zipper)


    3) Offensive: Electric Charge (Muscle-based, zipper)


    4) Defensive: Muscle Steel (Muscle-based, zipper)


    He thought for a moment, then added.


    5) Survival: Carrion Eater (Digestive, zipper)


    ¡°Carrion Eater!?¡± I exclaimed.


    Gurney nodded, not looking up from his paper. ¡°Starfish turn bad really quickly once they are dead. You ate rations a day old and didn''t mention anything about puking out your guts. You certainly got that upgrade too. Quite useful, I might say.¡±


    6) Self-Healing: Lesser Regeneration (starfish)


    7) Sensory Ability: Second Sight (vision-based, nightstalker)


    He studied his table and nodded to himself. ¡°Now we get to the good part where my expertise comes in. We have to figure out which abilities you lack to be exceptional!¡±


    ¡°First, you have to know that your zipper evolutions will either make or break you.¡± Gurney looked at me with a serious expression. ¡°They are half of your skill-set. Without improving them, you will always be mediocre. But if you manage to catch more zippers, you might become the most powerful trainee I ever had.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Those things zapping me won''t be fun at all. But at least I know that a big explosion can get them. I will need every bit of power that I can gather.¡±


    Gurney nodded. ¡°Then we proceed under the assumption that you will get more zippers to improve your core abilities.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°How about something more defensive to round out my build? So far, my skills are very offensive. Is there some mutation like Stone Skin?¡±


    Gurney suddenly screamed at me as if he was a drill instructor with me as his recruit. ¡°Don''t waste my time, stupid idiot! If you want to get yourself killed, you can do it alone!¡±


    ¡°C- calm down.¡± I raised both hands, palms out. ¡°It was just a question.¡±


    Gurney huffed. ¡°I already stopped counting how many idiots got a strength-type mutation and thought to make themselves into tanks by adding shields, carapaces, or sturdier skin. Once you improve your muscles, there comes a point at which the rest of your body just can''t keep up anymore. Your muscles rip themselves free of the tendons or they crush your bones once you over-exert yourself.


    ¡°I have seen people getting the most powerful of carapace mutations, bone plates, and the like. The moment they encounter the first predator that gives them a good whack, they are dead once their bones are crushed beneath whatever shield they have. Or maybe their organs are turned to mush by the force of the impact.¡±


    He leaned closer. ¡°Did you already forget me crushing your hand? That wasn''t you being that much weaker than me. That was your bones giving up the ghost. You are very lucky that this muscle mutation of yours apparently distributes the forces and stress over a larger area, or you would have already hit an evolutionary dead end like so many other idiots. But who knows? With how many muscles you have now, maybe it turns out you are more like a squid and no longer need bones?¡±


    I winced and rubbed my hand. ¡°Okay. You have convinced me. What can I do to remedy this weakness?¡±


    Gurney frowned and considered a stack of papers next to him. Then he rifled through it and placed a sheet of paper in front of me. ¡°Saherna mutation. A large plant-eater that grazes leaves from the canopies. Improves your skeleton and tendons with ceramics, metal composites and carbon fibres.¡±


    I studied the comprehensive paper which told me about the animal. Where to find it and how to hunt it. Which evolutions it was likely to give when used as a primary upgrade and as a secondary one.


    Gurney didn''t leave anything out in his documents.


    The creatures were easy to harvest. Most didn''t even notice when someone cut a strip of meat out of their legs. It was like an insect-sting to them. The problem were the parasites infesting the Saherna''s skin. They had something to say about someone else snacking on their host.


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± I pulled a face. ¡°Though, I would wish to unlearn that bit about the parasites.¡±


    My guide to this world shrugged, not bothered by my squeamishness. ¡°It''s the only viable option I can think of. My experience is it''s best to assist your primary evolution with lesser ones. That reduces the possibility of overlaps. This would add one point and bring you up to eight.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He wrote down another entry.


    8) Defensive: Enhanced Skeleton (internal, saherna)


    ¡°Now that we have corrected that weakness with your strength, what can you think of that would help with your speed? You have shown me that you can move one arm very quickly, but what holds you back from going all out with that?¡±


    I considered the question, then hesitatingly recounted how I had learned moving quickly by watching the zippers with my Second Sight ¨C which I found to be an apt name for them. The story ended with how I had to give up on speedrunning once I hit the limits of my coordination and reaction speed.


    Gurney suddenly moved, throwing something that bounced off my forehead. It landed on the chair between my legs.


    I looked down and found it to be a silver ring he had previously worn on his ring finger.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Gurney held out his hand. ¡°Just had to ensure that this zipper evolution didn''t do more to you before I suggest something. From the way you responded, your reaction speed is still pretty much human.¡±


    I rubbed my forehead while I gave the ring back, glad that Gurney didn''t test me with a billiard ball.


    He looked once more through his files and offered me a second sheet of paper.


    ¡°That''s a major mutation, but it fits in this situation. Hornhops are something like a mixture between a grasshopper and a unicorn. Four-legged, they are omnivores who sometimes hunt by spearing prey with their single horns. If you take them as a primary evolution, things get pretty fucked up, but as a secondary, they give improved reflexes and enhanced processing speed. In short, it boosts your brain and nervous system. Even if eating more zippers gets you to the level of speeding around like them without it, I don''t think a hornhop mutation would be wasted on you.¡±


    I bristled. ¡°Just who comes up with these names?¡±


    He wrote down two more entries, bringing me up to ten points. Which meant further improvements would be risky without getting them from a partner.


    9) Defensive: Improved Reflexes (Nervous System, hornhop)


    10) Defensive: Improved Processing (Nervous System, hornhop)


    Gurney shrugged and grinned. ¡°Normal people who just don''t give a rat''s ass about whether a name is good or bad. It describes what the creatures do and that sometimes saves lives.¡±


    ¡°So I guess that they jump pretty well?¡± I asked. ¡°And have a horn to pierce you with.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Fucking things lie in wait for most of the day. If something startles them, they jump up to fifty metres in one go. Takes an organized hunting party to get them because they recover for their next jump within four to five seconds. Several people have to be ready for a killing shot when the creature lands.¡±


    ¡°Just how am I supposed to hunt these things?¡± I tugged at my torn clothes. ¡°I have nothing but the stuff on my body. The few things I had, I lost when those fluffballs chased me. I cannot pay a hunting party.¡±


    Gurney waved the problem off as insignificant. ¡°Have you forgotten me mentioning to sponsor you? That''s what the clans are paying me for. As long as you join the arena and get me some favour with the clans, I will set you up to have a chance in this world.¡±


    I looked at the grove of trees behind him. ¡°I still don''t like the word ''arena''.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry.¡± Gurney chuckled jovially. ¡°I try my best not to get people killed unnecessarily.¡±


    I looked down at my ragged clothes, thought of my empty belly, and looked up at the setting sun. Damn, I had wasted so much time here.


    On the other hand, it wasn''t like I hadn''t learned a lot of very important stuff.


    ¡°Okay. How is this going to play out?¡± I asked and returned my attention to my ''sponsor''. I just hoped the clans weren''t paying him too well for this. It was unbelievable that I had come here to join a twisted dating service in order to survive.


    ¡°First, you will get a room in my quarters at the bunker for tonight,¡± Gurney explained. ¡°I am going to give you some of my introductory compendiums to read. There is no way I am going to waste time explaining clan politics or the realities of the Old Camp to you.


    ¡°While you study, I am going to organize a hunting party to get you set up with what you need. The first one is on the house. The rest, you will have to take care of on your own. Then I will find you a trustworthy hunter who introduces you to this world. How to survive in the forest, how to make a living. Get you some equipment.


    ¡°As long as you don''t bail on me, you can keep the room in the bunker and have access to my files.¡± He patted the stack of papers that documented all the mutations he knew. Then he leaned forward. ¡°If you want out, say it straight to my face and we are fine. Run or steal my stuff, and I will have the entire Old Camp, including the clans, hunting you.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Then no arena?¡±


    Gurney waved the thought away. ¡°There is no way I am going to throw you in there before you are ready. First, we have to train you up and get you used to your mutations. If everything works out tomorrow, we might even think about adding more, given the potential benefits outweigh the risk. And then you can try your luck in the arena.¡±


    He started packing his papers and loaded me up with a few stacks of my own. Then he led me to the bunker, past a few guards who eyed us suspiciously.


    Gurney''s part of the bunker was large enough for ten people, but I was the only person he decided to sponsor right now. I was shown to my room and then Gurney introduced me to a study where I could read up on the clans, local geography, and other common knowledge about this world.


    Best of all, his quarters had a shower and a toilet, which I would never again take for granted.


    I almost cried when Gurney presented me with a set of baggy linen shirts and trousers, including cloth strips and a belt to bind everything in place. Compared to Earth, it was the cheapest of outfits, but I finally felt like a human again.


    Two days in the wilderness had turned me into a hermit-like existence.


    That evening, all I got to eat were meat and vegetable stew that had been boiled beyond recognition. It tasted horrible, but it was better than nothing.


    The most precious of my new possessions were the piece of stinky soap and the wooden toothbrush with the jar of mashed herb paste that doubled for toothpaste.


    I spent the rest of the evening in the study where I tried to familiarize myself as best as I could with the clans and the local geography.


    The next day was also dedicated to studying until Gurney presented me with two pieces of meat in the evening.


    ¡°I think you may have been right about this Carrion Eater trait,¡± I commented while I chewed the stringy meat.


    ¡°How so?¡± Gurney asked while slurping down a bowl of broth.


    ¡°Because raw meat tastes so much better than it should,¡± I replied. ¡°With the starfish, I always told myself I was just eating sushi.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Just eat up and lie down. Taking too many different mutations at once can cause a metamorphic hibernation. Just like the one you experienced back at the lake. So, avoid it if you don''t have protection. But normally, only acquiring your primary mutation should render you unconscious.¡±


    I thanked him for the advice and dined on a steak of hornhop and saherna each before I was knocked out.


    Once I awoke, it was the second day after my arrival in the Old Camp. Thankfully, whatever the meat had done to me didn''t add to the freakishness of my appearance.


    Which meant I was happily eating overboiled stew for breakfast when Gurney entered the dining room with a second exile in tow.


    He gestured at the newcomer while I got to my feet. ¡°Tulkas, this is Mark Whetherton. Another one of my trainees, but he has been here for over a year. Unlike you, he walked away when I offered him the first chance. Last year, it was already too late to match him with someone when he came crawling back.¡±


    Mark scratched the back of his head while we shook hands. ¡°Good to meet you. I will give my best to teach you the ropes.¡±


    ¡°Teach me?¡± I asked.


    Gurney nodded. ¡°Mark is actually a pretty good hunter who is doing well for himself after he had a rough start. He can show you how to make a living in the Old Camp and I have tasked him with showing you around the forest. Together, you two might even find a way to get a few of those zippers.¡±


    Suddenly, Gurney tried to slap me!


    Just that it felt like he was moving as if hindered by water. I easily bent backwards just enough to avoid the blow but stumbled once the flow of time returned to normal.


    ¡°Wow!¡± I caught myself before I fell. ¡°That was some crazy shit!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°It felt like bullet time!¡±


    ¡°Just trying to find out how well the mutation has taken,¡± Gurney commented and tried again.


    This time, bullet time didn''t activate and he slapped me instead. With his strength, it was enough to rattle my brain and send me spinning to the ground. For a moment, I wondered whether I had lost a few teeth.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    Gurney shook his head. ¡°Looks like it isn''t completely instinctive. You will have to train to get conscious control of the ability.¡± He addressed Mark, ¡°One of your tasks will be to hit him now and then until he gets this ability under control. We have to trigger it as often as possible until he gets used to the feeling. It''s best done before he develops any bad habits.¡±


    Mark only saluted in reply.


    I got back to my feet. ¡°Sounds like it will hurt.¡±


    Mark tried to kick my leg, but I dodged it.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Gurney got my other cheek, sending me back to the ground.


    ¡°Argh! I am not Jesus!¡± I complained.


    ¡°Okay, enough fun for now.¡± Gurney walked towards his office. ¡°Get to work, you two. Just tell the merchants it''s on my tab, but you don''t get anything, Mark. I already sponsored your equipment last year.¡±


    Mark clicked his tongue and considered me while I got back to my feet.


    ¡°So you are strength and speed?¡± He asked. ¡°Do you have an idea of the fighting style you will be going with? We have to know that before we get you some gear.¡±


    I shook my head once I was standing again. ¡°I know how to use a gun and I have a little bit of hand to hand training.¡±


    Mark snorted. ¡°Yeah, no way that you will be getting a gun here. We have them, but ammunition is prohibitively expensive. You will lose more resources than you can make back by shooting some poor critter. And the bigger beasts will just get pissed off from being needled with bullets. As for hand to hand, no.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Just, no.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then what?¡± I spread my hands. ¡°I can throw stuff pretty hard if it helps. My only problem was that my wooden spears always broke.¡±


    Mark considered the suggestion and gestured for me to follow him. ¡°We will spend an hour at the training park behind the bunker for you to show off before we decide on your gear.¡±


    Just as prophesied, it was done.


    Mark was easy to talk to. He told me he had been a banker in his past life. His grave mistake was to take part in the bank''s more risky investments. Once it blew up in the bank''s face, Mark was the obvious person to blame.


    ¡°Just shows how cruel fate can be,¡± Mark finished his story while he watched me throwing another practice spear into a training dummy. ¡°It''s the ultimate punishment to banish a banker to a world without money.¡±


    He stopped me from picking up another spear. ¡°I think that''s enough for now. We will spend the rest of the day at the market and search for some gear that works for you. And tomorrow, we will go hunting in the woods.¡±


    We went to the marketplace where Mark and I perused the wares of one merchant after the other.


    First, Mark got me some Spartan-style leather armour to wear over my tunic. It barely protected my vital parts, but it also didn''t hinder my movements or sacrifice much speed.


    I wasn''t truly sold on using such mediocre armour after having seen some people on the street who had much better protections. But Mark reminded me we wanted to go hunting, not fight creatures that could crush us like ants. Nobody had said we intended to bring down an alpha predator four times our size. That would require much better preparation and equipment.


    He finally convinced me when he further explained that the people who I had seen likely intended to get close and physical with the beasts, which we most definitely wanted to avoid.


    My list of belongings was further improved when I got a rucksack and camping gear, including all the little things and oddities required for outdoor survival. My first impulse was to double down on the small wood-chopping axes, but Mark reminded me there was still a blacksmith on our shopping list.


    Eventually, we arrived at the blacksmith where a small gladius-style sword was added to my equipment. It was forged much thicker and sturdier than any sword I had seen so far. A normal human wouldn''t have been able to wield it, but the blacksmith pointed out that strength-types like myself would otherwise just break the weapon.


    Having seen my throwing skill, Mark got me a bag full of steel balls. They were hefty, with about three to four centimetres in diameter. From the weight alone I assumed they would make for good projectiles. It looked like someone had just taken them out of a ball bearing.


    My set of distance weapons was rounded out by a large quiver with ten short metal spears. Each was about a metre in length and seemed to be made for the job. The blacksmith explained he made them in abundance as crossbow bolts for the ballistas that protected the walls against larger monsters.


    That was lucky for me because it made the things sturdy, relatively cheap, and reusable.


    My set of gear was finished when Mark requested a man-sized spear made out of spring steel.


    ¡°Why not a wooden shaft?¡± the blacksmith asked. ¡°We have some pretty good hardwoods. Almost as sturdy as composite materials from Earth.¡±


    ¡°It''s because of his ability.¡± Mark gestured for me to demonstrate. ¡°Show him.¡±


    Just like I had done for Gurney, I created a lightning arc between my thumb and index finger.


    The blacksmith contemplated the demonstration with a frown. ¡°It will take some time, but I can make something that gets the job done.¡± Then he had me bend various leftover steel bars with different thicknesses.


    I found my limit with a hefty, oversized crowbar. Not even my supercharged muscles could deform it. The blacksmith did a dirty job of sharpening it for me as a temporary weapon and told us to come back in a week.


    With that, the day ended with me laden like a mule. Mark didn''t carry a single thing and instead pointed out I would have to get used to traversing the wilds with my survival gear.


    The next day, we would go out and hunt for real.

 Ch 11 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Astra Frost***


    ¡°Why are you hiding on the roof?¡±


    I almost dropped Gurney¡¯s latest report and suppressed an exclamation of shock when a voice spoke from behind me. Fumbling, I pressed the sheet of paper against my chest and turned to glare at Thalia.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sneak up on me like that!¡± I reprimanded her, trying to cover up the embarrassment of not having sensed her approach. ¡°I could have lashed out at you!¡±


    ¡°If you had flared out your filaments from the beginning, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to sneak up on you.¡± Thalia waved her hand dismissively. ¡°And besides. You should recognize my voice. Why would you want to hurt your best friend?¡±


    ¡°Because you keep waking me up at ungodly hours,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°I am doing it for your own good,¡± Thalia replied unapologetically. ¡°Your parents told me to keep an eye on you so you wouldn¡¯t laze off.¡±


    She walked closer and leaned down to where I was sitting. ¡°So? Why are you hiding up here? Are you watching the sweaty men down there on the training field and fantasizing about their-¡±


    I turned and hit Thalia¡¯s knee with my fist. It wasn¡¯t enough to hurt her, but the impact combined with the angle caused it to buckle.


    If she didn¡¯t have wings that she could use like additional appendages, she would have likely fallen and slipped off the bunker¡¯s dome-like roof. To my dismay, she quickly used the hard spikes at the ends of her wings to hook into the roof and create additional support. This prevented her from finding a wet end down in the pond next to the bunker.


    ¡°Moody much?¡± she back-pedalled from her earlier comment. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tease you anymore.¡±


    ¡°Very much appreciated, though I would have liked to see you slip off the roof and fall into the pond.¡± I smirked at the thought.


    Thalia shuddered. ¡°No, thanks. I am not the greatest of swimmers.¡±


    She said that, but I knew her to be a very good swimmer. Underwater, she could use her bat-wings like gigantic fins to propel herself forward.


    I huffed and carefully folded Gurney¡¯s report before I hid it away beneath the filaments which were currently acting as my clothes.


    ¡°Aw, come on!¡± Thalia pawed at me, trying to get to the report, but I slapped her hands away.


    ¡°Tell me!¡±


    ¡°Stop being so childish!¡± I retorted and deflected her groping hands to the best of my ability.


    ¡°It¡¯s you who is being childish for hiding the report,¡± Thalia shot back. ¡°Do I really have to go and ask Gurney what he gave you? He won¡¯t say no to me.¡±


    I sighed and gestured down to the training field where the newcomer was having spear practice together with this Mark guy. ¡°It¡¯s the one who we saw running from the gutters. His skills look like they are compatible with mine. Very compatible ¨C if he manages to improve them.¡±


    ¡°Well, what¡¯s the problem then? Go and get him! I can¡¯t wait for you to stop pining around the arena grounds like some old maiden.¡± Thalia asked and turned to watch the two men playing around with the freely provided training weapons.


    Tulkas drew his hand back and it blurred, sending a spear into and through a training dummy as if it had been fired by one of the ballistas on the wall.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Thalia exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s a mean throwing arm. What are his skills?¡±


    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°That¡¯s the problem. His primary evolution comes from zippers.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± My friend clicked her tongue. ¡°Those things are almost impossible to catch, even if they are like rats.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°But maybe he can do it? The problem with catching them is speed and he clearly has it in abundance.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I pursed my lips and wrung my fingers. ¡°I guess I am also watching him because I want to find out what he is like. To make sure he isn¡¯t some asshole like Roderick.¡±


    Thalia coughed.


    ¡°What?¡± I grumbled. I knew what was coming.


    She threw up her hands. ¡°I knew that would happen! Astra, you have to come down from your perfectionist trip. You spent years coming to the arena fights so you could find someone who is compatible with your evolutions. Now he is right there and you won''t take him because you are concerned about his personality?¡±


    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± I asked. ¡°I can¡¯t just walk up to him and tell him I want to¡­ do it¡­ because I want his evolutions.¡±


    Thalia slowly knelt next to me. ¡°You know, that would actually work with nine out of ten men.¡± Her expression turned smug. ¡°I bet most wouldn¡¯t even think about possible evolutions.¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± I rebutted in disapproval. ¡°Are you trying to say most men are stupid? I would think people can control themselves when it¡¯s about survival.¡±


    She considered my argument for a few moments with a contemplative expression.


    ¡°Okay, then maybe seven out of ten!¡± Thalia corrected her statement. ¡°My point still stands. Your standards are just too high, woman. This male ideal of yours doesn¡¯t exist in the real world. You want perfect compatibility and then he has to be some kind of hero or prince on top of it?¡±


    ¡°I never said that,¡± I replied and considered it. ¡°But it would be preferable!¡±


    ¡°Ooh...¡± Thalia rolled her eyes. ¡°You are too much!¡±


    My eyes wandered back to the training field and I realized Tulkas and Mark were leaving.


    ¡°Quick, they are leaving!¡± I got up and spread my filaments to drift to the next rooftop.


    Thalia¡¯s expression turned blank as she followed me. ¡°Hey, are you serious? You are going to follow him like some stalker? Like some yandere character?¡±


    ¡°I am not a stalker,¡± I shot back. ¡°And what¡¯s a yandere? Seriously, Thalia, you always come up with these strange things. Sometimes I believe studying cultural history wasn¡¯t good for you.¡±


    She feigned being hit in the heart. ¡°So rude! It¡¯s not my fault they exiled you before you managed to learn the basics of human society. Seriously, sometimes I feel like I have to deal with a female version of Mogli.¡±


    I frowned and glared at her. ¡°I actually know that one. And it was a low blow, even for you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but at least your parents did one thing right.¡± She pointed. ¡°Look, your friend is leaving the camp. Shouldn¡¯t you go and talk to him instead of turning this into a case study?¡±


    I fidgeted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know how to actually introduce myself.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to ask to fuck, then how about helping him? Find something you can help out with. Either a present or some information. Most importantly, find out which position he likes,¡± Thalia suggested. ¡°It should be smooth sailing from there.¡±


    ¡°You are such a vulgar person!¡± I complained and quickly hurried after the two while Thalia stayed behind.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Over the next few days, I watched from afar as Mark trained Tulkas in the various arts of survival. Mark was running him through the standard survival program for newcomers.


    Which meant taking the trainee on trips around the Old Camp while the two of them stayed within running distance of the camp¡¯s defences. While they made their trips, Tulkas was taught about the various edible plants and how they could be used as trading goods.


    The tutorial involved which creatures to stay away from and which critters could be ignored or were actual valuable game for hunting.


    It was the typical crash course for newcomers. The intention was for Tulkas to be able to survive on his own by the end of the week. He should be able to manage his belongings in a way that allowed him to improve on his mutations without running bankrupt.


    Once the two were done for the day, Tulkas would always journey the market stalls and the three or four bars and restaurants which could be found in the Old Camp.


    Judging by his demeanour, it was apparent he was searching for something while trying to gather as much information about the Old Camp¡¯s political state as possible.


    I even went so far as to pay one of the people he regularly talked to for information. It was pretty much exactly as I thought. He was asking questions about the clans and how things worked with the Old Camp and new arrivals.


    Worryingly, one thing was obvious. He wasn¡¯t some mindless drifter who only looked out for his own survival. The man had some form of agenda and I assumed it would be my way into his good graces.


    Six days later, I still hadn¡¯t managed to bring up the courage to talk to him. Well, I had the courage, but I just didn''t find an opportunity without making it awkward.


    I was watching Mark and Tulkas leave the camp for another hunting trip when I sensed something approaching me.


    I ducked my head out of the way of the throwing dagger which buried itself inside the roof one moment later.


    Then I flared out my filaments, just as the bitch landed on the roof next to me. She tried to hit me with a violet-skinned fist which was caught in my filaments. The force of the blow nonetheless forced me back and away from her.


    Growling, I hooked several filaments to the edge of the roof and pulled, contracting all of my filaments at once.


    Ivonne found herself being dragged forward and both of us were flung off the roof while I whipped my filaments at her. The woman¡¯s tough skin made it impossible to make more than a few superficial cuts, so I went stabbing for the eyes and other orifices. Nose, ears, everything was fair game when someone tried to kill me.


    We landed on the street, causing people to run left and right as they did their best to avoid the fight.


    The bitch managed to protect her eyes simply by closing them. She also ripped two of my filaments I had tried to stick up her nose. My interference didn¡¯t deter her from trying to get to me, not caring that her clothes were torn to tatters in the process.


    Stretching out once more, I latched more filaments onto her and another roof which was positioned at the right angle. Then I contracted again. I pulled Ivonne upwards, turning myself into a slingshot with her as the projectile. For a moment, we were so close, all she would have had to do would be to reach out to get me.


    There wouldn¡¯t have been anything I could have done about it, since my main body wasn¡¯t especially strong.


    But she didn¡¯t manage to grasp the opportunity because she still had her eyes closed.


    Then she was past me and I let go of her while I still held onto the roof. Some filaments pulled me back down while the remaining ones formed a soft cushion beneath me. Thanks to them I managed to land on the roof without injury.


    It took about two seconds before Ivonne dared to open her eyes and found herself sailing on a high trajectory over the Old Camp. A quite comical scream followed which quieted as she passed over the outer wall.


    To say so myself, I thought it to be one of my better throws. Physically tough opponents were the rock to my scissors, but they were rarely heavy enough so that I couldn¡¯t fling them far away to take them out of the fight.


    I smirked grimly, but couldn¡¯t really be happy about the outcome of this confrontation. Ivonne had a strength mutation and something turned her skin almost invulnerable. Which meant I couldn¡¯t do shit to her without using unconventional methods. If she attacked me within a confined space, my chances would look grim.


    Something told me this wasn¡¯t over. It would be too much to hope for that she would break her neck upon impact.


    I spread my filaments and caught an upwards air-drift. Then I looked towards the forest, but frustratingly enough, Tulkas and Mark had already disappeared.


    I sighed.


    Well, anyway. With this attack, there were other matters I had to take care of first.


    It wasn¡¯t unheard of for clan members to attack and kill each other outside of the arena, but it had been a long time since the Aerie and the Thich had resorted to open warfare. Ivonne attacking me on the streets like some assassin had certainly broken the unspoken accord between the clans.


    I angled my filaments and flew back towards the bunker, intending to address this issue immediately. It was best to establish the narrative in my favour before Ivonne managed to crawl her way back from wherever she had landed.


    The front of the bunker was clearly in an uproar, and I found Liam and four more Aerie facing off against a group of five Thich. Thalia was backing Liam up against possible violence.


    Which meant my arrival came just in time to dissuade the two groups from exchanging blows because my presence restored the balance of power.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± I asked when I landed.


    The leading Thich, a man with an impressive stature, looked at me with an incredulous expression. ¡°We had an argument.¡± His eyes wandered towards the entrance of the bunker, from where two Hochberg clanners watched what was happening with rapt attention.


    ¡°The bastards insulted our clan!¡± One of our men pointed at the Thich, clearly incensed.


    Liam raised his hand to stop the youngster from making more trouble. ¡°No matter what opinion they have of us, it is no reason for violence.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of violence¡­¡± Thalia turned to me. ¡°Do you know who just flew over the camp, screaming like it was her first flight?¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°That was Ivonne, and she didn¡¯t fly. I threw her because she attacked me in an attempt to kill.¡±


    That caused the expressions among the Thich to darken.


    ¡°Though, I don¡¯t believe I have killed her,¡± I added quickly to defuse the situation. ¡°But I would like to know what her problem is. Do we have to regard the Thich as a group of dangerous rogues?¡±


    It was convenient that Gurney chose this exact moment to step out of the bunker. He wasn¡¯t exactly a personage of power, but his affiliations with all the clans would have likely turned him into the impartial judge of any conflict.


    The leading Thich grumbled but gestured for his goons to back off. ¡°Ivonne¡¯s issues are none of your concern. We will see to it that she stays out of trouble from now on.¡±


    They left, making their way back into the bunker and past the two Hochberg and Gurney who were still eyeing what was happening with great attention.


    Once they were out of sight, Thalia turned to face me. ¡°No shit? Ivonne tried to kill you? Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I would rather like to know why another group of Thich caused trouble at the same time,¡± I replied. The entire situation stank to the high heavens. Like they had tried to create some distraction.


    What I couldn¡¯t understand was the why. Had Ivonne succeeded in killing me, it would have likely sparked a war between the Aerie and the Thich. There would have been no way of hiding it with her attacking me in broad daylight. It would have seriously affected the proceedings within the Old Camp. ¡°There is nothing to gain as far as I can see.¡±


    Liam¡¯s expression turned concerned. ¡°I do believe you are gravely mistaken, Astra. Did you forget the peace treaty? We aren''t allowed to directly interfere with the exile''s mutations and no clan is allowed to bring more than one unpaired, capable fighter to the Old Camp. Ever since you maxed out your evolutions, you have been filling that position. If they managed to kill you with a lucky shot, there would have been little we could have done about it aside from complaining. I don¡¯t believe we have the battle powers to stand against them without you.¡±


    ¡°But the other clans-¡± I pointed out but was interrupted by Liam.


    ¡°Would have done nothing about it. Maybe they would intercede in a conflict that¡¯s happening right in front of them, but they would have done little to nothing if presented with a corpse!¡± He drew in a deep breath. ¡°We would have needed to send a message back to Aerie to get help. Your parents would have caused quite the ruckus, but even they can¡¯t influence the seasons. It would have been impossible to go to war before the winter, and who knows how much support they can gather in the next year once the hotheads had time to cool down?¡±


    I shut my mouth and considered the situation from Liam¡¯s point of view. He was just a doctor, but he was one of the oldest and most experienced people I knew. And that meant something in this hellish world.


    As much as I wanted to deny it, there was a slim possibility that the Thich could have killed me and succeeded without many repercussions, provided that Ivonne had gotten in a lucky shot.


    ¡°What about Ivonne?¡± Thalia asked. ¡°Is she a danger to you?¡±


    I considered the question. ¡°Not if we fight in the open, though I admit that close quarters might be problematic. She has a mutation that makes her extremely tough, even tougher than Roderick. I couldn¡¯t put a scratch on her until I decided to just fling her across the camp.¡±


    My filaments were a great mutation on paper, but they had a weakness. A lot of surface area and little weight meant I could allow them to simply drift through the air. But it also meant they didn¡¯t have a lot of mass behind them.


    Whipping someone with my filaments was like using a piano wire to whip a normal human. It was likely to cause superficial injury, but the tougher opponents would likely just get mad and run me over.


    Like hydraulic muscles, my filaments were great at expansion and contraction, which actually allowed me to keep up with opponents who had a strength mutation. Using my filaments to stab instead of slash brought more power to the table, given I could anchor myself somehow.


    After having witnessed Ivonne¡¯s toughness first-hand, I wasn¡¯t exactly keen on inviting her to a wrestling match.


    When the silence stretched out for longer than was comfortable, Liam cleared his throat. ¡°Well, then we probably should avoid getting you into a confined space with that woman. I will talk to the other clan representatives and send a messenger home to forewarn them of possible conflict. There is no way we can just ignore attempted murder. We have to at least make a gesture of being mad about the attempt.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t need these complications right now.¡±


    Thalia gestured for me to get going. ¡°I know exactly what you are thinking. Go on, little stalker. I am sure we can handle things from here. It¡¯s highly doubtful that the Thich will try something so brazen again anytime soon. Especially not after we talk to the other clans. Once that¡¯s done, everyone will be keeping a close eye on them.¡±


    I threw a thankful gaze at my friend and tried to ignore Liam¡¯s interested expression. Then I departed and headed quickly in the direction I had seen Tulkas and Mark disappear in.

 Ch 12 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    Despite Mark¡¯s friendly demeanour while we were shopping within the settlement¡¯s walls, the man transformed into a taskmaster as soon as we left the camp. I was nonetheless thankful for what he taught me. Especially since I agreed with him that the world outside the camp didn¡¯t allow for lazy behaviour.


    He made me aware of all the little things, like stuffing my quiver with dry grass to prevent my throwing spears from creating too much noise when they jostled against each other. How to move without leaving too many traces of my passage, or how to read animal tracks and minimize the risk of an ambush while moving through unknown terrain.


    Every day, we left the camp through one of the three improvised elevators which allowed normal folk like us to get past the huge walls that protected the camp¡¯s west, south and east. Then we spent the day hunting and gathering resources.


    At the start and the end of each day, the worst things were the elevator¡¯s hand-operated rope winches. They gave me goosebumps every time I was forced to use one of the cursed things. The wonky craftsmanship just didn¡¯t allow me to place any trust in them.


    When I had asked about the reason why there was no proper gate, Mark only pointed out that it would be an unnecessary weak point in the construction and left it at that. After all, he hadn¡¯t been involved in the camp¡¯s creation.


    After almost an entire week of learning about the flora and fauna of this world, I almost felt safe traversing the forest and the grasslands in front of the Old Camp. But according to Mark, those were safe zones. And despite calling them safe, even an experienced hunter like him avoided camping outside.


    Apparently, I had used all my luck for the year when I slept outside two days in a row without being caught by some nightcrawler.


    Mark had yet to show me the swamp region to the east which was considerably more dangerous. And according to him, unless we found a large group of very competent people, such a trip was unlikely to happen. The Old Camp had only two or three groups who dared to make regular expeditions into the swamp regions. They were all veterans who had survived this world for years, so it was unlikely for us to join one of their groups.


    Today¡¯s trip would take us to the hilly terrain in the north, where Mark had promised me I would find a little surprise.


    It was strange to change our schedule after the last three days had been an economical success for us, but he was the teacher and I the student. I had suspected we would go on with our routine for a little while longer, but apparently, Mark thought me competent enough to try something new.


    Over the last three days, we had worked out a way to manage my evolutions with just a day¡¯s worth of hunting.


    There was no way in hell for me to get the meat for either of my two new evolutions on my own. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    Despite not relying on money, the Old Camp had developed quite an active economy. Trade between various types of meat had caused specialized hunting parties to form. Like in the old world, people tended to stick to a profession once they got good at it.


    My throwing ability with the spear made me quite an effective hunter of any mid-sized critters we came across. Since our hunting styles were relatively similar for the moment, Mark had decided our time was best spent hunting aulums, animals which were prized for their sensory mutations.


    They were six-legged herd animals of the size of a small pony. They looked like aurochs with two long, tentacle-like feelers which they used to shovel vegetation of all kinds into their maws.


    While the head was close to the ground, the creatures actually had their large eyes and ears on their shoulders, which were the highest point on their bodies. The animals themselves were harmless enough, but they had exceptionally good hearing and eyesight which they used to allow no predators to get too close to them. Their creepy physique enabled them to keep watch and eat relatively unimpeded at the same time.


    Additionally, their skittish nature meant they would have a sizeable head-start on any hunter trying to catch them.


    But neither Mark nor I had to get close.


    Mark had his compound bow which he used like a master to deliver poisoned arrows at distances of up to a hundred metres. His mutation allowed him to control the potency of the poison in his spit, which would quickly degenerate and turn non-toxic once it was released into the bloodstream. This ability allowed Mark to make a decent living on his own. Anything he hit with his arrows would go down and leave behind perfectly edible meat. All he had to do was to follow the animal until the poison did its job.


    Despite my spears being capable of instant kills, I didn¡¯t manage to keep up with his success rate in the beginning.


    First, I had to get used to throwing my spears accurately at these distances. Like with all skills, mastering the art required practice.


    Fortunately, the aulums'' herd nature meant I had more than enough opportunities to hone my skills. And if I didn¡¯t hit the creature I had aimed for, the herd was often so tightly packed that I had to hit something simply by accident.


    Between following aulum herds and taking shots of opportunity at other animals, we gathered edible plants we came across.


    And thanks to Mark¡¯s expertise we avoided multiple dangerous situations which I would have blindly stumbled into if I had been alone.


    This meant that, by the end of an average day with one aulum kill, I would have made enough in trading goods to pay the Old Camp¡¯s only reliable restaurant for a full meal of starfish soup with slabs of nightstalker-, saherna-, and hornhop meat. If a place which served raw pieces of meat could be even called a restaurant. As I saw it, it was more like a currency trade where you could change one form of meat into another.


    Having just small portions meant I wasn¡¯t growing in leaps and bounds, but according to Mark, overeating on a certain sort of meat wouldn¡¯t be good anyway. Raising my mutations slowly and evenly while getting used to them was the best way to go. There was no point in overwhelming powers if I couldn¡¯t control them.


    ¡°So, why are we going into the hills today?¡± I whispered once my inner lamentations were no longer enough to keep me entertained. Mark had hammered it into me to never be louder than necessary while we were in the wilderness.


    My companion and teacher looked around.


    ¡°We are looking whether we can do something about your primary evolution,¡± Mark answered finally after he had kept his lips sealed for the majority of our trek.


    That made me listen up because trading for zipper meat would have been too easy. The restaurant didn¡¯t have any, nor were there people who had made a profession out of hunting zippers.


    He continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to talk about it at the Old Camp because there are always listening ears there. And you will keep your mouth shut about it. I don¡¯t want anyone else to cash in on my knowledge.¡±


    ¡°What knowledge?¡± I frowned. ¡°What could be so important about zippers? The damn things come in flocks as soon as we kill something. Leave a corpse bleeding in the open for a few minutes and you get swarmed.¡±


    I had tried catching one every time Mark and I had made a kill, but the damned things were just too fast. And somehow the fuckers didn¡¯t give a shit about his poison even when he went full out on its potency. It seemed like the Carrion Eater trait meant eating poison was no trouble for them.


    Mark stopped walking and looked at me with a serious expression.


    I almost bumped into him but managed to stop in time. It took me a moment, but I finally got what he wanted, so I mimed zipping my lips. ¡°If you don¡¯t want it to be known, then my mouth is sealed.¡±


    He nodded and moved on. ¡°It¡¯s a little secret my teacher taught me. And I suppose Gurney knows about it too since he paid me quite handsomely to teach you the ropes.¡±


    ¡°Out with it,¡± I urged him on.


    ¡°Up there in the hills behind the cliff is a zipper breeding colony,¡± Mark explained. ¡°They fly up into the rocky cliff-sides to lay their eggs.¡±


    ¡°No joke?¡± I asked. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t everyone have a zipper mutation then? I guess grabbing some hatchling out of a nest should be fairly easy.¡±


    I guessed I should have been more empathetic towards my little friends, but the damned things had shocked me so often by now, sometimes out of mere malice, I seriously couldn¡¯t care about stealing some of their brood.


    I just had to think of it more pragmatically, like gathering chicken eggs.


    ¡°God, save me no,¡± Mark replied. ¡°I will not try to steal some of their eggs. Not even the larger predators dare to do so! The little monsters will swarm and shock anything to death that gets too close to the colony. As passive as they are otherwise, they turn into murderhobos when something touches their eggs. But you, I have seen you wrestle with the things over corpses. A shock that makes me jump two metres into the air just has you twitch a little.¡±


    I had noticed that too. My resistance to electricity was a direct consequence of my mutation. Just like I could use my muscles to create an electric charge, absorbing a charge was also possible.


    ¡°It¡¯s still damn uncomfortable to be electrocuted!¡± I complained. The possibility of upgrading my main evolution was nonetheless exciting.


    Then I asked, ¡°So how does this knowledge help you then?¡±


    He waved a hand. ¡°For one, I can try to grab a little meat from any predator which tries to rob their nests and succumbs to them. The corpses usually land at the bottom of the cliff and if I am fast and careful, I can go and get some. But what¡¯s more important to me are the eggshells left behind at the end of the year.¡±


    ¡°Eggshells?¡± I felt stupid to parrot him, but I had to.


    Mark nodded. ¡°The zippers throw them out of the nest once the brood is hatched. All the shells collect at the bottom of the cliff, where I just have to shovel them up and carry them back to the Old Camp for trade. They contain large amounts of calcium and some people apparently need it. I don¡¯t know the details, but I can tell you the smiths and those proficient in chemistry will pay a pretty penny for getting a clean load.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I thought about it, trying to remember some of my physics lessons and what I had read up on before coming here. ¡°I guess calcium can be used in steelmaking as a flux to remove the slag, although the shells would have to be processed beforehand. And some chemical reactions need it as a reagent.¡±


    Mark shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s important to me is that just by running back and forth between the cliff and the Old Camp, I make enough to almost max out my evolutions and to buy myself into one of the more comfortable shelters to survive the winter.¡±


    ¡°Winter, survive?¡± I blinked.


    Oh, shit! That was one thing I hadn¡¯t given a single thought to.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mark replied nonchalantly. ¡°Two or three more months and winter will hit hard. The axis of this planet isn¡¯t tilted too much, so it has almost no effect on the seasons, but we are in a very strong elliptical orbit around the sun. The direct effects are very hot, short summers and very cold, short winters with slightly longer tempered periods in between. Everything freezes over and you will have a hard time finding food. If I were you, I would do my best to look good in the arena and gain shelter with a clan. That¡¯s what I am going for now. I have no desire to repeat my last year in the Old Camp, but I want to keep my options open in case nobody takes me. You always need a plan B in this world.¡±


    Well, that sucked.


    Maybe I would have to reconsider being picky about which clan to join and just go with whatever opportunity arose. As usual, when planning for the future, there was always a more immediate problem to take care of.


    We eventually arrived at the zipper colony, which was indeed a large cliff-side. At first, I thought it to be limestone, but belatedly realized it had been turned white by zipper shit.


    I looked accusingly at Mark, who had sat down and was watching me with an expectant expression. ¡°You want me to climb up there? Up that giant hill of guano!?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I would leave your rucksack here if I were you. Not so much to carry and not all of your equipment will be lost if you fall and break your neck.¡±


    I glared at him.


    Mark shrugged. ¡°Hey, it was just an idea. You don¡¯t have to do it. Whatever you decide, I won¡¯t go any closer than this while the sun is up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I looked back at the cliff and the little, feathery bodies which were scrimmaging around on it. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea. Better than anything I¡¯ve tried till now.¡± I sighed and loosened the straps of my rucksack. ¡°What a world. And why are those up there a different colour? The ones which always fight for our kills are greener while these here are mostly blue. Is it the light?¡±


    Mark shook his head and smirked. ¡°The females stay with the eggs. The ones who steal our kills are the guys.¡±


    ¡°We should have brought climbing gear,¡± I commented while I watched the cliff and dropped my stuff next to Mark.


    ¡°Tried that.¡± Mark¡¯s face took on a mournful expression. ¡°That¡¯s how my teacher died, the guy who showed me this spot. He got greedy. Wanted to get a zipper mutation. He built himself something like a Faraday cage and tried to pull it up the cliff, just like they do with the elevators at the walls.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Damned beasties nipped through the cordage when they couldn¡¯t get to him and that was the end of it.¡± Mark shrugged. ¡°So you would have to freestyle it in any case, unless we manage to find several hundred metres of steel cable lying around.¡±


    ¡°I guess there is nothing like that in the Old Camp?¡± I cracked my knuckles, trying to muster the nerves to go through with this idea.


    ¡°Do I look like someone with an extremely rare evolution?¡± Mark shot back.


    ¡°No need to get cynical,¡± I mumbled. ¡°So no steel cable.¡± But maybe I could have the smith make me some climbing hooks.


    I sighed and trudged forward. The only thing I took with me was my short sword and a little sack I attached to my belt. I knew I was just trying to find reasons for not climbing a guano cliff. It was already confirmed that my strength allowed me to climb trees like a pro and Mark knew it.


    The only thing I had to be concerned about was not slipping when the little beasties started zapping me.


    I reached the bottom of the cliff unmolested, where I found a gruesome reminder of Mark¡¯s little tale. A warped steel cage lay at the bottom of the cliff. It was about the size of a coffin and contained a human skeleton which had been bleached white by the sun.


    Looking up, I realized some of the lady zippers were already trying to menace me away by flying little dive-bomb attacks. The colony¡¯s squawking was so loud that I hadn¡¯t noticed it.


    And then something detached from one of the zippers.


    Time slowed for me and I stepped aside, barely avoiding a golf ball worth of zipper shit. Bless Mark for training me, even if the blunted arrows had been a little over the top.


    Narrowing my eyes, I looked up and followed the little monster who had disrespected me as it landed on a ledge some thirty metres above me where it had its nest together with several others. ¡°You are first!¡±


    I studied the cliff for an easy route and decided to follow a crevice. About twenty metres up, I would have to climb sideways and follow a secondary fissure up to where my victim had her nest.


    Once the plan was in place, I executed it.


    Climbing the first five metres was easy, but then something hit my back and I felt my muscles tense up. It was quickly followed by a second attack and a third, making it clear why an egg-thief would have a hard time with these cliffs. Humans without my mutation would already be lying at the bottom of the cliff.


    I grit my teeth and kept going, focusing all my attention on having a secure hold.


    The zippers couldn¡¯t hurt me, but a bad fall would.


    Normally, I would have been up the cliff in just a few minutes, but going slow meant it took me over twenty minutes until I finally reached the ledge with the nests. The zippers kept up their constant attacks, but they got weaker after the first few minutes as the little animals tired themselves out.


    I was pissed that there was no way to avoid being shat upon while clinging to the rocks. All I could do was take it.


    On the ledge, I found several abandoned nests next to each other. I noted that each had exactly three eggs, and I quickly gathered one egg from each nest as I moved along the ledge. Meanwhile, the zippers squawked their outrage. They had given up on stopping me.


    Once I was done, I had twelve chicken-sized eggs. Almost two weeks until I had to do this again. But the next time, I would take a raincoat with me.


    On the way down, I was more confident as I retraced my steps, especially since the attacks had also ceased. My strong fingers easily hooked into the smallest cracks, providing me with plenty of holds. It showed having the right body for it went a long way when it came to climbing.


    Ten minutes later, I was walking back to where Mark was waiting for me with a stupid grin on his face, though he wasn¡¯t alone anymore.


    A woman was sitting on a large rock above him.


    I had seen her several times flying around over the rooftops of the Old Camp. The floaty tentacles which originated from her spine made her look otherworldly. Though, tentacles may not be the right word. They reminded me of silken ribbons which drifted in the wind as they quested the woman¡¯s surroundings. Her hair was cut at shoulder length and black on the outside but had a red, scintillating play of colours on the inside where I could see past her neck.


    Her face and neck were partly covered in symmetrical, twirling lines which glowed in the cliff¡¯s shade. They reminded me of tribal tattoos. It wasn¡¯t too overbearing, but it looked like someone had been more generous than necessary with a body-painting job while using neon colours. Otherwise, she looked like a normal human, an extremely beautiful human woman, I corrected myself. She didn¡¯t have the largest of chests, but together with her hips, it looked like someone had drawn an idealized hourglass figure.


    ¡°Tulkas, you survived,¡± she stated in a sultry tone before Mark could say something.


    That woke me up and I realized I had been staring. ¡°Yeah, thank you?¡± I looked down at myself, covered in shit. ¡°Though, I will definitely bring a raincoat the next time I try gathering eggs. And who are you, if I might ask?¡±


    I looked toward Mark, but he didn¡¯t look bothered by the fact that his secret spot had been discovered.


    She smiled. ¡°Yes, having protection would be best. I am Astra from Clan Aerie. I was interested in how you are doing with your evolutions.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I looked once more towards Mark, desiring to know what was going on, but his stupid face was of no help. How did she know about my evolutions?


    But then it clicked for me.


    Gurney must have given her my information.


    Was she here to check me out as a potential partner?


    I looked down at my shit-covered self.


    What better moment was there to form a lasting impression?


    ¡°Fine, obviously. It seems like we have solved the greatest problem.¡± I raised my sack with the zipper eggs.


    Astra nodded with a pleased expression. ¡°Now you just have to master your mutations.¡±


    ¡°I think that might take a while,¡± I admitted. ¡°So far, I can only do simple movements.¡±


    She frowned and played with her hair. ¡°No, that one you can improve too. I am sure.¡±


    I blinked, wondering what she meant. ¡°I am sorry?¡±


    Astra mimed me throwing a spear. ¡°I watched you at the training yard. When you move an arm there is always the ¡®whoosh¡¯ of displaced air. I can hear it. Zippers don¡¯t do that. They can somehow guide the air around them when they move.¡±


    I thought about all the times I had watched them blitz around at speeds which felt supernatural to me. Having it pointed out, I finally realized why they felt so off compared to other animals.


    ¡°Thanks for the hint,¡± I said, not knowing what else I could do. Doing small-talk while I was covered in shit felt awkward.


    Astra smiled with a satisfied expression. ¡°I think you have your time cut out for today, but I would like to talk again at some point. Have a nice day.¡± She lifted off, pulled upwards by her silken ribbons, and flew back towards the Old Camp.


    ¡°Dude!¡± Mark raised both hands and fired imaginary pistols at me. ¡°The ice queen knows your name.¡±


    ¡°Ice queen?¡± I asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you bothered that she knows your spot?¡±


    Mark waved the matter off. ¡°As if a clanner would go and steal my eggshells. It would be like stealing dirt. But back to the important topic! From what I know, Astra Frost has been visiting the Old Camp for years to watch the arena battles. She is quite obviously looking for a partner and she knows your name!¡±


    ¡°It would have been nice if Gurney had told me who got my information. Just so that I am not surprised when people show up,¡± I grumbled. ¡°But right now I am far more interested in a bath!¡±


    Mark wrinkled his nose. ¡°Yeah, you definitely need one.¡±


    We made our return trip to the Old Camp and I used the chance to clean up in a small stream. It wasn¡¯t the bath I had hoped for, but better than nothing.


    Back home, we didn¡¯t head directly towards the bunker. Instead, Mark reminded me that the blacksmith probably had my new weapon ready.


    And indeed, the gruff man nodded and went into his shop to fetch my new spear.


    The only problem was, that what he brought out was definitely no spear.


    ¡°What the heck is that!?¡± I laughed as the blacksmith presented the weapon. ¡°I thought I was supposed to get a spear, not a polearm. It looks like someone forged a longsword onto a staff. Or got the grip and crossguard too long.¡±


    The weapon was about forty percent blade and sixty percent staff. Although, the blade was a sturdier forged version compared to what I knew from Earth. The spine was much thicker, just like my short sword. What I had called the crossguard were two wicked-looking, forward-curved blades which were neither pointing completely forward nor to the sides. They were as wide as my chest. At the end of the grip, the ¡®pommel¡¯ had a little spike which was probably a good poking tool.


    The blacksmith looked miffed at my outburst. ¡°I will forgive you this once since you obviously have no clue of medieval weaponry. Mark asked me for a spear which works with your ability. The closest way to describe this weapon is to call it a spetum, or a ranseur. And it looks the way it looks because I want to do repair jobs for my customers instead of having them die during the first encounter with something bigger than them. A normal spear might do the job on earth, but it will get you killed in this world.¡±


    He turned the weapon so I could see it better. ¡°The symmetry gives you the option of throwing it, though I would avoid doing so if it¡¯s meant as your main weapon.¡±


    The blacksmith gripped it properly and swung the weapon. ¡°If something gets close, you can wield it like a quarterstaff and use the main blade to slash. The side blades are curved so that if something gets past the tip, they can be used as secondary attack tools. While blocking, the curve still allows you to bring one blade to bear against an enemy while not pointing the other one at yourself. The blunt back further helps to prevent injuring yourself, should it be pressed back into you. Additionally, you can use the side blades to hook a leg.¡±


    Then he gripped the weapon at the pommel, which I now realized was sized perfectly to fit the palm of a hand and angled so that the weapon would automatically rest in the intended position, with the blades horizontal to the ground. Finger-rests along the staff further helped with angling the main blade correctly, should I decide to use it as a slashing weapon.


    This grip extended the blacksmith¡¯s reach when he thrust the weapon forward. ¡°Having a long, pointy blade gives better penetration against the larger monsters. You want to get deep into them to hit something vital, but not too deep. The ¡®crossguard¡¯, as you called the sideblades, will prevent the crazier monsters from completely running themselves through when they try to bite off your head. They will be kept at a distance as long as you manage to keep your hold on the weapon. To withstand such impacts, the side blades have only one forward-pointing edge. It allows me to make their spines sturdier.


    ¡°Try to find someone to teach you how to use it. I would hate losing one of my babies to the wilds, rusting away next to a corpse.¡± He twirled the weapon and threw it sideways at my chest, forcing me to catch it.


    ¡°S- Sorry,¡± I replied. ¡°I was just surprised. It looks really cool.¡±


    The blacksmith nodded. ¡°I have tested it, but you should try leaning onto the blade with all your gear on. It should flex, but not get any permanent bends.¡±


    I did as I was told and just as the man had promised, the blade flexed a little beneath my weight but didn¡¯t suffer any damage. I tried the same with the staff part and found it could hold my weight without effort. Though, the thing was a weight monster. I had to get used to it.


    If either of us broke, then it would be me, not the weapon. ¡°I guess I will have to find someone who can teach me the spetum.¡±

 Ch 13 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I am so proud of my little Astra,¡± Thalia praised. ¡°You actually went and talked to him. And from what you told me, I even dare to assume the first meeting wasn¡¯t too creepy or awkward.¡±


    It was the next day and my friend and I sat together on the bunker''s roof. Like always, we had a little chat, something we often did when there was nothing else to do.


    ¡°Aside from him being covered in shit,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I really could have chosen a better time to engage them, but I couldn¡¯t have hidden from Mark for much longer. That one has keen senses.¡±


    ¡°It still gives me hope!¡± She clapped her hands together. ¡°So, when will you be seeing each other again?¡±


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°I left when the situation got awkward, though I intend to catch them when they return from their hunt.¡±


    My friend dropped her excited smile and rubbed her temples. ¡°Back to square one. You should have seen to get a real follow-up date right then and there. If this goes on, others might notice that Tulkas is prime material. Then you will have to compete for his attention.¡±


    She clapped her hands together and giggled madly. ¡°That¡¯s it! Your task for today is to get a real date with Tulkas. And, this time you have to make sure he knows it¡¯s a date!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t too sure of Thalia¡¯s plans. ¡°But¡­ wouldn¡¯t that make things awkward between us? Besides, I am sure he already figured out why I showed interest in him. And what if he is one of those manly men who need to sponsor the date¡¯s expenses just to feel like a man? I wouldn¡¯t want to place that responsibility on him since it would just make him feel indebted to me.¡±


    ¡°All the better!¡± my friend replied. ¡°We aren¡¯t living in the olden days anymore. When you are the one who is in a better financial situation, then it¡¯s only natural for you to pay. It will show him you can pull your own weight and aren¡¯t some feeble princess who needs rescue.¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling we have gotten way off track here,¡± I pointed out and edged away from Thalia. Sometimes that woman simply got too worked up with her little fantasies. ¡°I believe they should be returning soon, so I will be going now, bye!¡±


    ¡°Just follow my advice!¡± Thalia called after me.


    I launched myself off the bunker¡¯s roof and fled my babbling friend. Thalia was a nice person, but some topics triggered the history nerd and relationship engineer in her.


    My filaments carried me over the roofs of the neighbouring buildings and towards the elevator at the wall. I knew Tulkas and Mark would have to take it once they returned to the Old Camp. The two of them worked like clockwork when it came to their hunting trips, aided by the fact that time was easy to track with the sun.


    They would always return once the blue star touched the mountaintop in the north.


    I landed on the roof of the elevator¡¯s watchtower and wasn¡¯t surprised when I saw two figures appear from the forest just a few minutes later.


    They made their way through the area of waist-high greenery which had been cleared between the camp¡¯s walls and the forest. People were regularly sent out to cut down the overgrown bushes which would allow predators to hide. The plants of this world always managed to grow back within a few weeks, so several people had built their livelihoods around keeping the flora away from the walls.


    For evolutionary reasons which I didn¡¯t understand, this world¡¯s flora experienced a perpetual growth season as long as the temperatures permitted it. Once the temperatures dropped and announced the coming winter, most plants rapidly withered and dropped their leaves as they drew all nutrients back into their stems and roots.


    Tulkas and Mark finally reached the base of the wall and boarded the elevator.


    I slid down the side of the watchtower¡¯s roof and landed on the walkway behind the wall¡¯s parapet.


    When the two men stepped out of the elevator, their rucksacks loaded with the spoils of their trip, I was already waiting for them.


    ¡°Astra!¡± Mark greeted me with a lot more enthusiasm than Tulkas managed to summon. It was a little off-putting, but not surprising, given the circumstances of our last meeting. I figured nobody liked being reminded of a literally ''shitty'' experience.


    ¡°Astra.¡± Tulkas also nodded his head in greeting.


    I couldn''t help but notice his roaming eyes and looked down at myself.


    Well, crap, I hadn''t exactly dressed for the occasion, but I could correct the mistake fairly quickly by shifting and tightening my filaments in all the right places.


    ¡°Hello!¡± I smiled and imitated his nod, showing him the same amount of respect. ¡°I was wondering whether we could have the talk I mentioned yesterday?¡±


    He frowned but nodded. ¡°I figure it¡¯s about Gurney¡¯s little enterprise?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I replied and shifted my gaze towards Mark who was watching us with a shit-eating grin. There was no way I was going to give people a show.


    It took a few seconds, but the third wheel finally got the message to make himself scarce. ¡°I think I will be going ahead, then. Tulkas, don¡¯t forget the quarterstaff training in the evening.¡±


    ¡°I will not,¡± Tulkas replied and returned his attention to me while Mark descended the ladder on the inner side of the wall.


    ¡°Do you want to talk right here?¡± he asked.


    I regarded the elevator¡¯s guards who ignored my presence.


    This spot had too many listening ears.


    Given how many people had enhanced hearing, there wasn''t a place where privacy was assured, but we didn''t have to do this right in front of them.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go directly to the restaurant so you can hand over your catch?¡± I suggested. ¡°You can have a bite to eat while we talk.¡±


    He nodded, immediately on board with the idea of doing something he had planned anyway.


    Tulkas was about to approach the ladder when I stopped him. ¡°Do you want me to give you a lift? It will be just a few seconds if we fly.¡±


    ¡°Can you even fly with additional weight?¡± he asked with a curious expression. ¡°Ahem, I am not exactly light.¡±


    I took that as a ¡®yes¡¯ and wrapped five filaments around him and his gear, then spread out the rest of them. ¡°Flying is a stretch while carrying another person, but I can glide.¡±


    Before he could protest, I caught the next breeze and we were carried off with him hanging beneath me.


    True to my word, we had no problem gliding above the roofs of several buildings until we reached the restaurant at the Old Camp¡¯s marketplace. Tulkas looked a little pale when we landed, but his knees didn¡¯t buckle upon touching the ground.


    ¡°I definitely won¡¯t get used to that!¡± he commented when I touched down next to him.


    I grinned and gestured for him to take the lead into the large, longhouse-style log cabin. It contained what all the residents of the Old Camp simply regarded as the ¡®restaurant¡¯.


    Tulkas was a registered supplier by now, so it didn¡¯t take the experienced clerks very long to tally up all the meat and plants he had brought in and to account for his points on a ledger. The restaurant always took all the consumables it could get. In turn, the suppliers had the option of putting some credit on the business¡¯ slate.


    I also ordered something for myself and told the restaurant staff to bill clan Aerie.


    We settled down in one of the restaurant¡¯s private booths, which was a little room with separators for privacy. It wasn''t great at stopping anyone from listening in on us, but at least it blocked sight.


    Tulkas started the conversation with a question. ¡°So, this is indeed some kind of dating, agency, interview, kind of thing? I must admit it''s the one thing I expected the least upon coming here. Feels awkward. In my old life, I was never the relationship type.¡±


    I tilted my head as I tried to consider his point of view. ¡°Yes, please think of it as a date. Gurney gave me your information and it got me interested.¡±


    Tulkas raised an eyebrow. ¡°Which reminds me that he failed to provide me with the same info in return.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I winced. ¡°I am sorry, but this is the first time I am doing this for real. My name is Astra Frost and I am twenty-seven. I came to this world when I was fourteen, so you can think of me as a veteran native. I was adopted into clan Aerie and lived my life with my adoptive parents until I decided to find a partner. Which isn¡¯t easy with my mutations, so I have been coming to the Old Camp for a few seasons in the hope of getting lucky.¡±


    I smiled and was proud I hadn¡¯t made it sound too creepy, hopefully.


    Something about what I had said caught his attention. ¡°That raises so many questions, Astra. I don''t know where to begin.¡±


    ¡°I have time to answer questions,¡± I replied. Being open and honest could only leave a good impression.


    He considered me, then asked, ¡°I thought I would have to fight in Gurney''s arena to be chosen by one of the clans, but you approached me directly?¡±


    I nodded, then explained the process. ¡°That''s the normal process you would have to go through when none of the clans is interested in you. The public performance gives everyone a chance to get the clans¡¯ attention. There is nothing forbidding a clansmember from approaching a petitioner directly. Like I am doing now.¡±


    Tulkas nodded. ¡°And you want me, why exactly? I am some middle-aged guy and you are a woman in the prime of her years. Not to mention, you seem to be powerful and influential when you can simply credit your clan to foot the bill.¡±


    His concerns confused me for a moment until I realized his misconception. I rummaged through the satchel I was always carrying at my hip and brought out a small handmirror. ¡°Tulkas, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?¡±


    He looked but clearly didn''t understand what I wanted to show him. ¡°I already know my new eyes are creepy.¡±


    Tulkas wasn''t the prettiest of men, but he had his charm. His face was of the wide and strong variety. The brownish-black hair was fairly normal. He wasn''t the largest, but I had to look up at him. His body type also belonged to the wider category, giving him a strong-looking build.


    Though, the defined muscles beneath his skin admittedly had me salivate.


    No! Astra, don''t make this awkward!


    Though, the mutation which made his eyes look inhuman wasn''t too bad, nor were the flecks of discoloured skin beneath. The exoticness of it attracted me.


    What happened to my body was certainly more extreme.


    ¡°Don''t you think you look younger?¡± I asked to guide him onto the right track. ¡°No wrinkles around the eyes? Some white hairs are gone which should have been there?¡±


    He touched the hair above his ear and narrowed his eyes at the reflection. ¡°I am younger?¡±


    ¡°Starfish regeneration,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Restores you to the prime of your life. Like a flatworm.¡±


    ¡°We are immortal?¡± he asked. Then quickly added, ¡°If nothing eats us?¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°I wouldn''t say immortal, but I don''t know of anyone with this evolution who died of old age. Here on Tirnanog, people always die due to violence or illness. Very few get older than sixty. The point I want to make is that any concerns about age differences are misplaced.¡±


    He leaned back and frowned as he thought about his misgivings.


    I continued, ¡°Regarding me being powerful and influential. Yes. That might be the case, but it applies only to the Old Camp. Back at the clan, my parents are influential, but I am a nobody.¡±


    I sat up straighter. ¡°Some history might bring things into perspective. A few years before my arrival in this world, the clans had a huge conflict which led to weakening all of us. In the aftermath, the leaders decided on a treaty between the large clans. This includes not sending any powerful paired warrior types to the Old Camp, or personally influencing the exiles. Though, the latter rule gets skirted a lot. The people you met here, none of us have reached even half of our potential.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Which brings me to the point of why I want to join forces with you. My adoptive parents back at clan Aerie belong to the leading council. They govern their own strata, which is like a political faction. But with me being only at half of my potential, I can''t take over as their true heir ¨C which is my goal ever since I came to terms with the fact that this world is my home now. It is a sad reality of life that those of us who can''t find a fitting partner will only ever be at the bottom of the food chain.¡±


    I pulled out the sheet of paper which detailed Tulkas''s evolutions and added my own. ¡°If we join forces, then we will get far in this world. I cannot guarantee we will become the most powerful, but our evolutions don''t overlap much. Gurney surely explained having two very similar evolutions that affect the same body part is a high risk. Aside from both of us having a starfish evolution, that''s not the case. All taken together, we are a sure fit without wasting any of our potential.¡±


    <table border="0" cellspacing="0"><colgroup width="116"></colgroup> <colgroup width="77"></colgroup> <colgroup span="3" width="60"></colgroup> <colgroup width="116"></colgroup>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td align="left" height="17">Tulkas</td>


    <td align="left">AGE:</td>


    <td align="right">34</td>


    <td align="left"> </td>


    <td align="left"> </td>


    <td align="left"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="47">1</td>


    <td align="left">Offensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">


    Medium Strength


    Short burst of Greater Strength


    </td>


    <td align="left">Muscle-based, zipper</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">2</td>


    <td align="left">Offensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Major Speed</td>


    <td align="left">Muscle-based, zipper</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">3</td>


    <td align="left">Offensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Electric Charge</td>


    <td align="left">Muscle-based, zipper</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">4</td>


    <td align="left">Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Muscles Steel</td>


    <td align="left">Muscle-based, zipper</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="47">5</td>


    <td align="left">Survival</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Carrion Eater</td>


    <td align="left">Digestive, zipper</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="17">6</td>


    <td align="left">Self-Healing</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Lesser Regeneration</td>


    <td align="left">starfish</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">7</td>


    <td align="left">Sensory</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Second Sight</td>


    <td align="left">Vision-Based, nightstalker</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">8</td>


    <td align="left">Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Enhanced Skeleton</td>


    <td align="left">Internal/Bone, saherna</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">9</td>


    <td align="left">Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Improved Reflexes</td>


    <td align="left">Nervous System, hornhop</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">10</td>


    <td align="left">Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Improved Processing</td>


    <td align="left">Nervous System, hornhop</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table border="0" cellspacing="0"><colgroup width="116"></colgroup> <colgroup width="77"></colgroup> <colgroup span="3" width="60"></colgroup> <colgroup width="116"></colgroup>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td align="left" height="17">ASTRA FROST</td>


    <td align="left">AGE</td>


    <td align="right">27</td>


    <td align="left"> </td>


    <td align="left"> </td>


    <td align="left"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="47">1</td>


    <td align="left">Appendage, Offensive, Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Filaments, Flight</td>


    <td align="left">Spine-attached, treemonae</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">2</td>


    <td align="left">Appendage, Sensory</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Echolocation</td>


    <td align="left">Spine-attached, treemonae</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">3</td>


    <td align="left">Survival</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Underwater Breathing</td>


    <td align="left">Lung-based, treemonae</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">4</td>


    <td align="left">Survival</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Improved Endurance</td>


    <td align="left">Blood-based, treemonae</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="47">5</td>


    <td align="left">Survival</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Improved Endurance</td>


    <td align="left">Circulatory System, treemonae</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="17">6</td>


    <td align="left">Self-Healing</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Lesser Regeneration</td>


    <td align="left">starfish</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">7</td>


    <td align="left">Offensive, Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Precognition</td>


    <td align="left">Skin-based, caveglider</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">8</td>


    <td align="left">Offensive, Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Bioluminescence</td>


    <td align="left">Skin-based, caveglider</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">9</td>


    <td align="left">Defensive</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Improved Resistance</td>


    <td align="left">Tissue-based, nightslime</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td align="right" height="32">10</td>


    <td align="left">Survival</td>


    <td colspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">Wakefulness</td>


    <td align="left">Brain-based, cavedigger</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He looked at the two sheets of paper and frowned. ¡°What about doubling up on this starfish evolution?¡±


    ¡°It''s the one thing which isn''t perfect, but combining the same evolutions with pairing up is of no risk. As I understand it, the nanotech in our bodies finds a part in our human DNA, the one that''s responsible for eyesight for example, and overwrites it with the new DNA. But it isn''t quite as easy. It doesn''t work without errors and only rewrites certain... passages of a chapter... like in a book. If you have two different mutations rewriting the same chapter, the outcome might be something completely nonsensical. But if you rewrite the same code twice, it''s nothing more than what would happen anyway when you strengthen your mutation.¡±


    He nodded in understanding. ¡°Like me already having the starfish mutation and then eating more starfish to improve it. It doesn''t matter whether the rewriting process is imperfect. Overwriting the same passage with the same piece of code at worst erases earlier errors. The problem arises with writing different codes over the same passage.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I nodded.


    He kept looking over my stat sheet. ¡°The filaments are obvious. Echolocation, I suppose it comes from the filaments. Breathing... endurance is obvious. What''s precognition? And why skin-based? Feels more like it should have something to do with the brain.¡±


    ¡°It''s not understood what the skin has to do with it, but the clans have kept a painful record of these things over the decades. You can be certain there won''t be bad surprises. As for precognition, have you ever felt this prickling sensation in the back of your neck when you just know you are being watched?¡± I tried to explain it. ¡°Or when you walk into a cave and you know a predator is stalking you? I feel that a hundredfold. Sometimes I know I am going to be attacked before it happens. The ability has saved my life countless times.¡±


    ¡°It''s not like I understand any of this mutation business. My own electricity stretches what I thought to be biologically possible. It¡¯s almost like someone or something far ahead of humanity bio-engineered the critters on this world.¡± He returned his attention to the sheet. ¡°Why is bioluminescence listed as offensive?¡±


    I pointed to my glowing filaments and the markings on my skin, forcing them to glow brighter. ¡°Once a day, I can burn myself out and turn into a flash grenade. It pops my skin open and leaves me lacerated, but anything that tried to eat me is guaranteed to have a bad day afterwards. I don¡¯t like using the ability, but you will be convinced of its usefulness once it saves your life.¡±


    He put down the papers. ¡°You seem to be well educated for someone who was abducted as a girl,¡± Tulkas probed a topic I wasn''t quite as comfortable with.


    I played with my fingernails, unsure of how to answer. ¡°The clans might not have Earth''s technology, but that doesn''t mean we are savages. Almost all of the big clans were founded on top of the remains of a failed colony. When Earth abandoned their ambitions on Tirnanog, they did so by simply shutting down the portals. They left everything behind, including the colonists'' educational books and the like. In Hochberg''s case, they didn''t even retrieve the settlers from what I have read. It¡¯s rumoured the Hochberg elders can tell tales from the time when this world wasn¡¯t used as a penal colony. That was some hundred years ago.¡±


    He leaned forward. ¡°Can you tell me why they are sending people like you?¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°People like me?¡±


    ¡°Children? Teenagers. Innocents?¡± There was something akin to a manic expression in his eyes.


    ¡°I am sorry, but I don''t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°They are doing so from time to time. As far as I know, nobody noticed a pattern yet. It seems like the children are from all levels of society. The only thing we can tell is they are very big on sending sisters or twins.¡±


    Tulkas looked a little downcast. ¡°Where would I have to go if I wanted to search for someone?¡±


    ¡°Are you...¡± I frowned. ¡°Is it connected to the revenge story you told Gurney?¡±


    I immediately knew I had touched a sensitive topic when he ground his teeth together.


    Instead of prying, I simply explained. ¡°I would assume you would need to build connections with all the clans. I am sorry to say this, but keeping track of where the women go isn''t easy thanks to the tenuous relationship between the clans. Gurney keeps track of the men, but as soon as the women land they are being distributed among the clans. Women of childbearing age and children are so prized that there aren''t many questions asked when a clan can claim one. They are snatched up before anyone in the Old Camp takes notes since they are blank slates and can be groomed into what the clan needs.¡±


    He snorted. ¡°Like cattle.¡±


    I didn''t want to deny it. ¡°It sounds fucked up, but this is a harsh world. A woman who can be groomed as the perfect ''breeding stock'' is worth everything to a clan. If it helps, they have better chances than the men. Taking me as an example, they definitely have it better if this world doesn''t break them.¡±


    ¡°So, why isn''t this the case for you?¡± he asked. ¡°Shouldn''t someone with your credentials be sequestered away at your clan?¡±


    ¡°There are reasons. We will have to address some of them once we return to Aerie. If you accept me,¡± I explained. There was no point in worrying about it now. ¡°Suffice it to say, my family''s position allows me more freedom and opened risky paths of evolution which aren''t available for the average person. And... people are encouraged to follow proven mutation combinations, but nobody is forced against their explicit will. We aren''t desperate enough for such policies, yet.¡±


    ¡°At the end of the day, the ability to create viable offspring decides the rise and fall of a clan. People can pair up for the sake of evolution alone and become fairly powerful thanks to it. But that doesn''t mean their children will be human.¡± I looked down at the table. ¡°It happened to a friend of mine.¡±


    The hard expression in his eyes softened a little. ¡°I am sorry. I have heard you have been searching for a partner for years. Why haven''t you just groomed one? Catch some exile back at the lake where the men are dropped and feed him the mutations you want. Just like they do it with the women.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Ah, forgive me, you mentioned it''s forbidden by some treaty? You will have to explain the situation in detail at some point.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°The treaty aside, have you seen what types of people they drop off at the lake? Nine of ten didn''t even make it through the forest. I don''t want a lifelong partnership with some weakling who can''t see to his own survival. Whether you want it or not, taking a partner is for life thanks to the nanotech within us. And I have ambitions. I don''t just want to survive in this world. I want to thrive. You have proven you can take care of yourself. Your mutations match with mine. Your background story doesn''t sound like you are a total ass, although we will have to come clear on it at some point.¡±


    He stiffened. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I shook my head and was proud I had noticed his little insecurity. ¡°Gurney is the closest thing to a human lie detector that exists in this world. He told me your story and your name are made up, but they aren''t entirely a lie. For now, you are your own person and your secrets are your own. I don''t care as long as we come clean once we join forces. Though, since you are quite obviously searching for family, I can already guess there is more to the revenge story.¡±


    We made eye contact and he nodded when it seemed like we had an understanding.


    ¡°Don''t tell anyone unnecessarily,¡± he said. ¡°There is a very good reason why I decided on a new beginning.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Like?¡±


    His eyebrows drew together. ¡°If I ever meet someone who knows my real name without knowing those who I search for, then I know I have to rip out their guts and force-feed them with their own intestines. Then I will break every bone in their body one by one until they pass out from the pain.¡±


    I connected the dots and nodded. ¡°Because the only one who could have told them are either those you are searching for or people who have a two-way connection to Earth. You must have pissed off someone powerful if you believe they would follow you to this world.¡±


    After a moment of thought, I added, ¡°Which is unlikely.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°I have never heard of Earth establishing any meaningful communication with us exiles. There are people like Roderick who work for them, but it''s more of a one-sided communication. The scientists from Earth sometimes throw a crate with luxury goods in with the male exiles. There is nothing within it that''s interesting enough to motivate us clanners, but stuff that might entice a younger exile like Roderick. The crates come with instructions and a promise of more and better rewards, should they help with the exiles¡¯ survival. It''s like: ''Make sure twenty or more survive and there will be two crates with the next group. If thirty survive, you will get three!''¡±


    Tulkas chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. It at least implies the scientists have a way of gathering data about us. They are staying true to treating us like lab rats. And I can''t say Roderick was particularly interested in our survival.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Pretty much. As for Roderick, he is an ass, and one crate with smokes will keep him going for long enough to await the arrival of the next group. It''s a conflicting interest for him since every successful new exile means more competition for him.¡±


    We kept talking for what felt like an hour until Tulkas excused himself with the promise of taking my invitation under serious consideration, but he had to reach his training lessons with the staff.


    I followed him on the way back to the bunker, seeing it as a good excuse to extend our time together. Before he left for the training field, I held him back. ¡°Sorry, but could we repeat this tomorrow? I will wait at the restaurant around the same time so we can eat together.¡±


    He thought about it and nodded. ¡°It''s fine with me.¡±


    When he turned, I held him back again. ¡°Uh, there is something I wanted to try out, regarding our compatibility.¡±


    I fought down my nervousness, but I needed to do this. Tulkas had been a decent bloke and as respectful as a man could be, but I had to know whether we could be more than amiable conversational partners. During our conversation, he hadn''t given even a hint about whether he was interested in more than getting information from me.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He raised an eyebrow.


    I looked around, making sure there was nobody around to observe the scene. We were at the plaza next to the arena''s grove and it was abandoned at this time of day. There was no better chance, so I jumped into the cold water.


    Reaching up, I grabbed Tulkas at his jacket and pulled.


    Since he stood ramrod straight like a hornhop caught in the flashlights, I ended up pulling myself to his height before kissing him.


    It was so embarrassing at first because I ended up with nothing more than mashing my lips against his, but then he reciprocated.


    Our tongues touched and sensually explored for a moment before he ended up grabbing my ass to support me. It felt only natural to bring my legs up and lock him between my thighs while we indulged in kissing each other. Simultaneously, my filaments melded around us, entangling our bodies in the most intimate of ways.


    The moment stretched on, maybe for a little too long, before I managed to pull away and clear my throat awkwardly. ¡°Ahem, thanks, I guess? That''s what I wanted to know.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tulkas was still a little frazzled about what I had done.


    ¡°You can let go of my ass now,¡± I clarified.


    ¡°Of course!¡± His hands disappeared as if he had touched a hot stove and I climbed down. ¡°Ah, if I may ask? What was that?¡±


    I brushed my hair behind my ear and smiled up at him. ¡°A test. You passed.¡±


    ¡°I passed?¡± He looked down at himself and embarrassedly shifted his pants around. I had obviously caused a quite natural reaction.


    He also carefully picked at my retreating filaments, which was something I was much more interested in than his libido.


    ¡°Not in the way you might be imagining right now.¡± I laughed. ¡°I just wanted to see how you would react. You have no idea how many men would freak out because of my filaments. So, tomorrow?¡±


    He met my eyes and smiled. His expression was a curious mix between arousal, wonderment, and surprise.


    ¡°Tomorrow,¡± Tulkas replied before he turned stiffly, for obvious reasons, and walked away.


    It was obvious that he still had trouble acclimating to this world, but his willingness to spend more time with me had me feeling giddy. Like a little girl on my way back to my room. I thought today''s conversation hadn''t gone so bad. And I had gotten a permanent meeting schedule out of it.


    Oh, and for that reaction alone I would have to make kissing him a regular goodbye event.

 Ch 14 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    Astra wasn''t the kind of person I had expected her to be.


    She was smart and she knew what she wanted, but I never got the impression that she was arrogant or thought herself to be better than others. Her view of the world and her place in it was down-to-earth and pragmatic. During our conversations, she always treated me like an equal, despite her supposedly higher social standing as a clanner.


    When I heard about the clanners, I had expected them to be aloof supremacists, given how they handled matters in the Old Camp. It was pretty much exactly how my new staff instructor behaved. He was a perfect example of the snobby rich guy who had lucked out in life.


    Admittedly, I didn''t know him well, but Brook suffered from a slight superiority complex as far as I was concerned.


    Astra wasn''t like that at all. Though, her ''test'' took me by surprise. It was obvious she had never kissed before, but that body of hers. I could still feel her firmness beneath my palms when I closed my eyes.


    No! I had to think about this logically! I wouldn''t dive head first into trouble just because a pretty girl kissed me.


    When I started learning about the clans by reading Gurney''s files, my first impulse was to join the Thich. It sounded like they took in most of the new arrivals. Therefore, my chance of finding my sisters would be the greatest with them.


    If I joined the Aerie, the Thich would be harder to access, as the two parties were on bad terms with each other.


    On the other side, Astra''s offer looked like the sweetest deal I could hope for in the long term. She was a straight path to personal and political power in a world where the mighty ruled. If we joined forces, I might be able to bend even the Thich to my will in time.


    Not to forget, there was a considerable risk that the Thich were connected to the hidden enemy that I was searching for. My organisation never found out why Earth''s leadership was abducting kids, though I forged some theories since my arrival.


    But Astra''s firm... ahem... it was a temptation. I couldn''t deny it.


    My thoughts went down two wildly different paths as I weighed my options. One was potentially quick and logical with hefty pitfalls. The other relied on patience but was sweet and promising. I was no longer certain about how to proceed since I didn''t have enough information to make an informed decision.


    Though, when faced with a fork in the road, I had always preferred to play the long game.


    The wooden staff clipped my temple and drew blood as it broke my skin.


    Stumbling back, I was painfully reminded to pay my full attention during training fights. I winced and touched my temple. The fingers came away red with blood. Something that hadn''t changed after my genetic ''improvements'' was that headwounds still bled like a bitch!


    Instructor Brook lowered his staff and glared at me. ¡°Pay attention when we are sparring. Your muscles may protect most of your body against blunt trauma, but you don''t have that many on your head. At least protect that numb skull of yours with a little more care.¡±


    Brook was a lean, dark-skinned man who looked like the stick in his hands. With him standing at least a head above me, I considered him to be huge. He never talked much about himself, but according to Gurney, he was a staff instructor and worth everything he was paid.


    I wasn''t so sure of that.


    Gurney had pointed Brook out to me when I asked for a tutor who taught staff weapons.


    The only thing I knew for sure was that Brook was a clanner from Hochberg who took a lot for his lessons. I had to pay him two days'' worth of my stored-up points at the restaurant for a mere two hours of training.


    Normally, I wouldn''t have minded, since Brook obviously knew his trade.


    Sadly, the two of us hadn''t clicked at all. The way he talked always implied he was looking down on any exile who wasn''t a clanner. As a petitioner and potential arena fighter, I barely fulfilled the requirements to be talked to in his mind.


    ¡°Right!¡± I replied.


    My misgivings for Brook had no place in the training ring.


    It had been a week since Astra and I started meeting regularly and I had to admit that the woman was getting into my head. Those ''goodbye'' kisses of hers tended to skirt the edge of my self-control. A few more of those ''goodbyes'' and I would try to get her naked then and there on the street.


    Which... probably wouldn''t end well for me without her consent.


    What was I thinking? Of course, I would have her consent! I would be a bonehead to believe otherwise. No woman kissed like that if she didn''t want the whole deal.


    And here I was lamenting over her when my attention was supposed to be somewhere else! This was a sparring session!


    ¡°My head just isn''t in it today,¡± I admitted. ¡°I am more of a feet and fists guy when it comes to martial arts.¡±


    Back on Earth, I had never been as physically fit as I was now. Despite that, our organisation had required me to join self-defence classes. The tutors there taught me that fighting for one''s life didn''t require muscles or excessive training. Their doctrine taught something more important for battle than style and form. It was the ability to overcome a civilised humans'' inhibitions to do harm.


    These lessons thoroughly changed any expectations I had of fighting. Most of the popular forms of martial arts had been neutered for public practice. Techniques that guaranteed easy victories were banned because they held the potential for permanent injuries.


    This wasn''t the case with what I had been taught.


    And the organisation''s instructors had been a lot better at what they taught than Brooks.


    Nonetheless, I had to admit that the man knew a few useful techniques with his staff. I would have to train a lot more until they became instinctive.


    I raised a hand to stop the instructor from spouting his standard line and said it for him. ¡°Yeah, you are right. My body alone won''t help me against some rabid creature.¡±


    Brooks didn''t look pleased that I had pointed out his concerns for him.


    Something clacked just a few metres away from us.


    It drew Brook''s and my attention. Mark was also watching with narrowed eyes from his spot on the bench next to the training field. He had been lazing around while I received my training, but now he was paying attention to the newcomer.


    I belatedly realized the clacking had been a clapping, now that I took a closer look at the mutant who had joined us on the training field. He looked like the brother of the man who I had encountered eating the bug in the forest, though the mutation had gone slightly better in this case.


    Lucky for him that he hadn''t lost his mind like the other one.


    He was a sun-darkened mountain of muscles who had gained a few more eyes than necessary for a human. Additionally, it looked like something akin to armour plates shifted beneath his skin. All he wore were trousers, which left his well-toned upper body bare for everyone to see. I thought it to be a little vain that this guy showed off his physique in such a way.


    Admittedly, his deformed arms would make it hard to put on a proper shirt.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    A set of serrated spikes emerged from his elbows, widening his arms as if they belonged to a praying mantis. The chitin on his hands was responsible for the clapping-turned-clacking.


    ¡°Look who I found.¡± He grinned maniacally as he looked me over. ¡°At first, I wasn''t certain, but now I am sure we know each other.¡±


    I frowned, but couldn''t remember ever having seen this creature... man. ¡°I am sorry, but who are you? What are you?¡±


    ¡°Back at the beach! I am the one who you tried to brain with a stone!¡± the muscle man called out.


    I frowned as I tried to remember a beach or something like it. The only thing which came to mind was the lake''s shore.


    Then I remembered him. ¡°Right! Dude, life wasn''t kind to you since we last met. And I wouldn''t call it a beach. It was a lakeshore. And apologies for the stone. Though, I have to say I felt justified in doing so back then. You behaved like an asshole.¡± I shook my head. ¡°How did tribe-building work out for you?¡±


    The bug-man sneered. ¡°Don''t mock me for taking my chances. I have been fighting in the arena while it seems you are being pampered.¡±


    I looked towards Brook, but the clanner only laid his staff over his shoulders and looked indifferent. ¡°Unlike you, Ean, Tulkas at least pays for his lessons.¡±


    The instructor looked back and forth between Mr Muscles and me. It was obvious that a plan was forming in the man''s head, and judging by his expression it was a stupid one.


    Brook gestured with his staff. ¡°Why don''t you come into the ring, Ean? You and Tulkas can work out your grievances. Fists and mutations only. That should keep both of you alive. God knows I have heard him yammering too much about his combat training by now.¡±


    Ean, the bug-man, laughed. ¡°Him? Combat training? You should have seen him at the beach. That pen pusher hasn''t fought a single serious battle in his life until he came here.¡±


    Well, sorry for not being the fittest in a world which didn''t require physical power. Back on Earth, I would have just sat in a car and driven over this Ean fellow. All the muscles in the world wouldn''t have helped him against three tons of steel. Of course, it would have been a very regrettable accident. There was no way a socially adjusted person like myself would have been capable of murder.


    Maybe it was time to start with some social engineering. If I didn''t stand up to such provocations in a world like this, people would be all over me in no time. ¡°Fine. But you will train me for free. One hour each day if I win, Brook.¡±


    Brook shrugged and left the ring while Mark looked concerned.


    ¡°Win first.¡± My instructor sat down on the bench next to my friend.


    Mark made eye contact with me and shook his head. ¡°Don''t engage him hand to hand, Tulkas. Those spikes aren''t just for show.¡±


    I studied Ean and sighed, then threw the training staff over to Mark. It wasn''t like I could avoid conflict forever. This was a good way to test myself against someone who should be more or less on my level. Better to fight him in a duel-like setting than to be jumped in a dark alley when he had friends with him.


    As soon as I had let go of the staff Ean charged me ¨C and hesitated when I charged him right back with an animalistic scream on my lips.


    Rule number one, always be on the offensive. Two, never stop fighting. Three, behaving like a madman could startle the best of streetfighters.


    His hesitation didn''t last long, but it changed how he approached the fight. Instead of engaging me head-on as he intended, Ean brought his arms up in an attempt to bring his spikes to bear.


    I stopped my charge and kicked out low, aiming for Ean''s groin. The impact caused him to grunt in pain, but he didn''t go down. While ignoring the pain, Ean tried to ram his spikes into my leg by moving his arms like a pincer.


    Thankfully, I hadn''t committed myself fully and could withdraw my leg. Utilizing the opportunity when his guard was down, I swung and both my palms slapped Ean''s ears.


    Just like I had observed back at the lake, Ean completely relied on his physical stature in an attempt to overwhelm me. He was a street thug whose body had been forged inside a gym.


    Rule number four, hit the spots that even the best bodybuilders cannot train.


    Ean roared when his eardrums popped. He brought his hands back up in an attempt to protect his head.


    I noticed only now that Ean had moved kind of slow during our entire fight. Even though his body looked superior, he wasn''t. My mutation had boosted my musculature to superhuman levels.


    Ean''s physique might''ve been commendable for a weightlifter, but it still was only human. His mutation gave him only armour and two unwieldy blades.


    Meanwhile, I had complete control over this new Bullet Time ability of mine. Mark''s constant pestering had paid off to the point that activating the ability didn''t require conscious thought.


    My leg came forward once more and I thrust it against Ean''s knee in a stomping motion. It didn''t snap as I had hoped, but Ean lost his footing and went down.


    He immediately got back up to one knee while he swayed and ineffectively tried to guard himself. My attack likely hadn''t just affected his eardrums but also caused his equilibrium organ to act up.


    It was kind of hard to fight when it felt like you just took a ride on a fast carousel.


    I gave myself a moment to study the pattern of his flailing arms. Then I struck with all my might, thrusting a pointed index and middle finger right into Ean''s left eye. It was a strange sensation, but I paid it no heed as I flexed my muscles in an attempt to fluctuate the power.


    Ean didn''t scream, nor was there a visible electrical discharge as all the power I pumped through him was grounded directly into the earth. It was just as if he had accidentally reached into a power plug.


    Most of his body seized up while some of it twitched and shuddered. His arms flopped about ineffectively as his muscles contracted involuntarily or locked up due to the conflicting impulses they received.


    Brook jumped to his feet, but he was too slow. Before he could interfere, I supercharged my muscles and hooked my fingers into Ean''s skull to hold it in place. It was similar to holding onto a small nook in the rock while climbing zipper-shit-crag.


    Then I brought my fist down on the top of Ean''s forehead, releasing all the stored up force in an accelerated motion that a karate practitioner would have called a tettsui.


    The impact hurt my hand, but it sounded more like a wet smack than the shattering blow it truly was as the man''s skull gave way.


    Brook finally reached me and poked his staff into my chest. It forcefully pushed me away from the corpse, which I allowed after sliding my finger out of the scorched eye cavity.


    Ean slumped backwards until he lay on his back. His remaining eyes were still regarding the world around him, but there was no life in them.


    Brook looked at the body and finally realized that there was nothing to rescue there. He turned his attention back to me and glared. ¡°Why? You were the superior fighter.¡±


    I crossed my arms in front of my chest before I spoke calmly. ¡°There are many reasons. Because he was an egomaniac and a menace. Because he would have tried to do the same with me and you knew it. Which is why you engineered the fight. Because I don''t leave enemies or bullies alive to haunt me later. Because I am nobody''s toy. Like it or not, Brook, you killed Ean by proxy when you decided to use the idiot to teach me a lesson. Don''t try to take some moral high ground with me.¡±


    Brook ground his teeth but didn''t lash out. ¡°I stand corrected. You might be slightly dangerous, even without a weapon.¡±


    ¡°So, will I get my free lessons?¡± I raised an eyebrow.


    Brook clicked his tongue and pressed his lips together. He looked down at the corpse and hooked his foot beneath Ean''s torso. Then he flung the body out of the training ring with enough force to have it smack against the bunker''s wall.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Mark complained when it passed him a little too close for comfort.


    ¡°Shouldn''t we dispose of it?¡± I asked, unsure how this worked within camp walls. Outside, zippers would show up within the minute and clean up the mess, but I had never seen them enter the camp.


    ¡°The body will be gone come morning.¡± Brook levelled his staff, looking more serious than he had been before.


    Mark threw back my staff and we returned to sparring with more intensity than before.


    Brook didn''t have a huge change in attitude after that, but he was slightly more professional about his lessons.


    Once night came, we finished and Mark and I walked back towards Gurney''s part of the bunker. Though, I noticed that my friend was quieter than I was used to.


    ¡°You killed him.¡± Mark pointed out once we found ourselves alone in a corridor.


    ¡°Obviously,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You could have subdued him,¡± Mark continued.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I admitted. ¡°Though, I don''t think that Mr Muscles would have left me in peace if I had just given him a beating. From how he acted at the arrival site, that one was a street thug, straight and simple. He would have tried to find a weakness of mine and used it to blackmail me at best, to kill me at worst.¡±


    ¡°You could have told the clans,¡± Mark suggested. ¡°Or Gurney.¡±


    ¡°We had a clanner watching the entire debacle. He even engineered the situation,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Am I the only one who noticed that the Old Camp is only about strength and reputation?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Mark admitted. ¡°I guess I was simply surprised about the way you killed him. I didn''t take you to be the type.¡±


    ¡°I think his death was quick and without too much suffering,¡± I replied. ¡°It was a mercy.¡±


    We didn''t say any more and returned to Gurney''s quarters where I took a quick shower and retreated to my private room.


    Once the door was closed, I searched through my gear and took out the satchel containing the metal balls which I got as improvised throwing weapons.


    I took out one of the smaller ones and sat down at the little desk in the corner. With the piece of metal on my palm, I started the training exercise I had come up with to increase my control over my body.


    Slowly, I relaxed my mind and tried not to think of the muscles in my forearm as those big muscle groups which I was used to. Instead, I did my best to address every tiny muscle one by one. One after the other, I went through all of them, flexing each one individually.


    The exercise wasn''t anywhere as easy as it sounded when I came up with the idea. Something inside my frontal lobe still screamed that all of this was wrong and I wasn''t supposed to be able to move more muscles in my forearm than my entire body was supposed to have.


    I nonetheless kept going relentlessly until I finally managed to get through the entire sequence just like I had imagined it.


    Slowly, I charged my muscles and released the energy while flexing the ones close to my skin in a coil pattern. At the same time, I flexed the ones which I imagined to be close to my bone.


    The metal ball in my palm twitched and hovered three centimetres into the air, then fell back down.


    I concentrated and did it again. And again, just to be sure I hadn''t fallen victim to my imagination.


    Have a current run in a coil pattern around a conductive core to guide the magnetic field and you get an electromagnet! Plain and simple!


    The metal ball hovered upwards once more and this time I kept it in place with considerable effort. My coordination wasn''t completely up to the task, because the ball wobbled around in an uncontrolled manner, but this showed I was improving.


    At last, I dropped the exercise and the ball fell back into my palm. My arm hurt like hell, but I was proud. There were only a few thousand more of the little muscles in the rest of my body to gain conscious control over. What could be the problem with that?


    I sighed dejectedly. No question perfecting this technique would likely take me months or years of training.

 Ch 15 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Astra? Astra! Wake up!¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± I shuddered as the voice woke me from my sweet slumber. Someone was knocking at my door hard enough to make me fear they were trying to break into my room.


    Just what was it with people waking me up all the time? Couldn''t a girl just sleep when she was at home? I huffed inwardly, wishing the disturbance would go away. But... unlike the other times on which I had been woken up outside of reasonable hours, this voice didn''t belong to Thalia.


    It might be about something actually important.


    I untangled myself and got out of bed. Instead of going for style, I simply slapped my filaments around myself to create the illusion of a robe. Then I used a filament to open the door to my small room.


    Liam unhappily looked inside. ¡°Astra, we have a problem. And it is connected to your recent amorous endeavours.¡±


    I said nothing and returned his gaze expectantly.


    ¡°It looks like the Hochberg and the Vier are causing a scene about the guy you are dating. They called for all the clans to assemble and are pressuring Gurney to stop protecting him,¡± he explained hastily. ¡°I thought you might want to know.¡±


    ¡°Where is Thalia?¡± I asked. Normally, she was supposed to handle things like this.


    ¡°She went somewhere this morning because the restaurant didn''t have what she needed.¡± Liam made a helpless gesture.


    I growled and rubbed my temple. ¡°Give me a minute.¡± Then I closed the door in Liam''s face.


    It took me two minutes to freshen up and to leave the room in a presentable state. Dealing with the other clans was as much about personal power as it was about proper conduct.


    Liam had been waiting outside and I immediately pressured him for details.


    Apparently, Tulkas had drawn the clans'' attention and became the latest playball for politics. Just listening to Liam''s explanations gave me headaches.


    Tulkas had taken training lessons from a certain Brook, a Hochberg who was known for his skills with the staff. Liam didn''t know how it had exactly happened, but Ean, a new exile who was also one of the petitioners for a clan position had intruded on their training lessons and challenged Tulkas ¨C who then killed the offender.


    The problem was that the Vier already had their eyes on Ean and were now complaining to the other clans about the perceived loss. As I saw it, they couldn¡¯t claim anything when they hadn¡¯t officially invited Ean into their clan.


    But that wasn¡¯t how things worked when the clans flexed their political muscles.


    Unfortunately, I had never made a secret out of courting Tulkas, which meant everyone knew that clan Aerie had their eyes on him.


    Since there was already bad blood between us and the Thich, the Thich were totally on board with the Vier''s misgivings about having their intended new member killed.


    Normally, nobody cared about exiles murdering each other in the open, but figuratively, this case was an opportunity to piss onto the Aerie''s leg. The only motivation for this complaint was envy.


    I massaged the bridge of my nose once I had listened to Liam''s explanation. ¡°What does Gurney have to say about it?¡±


    ¡°I don''t think we can expect anything aside from his duties from him,¡± Liam admitted. ¡°Right now, he is playing the neutral party like he should and blocking any attempts to get to his charge. It doesn¡¯t help that the person in question is currently out hunting, but I figure Gurney already sent a runner to bring them back. It¡¯s still early and they can''t have gotten far.¡±


    Liam nervously massaged his hands as he considered the situation. ¡°Gurney already made it clear that it was an argument between exiles as far as he is concerned¡­ but¡­ If all the clans would band together against us, even he might have to wash his hands of responsibility and abandon protecting his prot¨¦g¨¦.¡±


    We left the part of the bunker which belonged to clan Aerie and headed to the central hall.


    The original settlers had designed the bunker as something akin to a city hall with administrative purposes. It was a star-shaped complex with eight sections which provided more than enough space for the main clans and any visitors from smaller groups. At the centre of the bunker was a large assembly hall which had likely been intended for public events.


    We reached the hall and found several people talking with each other.


    I recognized Sarah and Brook from clan Hochberg.


    My expression turned sour when I found Ivonne talking to a Vier whose name I didn''t know. The woman in question looked angry but collected. I assumed she was the one who had her eyes on this Ean fellow.


    Gurney stood in the middle of the room, seeming more annoyed than anything else.


    Two members from clan Jeng stood a little to the side as if to show they were here to play witness, but wanted no part in the charade. This year at least, they had no interest in recruiting new people, since their clan had met some resource problems. That much had become clear when we distributed the female exiles.


    It was fine with me if they wished to remain a neutral party.


    A single look at the gathering told me it was the same old story. Just a few weeks ago, all of us ganged up on the Thich because they had been a little too greedy. They had simply leaned their heads too far out of the window.


    Now, it appeared like the convenient target was me and clan Aerie, for whatever reason seemed sufficient at the moment.


    ¡°Clan Aerie is present,¡± I announced our arrival.


    ¡°Good!¡± The woman from the Vier stepped forward. ¡°We want justice for losing someone who we had our eyes on! In turn, it would only be fair for the one who murdered our man to no longer be considered as a petitioner for clan membership.¡±


    So that was their angle. They wanted to bar Tulkas from joining a clan. They had lost their candidate, so they didn¡¯t want the Aerie to grow stronger either.


    It was the same old power play as ever.


    I frowned and looked at Brook. ¡°Before any of this continues I would rather like to know the exact circumstances for why this Ean person was killed in the first place. What makes the Vier think they can demand from us to give up on a candidate?¡±


    Brook straightened his back. ¡°Yesterday, I was giving Tulkas some pointers at the training field when Ean came across us. The two were from the same batch of exiles and it was apparent that they had some history with each other. To get their grievances out of the way, I suggested a friendly training match. I even went so far as to forbid weapons, believing it would prevent fatal injuries. But from the moment their fight started, it was clear that Tulkas was the superior combatant. Sadly, he was too fast and killed Ean in cold blood before I could stop it.¡±


    Some of the people murmured in subdued tones as they listened to the recount. They were clearly surprised that a normal exile was able to do such a thing under Brook''s watchful eye. Normally, exiles didn''t have the skill-set to do well without having paired mutations, nor did they have the training to make full use of their abilities.


    Mark was a perfect example of that. His mutations would complement a certain skill-set well, but they didn''t work together well on their own. He wouldn''t be able to stop someone like me, who had been fostered by a clan to become an effective warrior even without a paired partner.


    Something told me Gurney would receive a few requests for Tulkas'' skill-set after this and that my time was on a countdown now.


    I knew Tulkas had been extremely lucky. Purely combat-wise, his set of mutations probably made him stronger than many of the spoon-fed clanners who were present in this room.


    Gurney spoke up. ¡°Then I ask again, Brook. Why make these accusations now when the only two other witnesses are out hunting and can''t tell their side of the story? And why could something like this happen in the first place? I placed way too much trust in you when I suggested you as a staff instructor!¡±


    ¡°We should wait for them to come back,¡± I suggested but was overheard by the crowd.


    ¡°I am a clanner!¡± Brook replied with an outraged expression. ¡°Are you going to take the word of some mere petitioner over mine?¡±


    I cleared my throat and raised my voice. ¡°We will get to the truth of the matter. And if this turns out to be a witch hunt, you can try to go through me via a proper challenge!¡±


    My threat made at least some of them pause. They probably hadn''t expected I would go so far as to defend my potential partnership with Tulkas by force.


    Gurney signalled me nonetheless to step back. He apparently intended to take care of the matter because of principle. After all, it was his authority which had been implicitly challenged.


    Sarah looked at her comrade and a suppressed frown stole itself onto her face.


    I immediately took notice that there was a split in clan Hochberg. Sarah was the reasonable type, so there might be a social play I could take here if Gurney wasn¡¯t able to handle the situation.


    ¡°The words of two petitioners against one clanner!¡± Gurney corrected with a snort.


    ¡°You are overstepping your boundaries, Gurney,¡± Ivonne said in a calculating tone and approached the arena manager as if she had something to say.


    I winced, knowing Gurney wouldn''t be able to ignore such a challenge.


    There was a reason why the clans had chosen him as the de facto manager of the Old Camp. Had the others just forgotten or not listened when their elder instructed them regarding conduct at the Old Camp? Was I the only one who knew Gurney was not to be touched?


    The arena manager straightened his back and walked two steps towards Ivonne. ¡°Watch what you are saying, girlie. I got this position because the leaders of all the clans placed me in it.¡± He turned and looked around the hall. ¡°My job is to foster new talents for the clans in a place that¡¯s neutral grounds for everyone! Don¡¯t forget you little whelps are just some errand runners for those with real power! They send you here to get a taste of field politics where nobody can do real damage if it comes to a fight. None of you is going to tell me how I am going to do my job!¡±


    Ivonne stepped forward and reached out to take hold of Gurney''s arm. Then she tried to pull him away, probably thinking it would be easy to manhandle him.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I knew she had at least some middle-grade strength mutation, but Gurney didn''t move from his spot at all. The soles of Ivonne''s shoes just slipped ineffectively over the tiled ground, not gaining enough grip to pull the rotund arena manager from his spot. The only thing she achieved was to dig her fingers deeper into his flabby skin.


    Gurney reached out and slapped the flat of his palm against Ivonne''s chest. He didn''t move particularly fast, but there was weight behind his retaliation.


    Ivonne''s lips sputtered as her chest was compressed and the air forced out of her lungs.


    She stumbled and did a backwards flip as she half slithered, half rolled over the ground until she broke through a table and slammed into a wall seven metres away from Gurney.


    The woman who had given me so much trouble when she attacked me in the streets didn''t get back up.


    Instead, she rather chose to stay on the ground, trying to catch her breath. Her face looked like she had been hit by a ramhorn in full sprint. And now she wasn''t certain whether everything inside her was still in the right place.


    The room fell deadly silent.


    Some people had clearly forgotten the arena manager wasn''t to be toyed with. Ever since I started my yearly visits to the Old Camp, my parents warned me repeatedly to keep a good relationship with Gurney.


    But this was the first time I saw his real strength. He had easily rebuffed Ivonne, who I had earlier judged to be a tough opponent for me.


    It led me to the assumption that Gurney secretly possessed a full set of paired mutations. If so, then he was the most powerful person in the Old Camp.


    Gurney looked around once more and pretended to dust off his outfit. ¡°My job is to manage the arena and to find new talents. You people have apparently forgotten your job is to recruit these new talents. No more, no less. Your job is not to start another clan war by barring others from doing their duties. As far as I am concerned, Tulkas and Mark are new talents. Ean was mediocre at best and didn''t even get sponsorship from me. Yes, he had a successful roll of the dice with that omnieye mutation, but you could have approached and invited him to your clan at any time. He even already fought in the arena, giving you plenty of opportunity for an official invitation. You did not, or I would have gotten the request. I don''t care how you guys manage your recruitment duties. As long as my prot¨¦g¨¦s aren¡¯t attacking and killing clan members, you are not going to mess with the recruitment process.¡±


    The tension somewhat fled the room when Ivonne got back to her feet on her own. The tough cookie looked more pissed than anything else, but she didn''t dare to approach Gurney a second time.


    Seeing her hale salted the soup for me, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. I should have known better than to hope for a heavy injury from being flung across the room after she had already survived a ballistic flight over the Old Camp. Given the chance, I would have used her moment of weakness to finish her off.


    Sadly, there would have been too many witnesses.


    At that moment, Tulkas and Mark came down the main corridor with a clanner from the Jeng. They stopped when they saw the gathering of well-dressed people, but Gurney waved for them to proceed into his part of the bunker.


    The Jeng nodded to Gurney and went to stand with his people.


    I let out a sigh of relief, realizing Gurney must have asked the Jeng for help. They were known for being the best trackers among the clans. Even if they would rather be neutral in this matter, they hadn''t passed up on building some bonus points with the arena manager.


    If the Vier and the Thich wanted to keep up the charade now, we would have at least Tulkas'' and Mark''s statements.


    Brook tried to speak up, but Sarah placed a hand on his shoulder and shot him a glare which shut him up. It appeared like she already anticipated where this was going.


    On top, Gurney had presented the gathering with the facts of his position. They had practically forced him to do so.


    Nobody would be able to do anything about Tulkas killing another exile unless they tried to claim him as theirs. Just like nobody would have challenged a clanner killing some random exile, Tulkas stood above other exiles through his association with Gurney.


    When the Jeng left as a group, it was a sign they no longer considered this newest round of clan politics as worth their time.


    It was like a signal for the others to disperse.


    I left Liam behind and quickly followed Gurney towards his section of the bunker.


    He turned around when he noticed I was following him and that there was no other way to go for me. ¡°Hey! No clanners in my rooms.¡±


    ¡°But I need to talk to Tulkas,¡± I countered.


    Gurney rolled his eyes. ¡°I will explain to him what a mess he made.¡±


    I huffed. ¡°It can hardly be called a mess. Let''s call it as it is. Everyone knows I am seeing him regularly. They are trying to use the incident to play their games because of our association with each other. If he hadn''t been dating me, nobody would have said something about the incident.¡±


    Gurney shook his head, but I went around him. I had to make sure Tulkas knew what was going on.


    The arena manager reached for me, but I easily avoided his grasping hand. He might be strong, but he was also slow. I slipped past him and quickly walked into Gurney''s quarters where I found Tulkas and Mark sitting at a table with a drink in hand.


    Gurney huffed into the room, but no longer tried to throw me out. Instead, he closed the large blast door which secured his part of the bunker. ¡°You have half an hour and then you are out of my rooms!¡±


    I nodded and turned to address Tulkas. ¡°You killed someone yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He frowned. ¡°He left me no other choice.¡±


    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Mark asked. He looked at his comrade with a dubious expression, implying the whole story was more nuanced than Tulkas'' simplified reply.


    I annoyedly waved a hand. ¡°The other clans are trying to make an incident out of this. I am inclined to believe they are trying to deny clan Aerie a recruit out of pettiness. So, could you please tell us what happened yesterday?¡±


    It was Mark who slowly recounted the story of Ean''s short attempt at gathering some glory points by beating one of Gurney''s sponsored recruits.


    Once he was done, I felt assured my earlier assumption was correct. ¡°The other clans are trying to use you to get to me and clan Aerie.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Tulkas wore an annoyed expression as he thought everything through. ¡°I didn''t anticipate making an example out of this Ean fellow would have any repercussions. I underestimated how petty clan politics are.¡±


    ¡°If you hadn''t dated Astra, nobody would have said a thing,¡± Gurney grumbled. ¡°You should have told me about the Ean incident right away. Though, not even I suspected Brook to be this petty and rat on you. What did you do to him?¡±


    ¡°Scratched the man''s ego. Badly,¡± Mark remarked drily. He showed no remorse about pointing out Tulkas¡¯ mistake.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Tulkas complained. ¡°I just made sure he understood not to mess with me. That guy had it coming ever since he raised his nose when he saw me. He behaved like some pompous ass right from the get-go. Engineering the fight with Ean instead of defusing the situation was just the final nail in the coffin.¡±


    ¡°Well, there is nothing which can be done about it now.¡± I huffed. ¡°The question is what you want to do, Tulkas. That''s why I came here.¡± I looked at the table, not daring to meet his eyes.


    ¡°What I want to do?¡± Tulkas looked perplexed. He clearly still didn''t understand how petty the clans were.


    ¡°The way I see it is that they will only get more hostile in their attempts to mess with you if we continue dating openly. If you still have plans to join any of the other clans, then it might be best for you to cut ties with me now. If you make it clear you would rather want to join one of the other clans, then they might back off.¡± It was the option I wanted the least, but I had to say it. I had no interest in building a relationship on deception.


    ¡°The other option is that you join clan Aerie right away to present them with facts,¡± I suggested further. ¡°They won''t be able to mess with you if you are officially partnered with me. It would set a bad precedent if they kept complaining afterwards. You would belong to clan Aerie and enjoy the clan''s full protection. An attack on you would be an attack on the entire clan.¡±


    Tulkas opened his mouth, then shut it. He looked at me, then at Gurney, and then at the ceiling. ¡°This is going too fast. And I don¡¯t like the logic behind it.¡±


    ¡°Like it or not, the woman is right about what it means for you,¡± Mark pointed out.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to stop dating Astra?¡± Tulkas asked.


    My heart made a little flip at that. Would I finally get what I had been hoping for? He had been polite but hadn''t agreed to anything aside from dates for the past few days, so I hadn''t been sure how he felt about me.


    ¡°The longer you date her, the less likely it is for another clan to accept you,¡± Gurney said.


    I wrung my hands and made eye contact with Tulkas. ¡°I already said I want you.¡±


    Tulkas couldn¡¯t meet my eyes and instead chose to look at the floor.


    Gurney threw up his hands. ¡°Just go with her! Don¡¯t tell me I engineered the perfect candidate for her and now they don¡¯t want to get it on with each other because of some mushy social rules from Earth! Other people hook up with each other after one night in a bar!¡±


    My gaze locked onto Gurney. ¡°What do you-¡±


    ¡°Engineered!?¡± Tulkas spluttered as if he had swallowed a frog.


    The arena manager looked unapologetic. ¡°Obviously. Isn¡¯t that my job? And I was kind of getting fed up with you, Astra. Not perfect this, not fitting that. I had it up to here!¡± He held a hand above his head as far as he could reach. ¡°Now you have your perfect fit! And he obviously doesn''t dislike you! And from what my spies told me, the two of you had some quite nice dates with questionable goodbyes. So it can¡¯t be a personality thing either. Get it over with and get out of my quarters! You two are adults and my resources aren¡¯t unlimited.¡±


    I gaped at Gurney, unsure of whether to kiss or slap him.


    Tulkas clapped his mouth shut. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it!¡±


    Then he shook his head. ¡°No, actually, I already suspected something like this. The two skill-sets are matching too perfectly and you were the one who suggested a whole third of my skills.¡±


    ¡°Be thankful for it!¡± Gurney huffed.


    Tulkas frowned, then sighed. ¡°I am.¡±


    Then he looked towards me. ¡°Let¡¯s go? I don''t have anything to pack.¡± He stood up and shouldered his rucksack and the spear since he still wore all his hunting gear.


    ¡°Awawawa...¡± I spluttered, unsure of what to say. This felt like a colossal betrayal on Gurney¡¯s part, but on the other hand, this was exactly his job. And I had finally gotten what I wanted, though it somehow felt too rushed now.


    Mark raised a hand. ¡°Does that mean I can have his room for the winter?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Gurney replied immediately. ¡°You are going to find your own shelter! I am not going to suffer your presence for two entire months!¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Mark looked dejectedly down at the table.


    I finally snapped out of my stupor and approached Tulkas, taking his hand.


    ¡°Good luck.¡± Mark winked at his friend. ¡°We will keep going on hunting trips for as long as you stay at the Old Camp? Tomorrow? After you had your happy night?¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course.¡± Tulkas embarrassedly cleared his throat.


    ¡°I will have to introduce you to the rest of clan Aerie,¡± I said, thinking about what had to be done next. Truth be told, I just wanted to drag him back to my room to seal the deal as quickly as possible before anything could change his decision!


    Tulkas wished Gurney farewell and we left the arena manager''s quarters. Thankfully, we didn''t run across any of the other clans until we reached the Aerie''s part of the bunker where I shuffled Tulkas past the gate-guard with a quick proclamation that I had finally found my partner.


    Since it was on the way, I pointed out the mess hall in passing. To my great relief, most of the clan members were out of the house.


    Liam saw and tried to intercept us, but I waved him off as I showed Tulkas towards my quarters.


    We entered the small room and Tulkas looked around with an awkward expression. ¡°I am afraid to say I am a little at a loss of what you expect from me now. This is your room?¡± He studied the few belongings I had on a shelf at the wall. But my room looked quite empty aside from the set of survival gear in the corner.


    ¡°Let''s seal the deal,¡± I blurted out while I locked the door. ¡°To be honest, I don''t believe any amount of talking would make this less awkward.¡±


    He looked me up and down. ¡°Ah, okay. Never expected myself to have a shotgun wedding. Should I-¡±


    ¡°Just drop the rucksack on the floor and sit down on the bed,¡± I instructed and waited for him to do as he was told. Although, I helped a little by taking some of the items off his hands.


    I was glad when he didn''t seem to be bothered by my filaments touching him.


    Then I switched off the lights so that the only light source was my bioluminescence and what little light came through the small, shuttered window. Thalia had explained how this was supposed to go. She was unpaired herself, but she had some experience from her time on Earth.


    Tulkas settled down and raised a mocking eyebrow while he took off his jacket.


    I smiled and did a little slow dance to get him in the mood while I used my filaments to unbuckle Tulkas'' belt and open the buttons of his trousers. From what little I saw of his face, he was mesmerized by the sway of my hips and I didn''t mind giving him a little more in-depth presentation. After all, I had to get in the mood myself.


    His undivided attention gave me more confidence as I approached him. I slowly touched his lips with mine until our tongues made contact. He stiffened when I found his erection with one of my filaments and wrapped it around him.


    ¡°Mh... easy.¡± He took a hold of my shoulders. ¡°We should probably go slower if you are inexperienced.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to be gentle with me. But please don''t forget I have no strength mutation.¡± I straddled him and lowered my hips, using my filament to guide him until he entered me. ¡°Just let me be on top for now.¡±


    Him entering me shut him up real quick. I wasn''t a saint. I had used my filaments for some self-relief, but I had never tried to be quick about it.


    Given his strength mutation, he could have likely stopped me at any point, but he didn''t. He still had his hands on my shoulders, so I took them and made him massage my chest to help me loosen up while I slowly worked him deeper inside. My gyrations quickly heightened my excitement and I even came when I felt him flex and become even harder within me.


    Finally, I sat all the way down, feeling all of him inside me. ¡°Hahaha...¡± I laughed stupidly while I transitioned to a grinding motion. My nether regions and belly felt like a gooey mush just from that, so I started to writhe on top of him while making sure to have him within me as deep as possible. It felt divine! Why hadn''t I just grabbed any guy from the street to try this earlier?


    I couldn''t have been at it for more than a few minutes when he stopped squeezing me.


    ¡°Shouldn''t... we use... protection?¡± he asked the stupidest question ever and moved his hands to hold my hips still. ¡°I am too pent up. I can''t hold back.¡±


    ¡°As if there is any. Just kiss me and do it!¡± I hugged him with all my might and sealed his lips with mine. Knowing he was close gave me an excited thrill and I flexed my belly in an attempt to get myself over the edge I was hovering on.


    He groaned and held onto my hips, pulling them down against his.


    There was a stinging feeling deep inside me, followed by a flexing sensation which could only be his release. The feeling sent me over the edge and I bit into my lover''s lip while I moaned and tried to ride out the earth-shattering orgasm.


    Normal humans would have probably been done, but I couldn''t stop as I kept rubbing against him.


    He finally became a little more proactive and rolled me around until he had me on the bed beneath him. I smiled and hooked my legs behind his thighs while I used my filaments to pull him closer. Then he showed me what it meant to jump a guy who was just as sexually deprived as myself.

 Ch 16 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    I awoke, feeling utterly content for the first time in... forever.


    Then my sleep-addled brain finally remembered where I was, who I was, and what I had done!


    I was with clan Aerie, embracing a naked Astra after I had literally jumped over a cliff when it seemed like the situation called for it. Never would I have thought that I would come to this world and end up... end up with a wife!


    Whether Astra would think of it that way remained to be seen, but wasn''t that the point of this whole partnership business? The clans called it finding a partner, but it was essentially a marriage with no way out.


    Should I get Astra a ring?


    The decision to join her had been made in the spur of the moment. I couldn''t just deny a woman like her when she even offered to cut ties so that I would have better chances with the other clans. Astra seemed genuine in her simple desire to find an equal.


    It also had played a large role in my quick decision that I didn''t dislike her and found her to be an interesting conversation partner during the few dates we had.


    I tried to comfort myself with the thought that I had no real leads as to where my next steps should take me. Yes, the Thich presented a slightly better chance at finding my lost siblings, but that was all there was to it, a chance. Seen in that light, joining up with Astra was the best option available to me at the moment.


    It would probably make it harder to find my sisters if they were with the Thich, but it wasn''t like I hadn''t been already a few years too late to come to the rescue like some heroic older brother. Whatever had happened to them, it was likely already over.


    The woman who had practically jumped me last night moved in my arms and murmured sleepily.


    I didn''t believe I quite loved Astra yet, but I thought it possible to come to love someone like her in time. She was strong, intelligent, and had integrity. What was there not to love about such a woman?


    And she was quite the depraved nymph if I was allowed to say so. The way she had danced for me in the dark with only the bioluminescent markings visible on her body was burned into my mind. The sway of her body and scintillating hair had been mesmerizing.


    I just had to get her to do that again for me at some point.


    But right now I felt kind of thirsty, so I tried to move until I realized that I was entangled within the ribbons that she called filaments. Astra had wrapped us up tightly in several layers until it was practically impossible for me to escape without waking her up.


    ¡°Astra?¡±


    She reached up and placed a finger on my lips. ¡°A few more minutes...¡±


    Was she the type who liked to sleep in? How did that fit together with her Wakefulness trait?


    I reached further down, slipping my hand beneath the filaments as far as I could. Then I pinched her ass.


    That woke her up real quick. ¡°Hey!¡±


    She pinched me back, which made me chuckle.


    ¡°I really need a shower and some water, Astra,¡± I said.


    She blinked and got up on top of me, untangling the two of us to a degree. I basked in her nakedness until I realized she looked different. She was still attractive, but there was a hint of musculature on her belly, legs and arms which I didn''t remember from yesterday. And her eyes glowed minutely, just like mine.


    Suddenly, the white in her eyes slipped to the side and the new, little flecks on her cheekbones opened.


    ¡°Wow!¡± She looked around, seeming disoriented. ¡°That''s something I have to get used to, but it should complement Echolocation just fine.¡±


    Astra looked down at herself, touched the new definition on her belly and then squeezed her chest as if to make sure that those weren''t muscles too. Thankfully, they clearly were not.


    Admittedly, that would have freaked me out a little.


    Then she studied her lower arm and winced when it twitched and cramped up.


    I quickly sat up and hugged her, remembering what had happened the first time I had become aware of my new physique. ¡°Shhh... don''t think of them as singular muscles. Just relax and let them do what they do.¡±


    She finally calmed down. ¡°That wasn''t pleasant at all! How do you control these?¡±


    ¡°With training and conscious effort,¡± I replied. ¡°I am still working on it, but I am getting there. The biggest hurdle seems to be that my brain still thinks I have a normal human musculature.¡±


    The thought struck me that I might have the same problem again, only in a different form. ¡°Speaking of things to get used to...¡± I straightened and reached behind my back. There were no filaments, but it felt like something soft was there.


    Astra giggled and hugged me. She stroked along my spine, which caused me to shudder involuntarily. ¡°The filaments won''t grow quickly. They are like hair. It will take some time until they are long enough to be useful. Until then, you can take your time with learning to control them.¡±


    ¡°How do they even work?¡± I caught one of Astra''s filaments and gave it a closer inspection, but all I could discern was that it seemed like a ribbon of the finest silk, light enough to float in the air. Although, when I looked very closely, I could see a hint of something like arteries running through them. ¡°I must say, these things defy my understanding of physics.¡±


    I tried to rip it. Not seriously, but I was surprised nonetheless when it withstood my uncharged muscles without effort. A materials engineer would likely kill to get his hands on something like this. Only then did I realize that this filament was a part of Astra and guiltily let go.


    She laughed, thankfully unconcerned by my inspection. ¡°My best guess is they work like artificial muscles made out of carbon nanotubes. Something creates pressure, and the individual strands contract or loosen up. I can apply some lateral force with my filaments, but it''s comparatively weak. They are very good when it comes to expanding and contracting. They aren''t so useful when it comes to lifting heavy things unless I try to pull or push.¡±


    Astra demonstrated it by reaching across the room with a single filament and trying to lift my fully packed rucksack straight up. The filament just buckled and bent beneath the weight, curving upwards without lifting the rucksack, but then Astra contracted the filament and the rucksack slid effortlessly to the edge of the bed.


    ¡°I would assume this means that my muscle mutation didn''t do anything for your filaments,¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°That''s true, but I know from several unpleasant experiences with zippers that my filaments are conductive,¡± Astra pointed out with a wicked grin. ¡°How do I create electricity?¡±


    I thought about it and sighed, wondering how to go about teaching someone. ¡°That''s going to be difficult. When I activated the ability the first time, I blasted a starfish with it and it was like throwing lightning. I actually had to learn restraint so that I wouldn''t exhaust myself after a few blasts.¡±


    ¡°You never said it was even better than just electrocuting someone!¡± she replied in mild outrage, but her tone was more mocking than anything else.


    ¡°Forgive me, mistress, but until yesterday I didn''t know we would end up in bed together.¡± I placed a hand on my heart and feigned surprise.


    Astra smiled wickedly, showing me she was indeed just fooling around. ¡°You shall be forgiven if you repeat last night every night from now on. We can take turns regarding who gets to be on top.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha...¡± I laughed, slightly afraid she was actually serious. The fact that a naked woman was spooning me and I couldn''t even get it up was a testament that repeating last night regularly was out of the question. ¡°You are insatiable.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I have to make up for a few years of searching for the right one! Though, I admit this shotgun hookup came a little out of the blue. It was either this or giving up on the best chance I would likely ever get,¡± Astra proclaimed unashamedly. ¡°Now, tell me how the muscles work.¡±


    I gave Astra a quick introduction to charging up her muscles and explained my theory on how they worked. She picked up the charged movement skill in no time and we finished with her doing the taser exercise I had learned from the zippers back at the lake.


    It seemed prudent to hold the magnet exercise back for another time. At least until she mastered charging her muscles.


    ¡°It will take some time getting used to, but controlling all the little muscles isn''t so different from moving my filaments,¡± Astra explained the speed at which she learned to gain control of the new mutation. ¡°I figure once your filaments are grown, you will be able to apply the same multi-tasking skill you need for your muscles in reverse.¡±


    ¡°I am just wondering why they didn''t grow to full size immediately,¡± I asked while I felt the fluff on my spine once more, hoping it wouldn''t spread. Call me vain, but some men had a real problem with hairy bodies and I definitely didn''t want to become one of them.


    Of course, I didn''t mention any of that to Astra.


    She shrugged. ¡°Maybe it needs time to organically grow something as light and strong as the filaments.¡±


    ¡°Do they burn?¡± I asked what I had wondered since our first date.


    She waved her hand in a so-so motion. ¡°You won''t go up in flames, but they do get damaged if exposed to fire for an extended amount of time, resulting in you having to trim them because they no longer work properly. Losing my filaments is always a pain because it takes so long to grow them back. I am always trying not to damage too many because it would hamper my ability to fly. Though, it''s unavoidable in a fight.¡±


    I nodded and pointed out another thing on Astra which had changed. ¡°What about the bioluminescence?¡±


    The glowing lines on her skin had retreated to a certain degree, but they were still there. It now looked like a tribal tattoo which was running down her neck and collarbone, then further down the side of her body to the hips and legs.


    She looked at herself and smiled. ¡°Not to worry. Sometimes mutations are affected by a pairing and are either strengthened or weakened. It will take time until we get used to the changes. Besides, I didn''t take the caveglider evolution because of the Bioluminescence. It was always about the Precognition trait.¡±


    Her eyes drank up my body and she trailed a finger over my chest, following a glowing line that had developed there and was mirroring hers in design. ¡°Though, I don''t mind yours. Do you want to take a shower?¡±


    ¡°We could both use one,¡± I admitted.


    Half an hour later, we were back to comparing evolutions and teaching each other about our various new abilities.


    Filaments and Flight were still out of reach for me for the time being, but it already felt like I could access the Echolocation trait partly, which manifested itself in the ability to hear things I shouldn''t be able to notice otherwise. Like people walking past Astra''s room.


    I didn''t have enough water available to test out Astra''s ability to breathe underwater, but I figured it would come naturally once the need arose.


    Improved Endurance, Improved Resistance and Lesser Regeneration were also things only time would tell.


    Precognition was a little harder to figure out. Astra explained the principle, but I often couldn''t discern the difference between a genuine premonition, caused by Astra trying to poke me, and my clothes tickling me.


    ¡°That''s why I just use my filaments as clothes,¡± she replied to my problem unapologetically. ¡°They are the finest silk.¡±


    I felt a slight flush of embarrassment upon remembering her straddling me, seemingly partly clothed, then impaling herself. Only then had I realized Astra was going commando and only created the illusion of clothes with her filaments.


    She also tutored me on controlling the brightness of the bioluminescence mutation, pointing out that ramping it up all the way would end up in me turning into a flash grenade.


    I was certain I would have to try it out at some point, just to see its effectiveness, but I didn''t want to run around with an open wound all over my body quite yet.


    Lastly was Wakefulness, to which Astra simply explained it was a bit of a misnomer. It was the ability to go on without sleep for several days. I wouldn''t be happy about it afterwards, but I would have it easier than normal humans who would suffer ill effects far earlier than people who possessed the trait.


    It explained how Astra could still be the type to sleep in despite having such an ability.


    We eventually ran out of exercises to teach and Astra decided it was time for me to meet her clan. ¡°I have to introduce you to the others.¡±


    I got into a fresh set of my linen clothes and Astra ''dressed herself'' with a smirk. She chose wavy trousers and a split skirt, then added a poncho-like top over a blouse.


    Her tendency to overdress hadn''t gone by unnoticed, but I figured it could be attributed to an attempt at hiding her filaments instead of having them floating around all over the place, thereby unnerving anyone nearby.


    Having your clothes made out of filaments also seemed useful because of their tensile strength. If Astra wasn''t wrong, then her filaments were actually better than the light armour I wore during hunting trips ¨C but they couldn''t hold a candle to a set of heavy plate armour.


    We left her room and headed for the mess hall Astra had shown me the day before.


    When we arrived, there was actually a motley group of people present, including the older man who Astra had dismissed the day before with a wave of her hand.


    ¡°Astra!¡± A woman with large, leathery wings jumped up from her seat at a table. ¡°You did it! I am so proud of you!¡±


    The woman tried to tackle-hug Astra, but my partner reached out and grabbed the newcomer''s face, holding her at an arm''s length distance.


    ¡°Mh!¡± The woman stepped back. ¡°So cruel! Now she abandons me after everything we have done together.¡±


    ¡°This is Thalia, my closest friend.¡± Astra gestured at the woman and smirked. ¡°My parents sent her with me to keep me out of trouble.¡±


    I smiled and nodded politely, unsure of what to think of the oversized bat in human form.


    ¡°Now that''s just cruel!¡± Thalia poked me in jest.


    ¡°What is cruel?¡± I asked, confused. Was she a mind reader?


    ¡°The way you looked at me just now.¡± Thalia huffed. ¡°I bet you just thought about some nasty nickname for me. Or maybe a naughty one?¡± She searched my face with narrowed eyes.


    Astra sighed and pushed the two of us away from each other. ¡°Don''t mess with my mate, Thalia. He is off-limits.¡±


    I nonetheless offered the strange woman a hand. ¡°I am Tulkas.¡±


    ¡°Thalia.¡± We shook and Thalia immediately turned her attention back to Astra. ¡°How was he?¡±


    ¡°I am not discussing this in public,¡± Astra replied and shook her head. ¡°But suffice it to say, we are going to stay together.¡±


    She possessively linked arms with me, then pointed out a few more clansmembers whose names went in one of my ears and out the other.


    I just wasn''t good with remembering names when a few of them were thrown at me without context.


    ¡°And this is Liam.¡± Lastly, Astra pointed out the only person in the room who actually looked... old. Not old-old, but old. Like a healthy fifty or sixty-year-old gentleman compared to the others in the room who were in the prime of their years.


    ¡°He is something like an unofficial leader around here,¡± Astra explained. ¡°When it comes to talking to the other clans, Thalia or I will do actual negotiations, but Liam is something like an unofficial leader and organiser in this enclave. Also, he is the best doctor we have around, so if there is anything a Lesser Regeneration mutation can''t fix, you go to him.¡±


    Liam chuckled. ¡°Don''t listen to her. It''s mostly about first aid, setting bones and identifying parasites for me. A doctor has little to do when almost everyone eats starfish at one point or the other.¡±


    My eyes fell on the two red-haired girls who were playing demurely in a corner of the room.


    Liam noticed my expression had turned sombre and guessed what it was about. ¡°Those are Ava and Ivy. The bastards from Earth sent them with the newest wave of female exiles. I will never understand why they would send us kids.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Suffice it to say, they are traumatized and missing their parents.¡±


    ¡°Probably the children of someone who pissed off the people in charge,¡± I suggested while doing my best to control my voice in an attempt to sound indifferent when I was not.


    The sisters had reminded me of my lost family. They must have been at a similar age when the government took them. Which meant they were teenagers by now.


    I could only hope they had received a similarly secure welcome as Ava and Ivy. ¡°What are you going to do with them?¡±


    Astra shrugged. ¡°We will take them to the clangrounds and find a pair of acceptable adoptive parents for them. There are plenty of people who would like to, but can''t have children. Not much else we can do.¡±


    I nodded, also seeing no point in leaving them at the Old Camp. There just wasn''t enough space in this bunker to house wave after wave of exiles. From my excursion around the market, I had gotten the impression that the people who were living in this place hadn''t joined a clan for a good reason.


    ¡°Something else,¡± Liam inserted himself back into the conversation. ¡°There are some new developments.¡±


    Astra looked at him, interested in what he had to say. ¡°Out with it.¡±


    ¡°For one, a new wave of male exiles was sent and twenty-one arrived at the Old Camp,¡± Liam proclaimed.


    ¡°That''s a lot,¡± Astra replied in a surprised tone. ¡°I made sure someone other than Roderick receives them in the future, but I didn''t expect them to have such a sudden windfall. I stopped paying attention when I set my eyes on Tulkas.¡±


    My eyes swayed to Astra.


    Liam nodded. ¡°It''s indeed peculiar, but not unheard of. Maybe Roderick was a major factor in the large number of losses. But the other thing I wanted to report is even more interesting. This morning most of the Thich contingent stationed at the bunker departed. Only the usual skeleton staff of ten remains behind.¡±


    I looked around and found a lot of frowning faces among the Aerie.


    ¡°That''s early,¡± Thalia commented. ¡°They have a long way to go, but it''s early nonetheless. It should have been fine if they waited one or two more weeks.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The Old Camp is pretty much at the centre of the human-controlled territory, while clan-controlled areas are further away. If you don''t want to get snowed-in during the winter, you have to depart in time,¡± Astra explained. ¡°The Thich are living quite a way south-east from here. It takes a clanner about four weeks to make the trip. But even with that, the winter will begin in five weeks at the earliest.¡±


    ¡°So it''s not just a security measure on their part,¡± I clarified. ¡°Maybe to make sure they don''t have to travel through bad weather?¡±


    Thalia shook her head. ¡°It can''t be. The seasons are fairly predictable in this world. They cut at least a week from their time at the Old Camp. And from what we know, they have no reason to believe they would travel slow.¡± She looked towards the kids. ¡°If anything, I would suggest for us to depart a week earlier than planned.¡±


    Astra nodded at her friend''s judgement.


    ¡°Maybe they just think they won''t find any more candidates and left the selection of any late exiles to the skeleton crew?¡± one of the Aerie suggested. ¡°They could just house them in their part of the bunker and send them off after the winter.¡±


    Liam''s expression said he didn''t truly believe that.


    ¡°How much time do we need to get to clan Aerie?¡± I asked when it didn''t look like anyone else had suggestions.


    ¡°Two weeks with just those who can fly. Three weeks if it''s just us,¡± Astra replied confidently, then looked towards Ava and Ivy. ¡°Four to five weeks with the kids.¡±


    I nodded, figuring Astra knew what she was talking about.


    ¡°So, we depart in a week at the latest?¡± I asked, interested to see what the Aerie clan grounds would look like.


    I would have to say goodbye to Mark and Gurney and wish them the best. It was sad Mark couldn''t join us, but we weren''t that kind of close pals.

 Ch 17 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Grasslands at the Old Camp***


    ***Astra***


    I watched the pack of white and very fluffy gutters bounce down the hill towards us ¨C howling all the way in a deranged manner that didn''t fit together with their appearance. It would have been intimidating if they hadn''t looked so cute while doing it.


    The thought struck me that maybe this was just their way of fooling their prey. But that would have implied that these creatures were actually smart.


    If it weren''t for the howls, they would have appeared as nothing more than sweet, if a little oversized, puppies. When in fact, they were delighted about finding a group of three unsuspecting humans traversing the grasslands between the forest and the mountain range that led north.


    ¡°Die horrible deaths! You fuckers!¡±


    A scream from my partner destroyed the unnerving atmosphere as a metal spear was launched right into the leading gutter''s eye. The creature dropped instantly and rolled down the hill, but that didn''t deter its companions.


    It seemed like Tulkas had a few residual feelings about being chased by a pack of these animals while running for his life.


    He launched another throwing spear ¨C missing the target completely ¨C then threw a third and a fourth one, hitting two more gutters. Unlike their leader, they didn''t die instantly, but their charge was stopped when they fell.


    Mark shot two arrows. One hit the nostril of a gutter, delivering a dose of deadly poison. The other arrow vanished down another creature''s panting throat, causing it to stop its charge and start gurgling while it turned on the spot, trying to cough up the arrow.


    I had to admit that Mark was a natural talent with his compound bow.


    The last gutter howled in glee as it reached Tulkas, who had planted the butt end of his spetum in the ground and was waiting with the pointy end aimed at the charging monster.


    The long blade sank deep into the gutter''s chest as the monster impaled itself on the weapon, thereby doing all the work for my partner.


    Gutters were large, but not as heavy as they looked. Most of their volume was actually just fur.


    Once the gutter''s fluff reached the cross-blades, the monster''s momentum was abruptly stopped, as the creature''s resilient fur didn''t allow further penetration. A gutter''s pelt was very good at stopping slashing attacks ¨C like from my filaments ¨C but it wasn''t ideal when it came to being stuck with something sufficiently pointy and sharp.


    The spetum''s metal staff bent, then catapulted the gutter over Tulkas'' head until it landed behind him in a heap, the weapon still embedded inside it. It writhed, too stupid to realize that it was already dead.


    I watched my partner''s muscles flex and the creature shuddered. Then it lay still, smoke rising from its snout.


    ¡°Damn, I have to look into getting myself some metal weapon,¡± I commented, happy that I hadn''t been needed as a backup. My filaments tended to entangle themselves in all that fluff.


    There was something about being able to stab through an opponent''s armour to transmit the electricity right into the enemy.


    ¡°We could ask the blacksmith to make a second spetum,¡± Tulkas suggested as he pulled the weapon out of his kill and turned to face the wounded gutters who had fallen during the charge towards us but were still alive and kicking.


    Mark drew a second arrow, aimed, then shot it into the eye of a gutter who was still crawling towards us with one of Tulkas'' throwing spears sticking in it. ¡°It''s working exactly as I imagined it to.¡±


    I considered the ''spetum'', as Tulkas had called the oversized spear. For some reason, he had been very careful about explaining the weapon''s exact design when I had disregarded it as a normal spear.


    ¡°No,¡± I said after a moment of consideration. ¡°I get that I am now a lot stronger than before, but I still don''t have Tulkas'' body type.¡± While athletic, Tulkas'' stature was of the wider variety. It meant that he had more base strength than I could ever hope to achieve with my more petite body.


    My muscles were now enhanced just like his, but his upper arms were wider than mine by at least half, which meant that he was that much stronger. More muscle mass meant more strength ¨C it was as simple as that.


    ¡°Your figure is more suited to wield something so big and heavy,¡± I voiced my thoughts towards my partner. ¡°I think I am just going to get myself two long, stabby things and rely on speed to employ hit and run tactics. Wielding something like a spear would also get in the way of my filaments.¡±


    ¡°Why didn''t you wield a weapon before?¡± Tulkas asked. ¡°I saw none in your room.¡±


    ¡°Because it would have made no sense,¡± I replied. ¡°All my strength came from my filaments and they are unsuited to wielding weapons. It would have been the height of stupidity to wield a weapon against people who possessed any strength mutation. And since mutations aren''t always easy to spot just by looking at someone, getting into the habit of fighting with a weapon would be doubly stupid. It was much smarter to simply never engage anyone in a form of combat that I am simply not suited to. Though, I learned the bow if you have to know.¡±


    I frowned and flashed my arm through the air. ¡°But I guess that I no longer have this weakness.¡±


    Mark thought about it. ¡°Ask for something like a rapier. I don''t think it''s the most useful when it comes to killing something big, but it would fit the tactics you intend to employ. Your filaments can still function as a safety net to keep opponents restrained while you stick them.¡±


    ¡°That''s actually a good idea.¡± I nodded. ¡°Do you like medieval weapons, Mark?¡±


    He scratched his head, looking embarrassed. ¡°No, it''s just because I spent so much time with Nolan, the blacksmith.¡± Mark lifted his compound bow. ¡°Having this thing made according to specification cost me a pretty penny and a lot of time at his shop. The man gets kind of anal about misidentifying his weapons.¡±


    The creatures who Mark had shot finally expired due to the poison, allowing us to get to harvesting. There was only a small window of time until the first zippers would show up to claim their due.


    I helped with taking apart the first corpse, but followed Tulkas'' instructions as soon as the first zipper showed up.


    Using Second Sight, I watched how the creature deployed its muscles, creating a wave-like energy pattern over its entire body before it dashed back and forth, snatching a bit of meat and a bit of innards here and there.


    The problem lay in the fact that the zipper activated the skill so quickly that there was practically no time to rationalize what it did. Even the Bullet Time ability that I got from Tulkas wasn''t of much help.


    It made me wish for something that I had read about in the clan archives, a high-speed camera.


    I watched my forearm and pulled down the corner''s of my mouth upon trying to copy the creature''s technique. Intellectually, I knew what I wanted to do, but my brain just didn''t want to play along.


    Like knowing that, theoretically, my eyes could move in any direction, but refused individual control. There was no looking up with the left eye and down with the right one at the same time. Something inside my brain was hard-wired to have them focused on the same point.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    This was a similar problem, but it felt like it was possible to overcome it. It explained why Tulkas was so frustrated with trying to copy the skill and thought that it would take months, if not years of training.


    I nonetheless used the time to memorize the pattern that was supposedly responsible for the zippers'' supernatural movement skills.


    Tomorrow, we would harvest more eggs at the zippers'' breeding grounds in preparation for our departure a few days later.


    It remained to be seen how we would be able to keep strengthening the zipper evolution. I had a bad feeling that there was no other choice but to have it remain a seasonal thing. That''s why I suggested stocking up on at least two hundred eggs for the two of us.


    If we boiled them only for a short time, it might be possible to pickle the eggs in salt water without actually destroying the genetic code. That would allow us to keep strengthening the mutation throughout the winter.


    Tulkas had suggested to just have them spoil since the Carrion Eater trait would allow us to eat the eggs anyway, but I was absolutely against it. Not only did spoiled eggs stink to the high heavens, but they would also create a scent trail for any predator to follow.


    Aside from watching the zippers, I also kept watch on our surroundings.


    My thoughts had made a full round once the two men had harvested the gutters'' fur.


    There wasn''t much else on the creatures that was worth taking.


    Although some extremely unlucky people possessed a gutter-mutation, no sane person actually wanted one. Nobody in his or her right mind desired to sprout a white pelt, half a metre in thickness, that made one look like a fluffed up yeti.


    Once all three of us were on the way back to the Old Camp, loaded up with white fur, I held Tulkas back a few steps so that Mark could take the lead.


    ¡°I actually joined your hunting trip because I wanted to talk to you about things,¡± I started the conversation. ¡°Away from listening ears back at the camp.¡±


    Tulkas hadn''t fallen onto his head and immediately understood what this was about. ¡°You want the whole story.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Just between the two of us. Please?¡±


    He looked at the sky and actually slowed down so that Mark got even further ahead, meaning that he didn''t trust his own friend with this information.


    Then he started to talk. ¡°We already had this conversation in part, and just to make sure, I don''t want anyone to know about this. My real name is Magnuson Elrod, but everyone just called me Magnus.


    ¡°I was born in Iceland and studied physics and programming there. My parents had me fairly early in life. Let''s just say that I was the ''accident'' that caused two very young people to marry. Though, I can say that I grew up in a happy family. Went to school, got my degrees and everything was just fine with me working at the university regarding space research until I turned twenty-seven.


    ¡°Some people in suits showed up at work and told me that I had to come with them ¨C to identify the corpses of my parents and two little sisters. Only that there wasn''t much to identify with four charred bodies. To say that I was a little out of my depth after that experience would be an understatement.


    ¡°I retreated into my work after that. Right up until someone approached me with very convincing evidence that my sisters weren''t dead at all and that they had been abducted.


    ¡°The group that provided me with this evidence wanted to know why my family had been targeted and I began to look into things on my own. You see, my parents were nothing special, just two bureaucrats that made a living by checking piles of files. Land charge registers, stuff like that.


    ¡°Colour me surprised when I found hints hidden in their personal stuff that a certain pharmaceutical firm had bought and built upon lands that were supposed to remain a natural reserve. And that this firm was a very lucrative business in cahoots with the current political leadership. I think it doesn''t have to be mentioned that pharmaceutics is always involved with a lot of money. My parents were told to let it be, but they wanted to go public. Then they were silenced.


    ¡°I offered this information to the man who had approached me and blackmailed him. I was so furious, I wanted nothing more than revenge, and joining a group that worked against the people who had killed my family seemed like the obvious thing to do. Alone, I would have achieved nothing against figures like that.


    ¡°Turned out, I had joined what was publicly known as the ''resistance'', though we just called it the organisation.¡±


    He sniffed in disdain.


    ¡°But let''s be honest, it''s a terrorist group that actively goes after many of Earth''s leading figures who can be thought of as the movers and shakers. I always knew that the organisation''s ways would have never changed Earth''s political behemoth. Kill one fat pig in power and all you get is another pig taking its place at the food tub. Look away, and before you know, the other pig is fat too ¨C fat being my euphemism for corrupt. It''s just a question of time, even if you manage to get an idealist into a position of power. The system itself is built to corrupt people, or at the very least to make them despair and give up.


    ¡°I kind of knew that there was no point to any of it, but the organisation offered an opportunity, skills, and resources that would allow me to find and punish everyone involved.


    ¡°It took me a few years to learn all I could while I followed leads all over Earth and made use of the resources that the organisation had to offer while I climbed its ranks. My parents were nothing more than the sacrifices to a much bigger game, but I eventually learned where my sisters went and who was responsible ¨C if only indirectly. I doubt they were more than a small report that he had to sign off on his way to his coffee break.


    ¡°I killed the fucker, but I am sure that his replacement is already sitting at his desk, keeping the machine running. It''s all so entwined that not even the people in power could change it if they wanted to. The organisation doesn''t really see that it''s running all on its own by now and that the people who they are angry at are just cogs in a greater machine. But that''s what you get for allowing bureaucrats to run free for a few hundred years.¡±


    He shrugged.


    ¡°Empires rise and nations fall. It will be no different with the current order, I am sure. At some point, the big crash will come and people will pick up the pieces. Time will take care of it without me. I nonetheless got my revenge. Call me vain or ignorant. In the end, I just wanted to kill the person responsible with my own two hands... Went over a lot of dead bodies and did things I am not proud of to get to that point.


    ¡°But I found out that my sisters had survived and that their charred bodies were fake. I don''t know why, but they had been shipped off to Tirnanog. There are still a lot of things that make no sense to me or the organisation. So, I did everything I could to follow them, even to the point of being sent off by the same wormhole facility so that I would land in the same part of the world.¡±


    He ended his story and we walked in silence for a minute or two.


    I would have never thought that he had that kind of chip on his shoulder. But while his actions weren''t noble by any means, going so far as to join a group that he himself thought of as terrorists, his story made him all the more endearing to me.


    He looked at me. ¡°Do you think of me as a bad man now?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I think you already knew that I anticipated much worse from finding a potential partner at the Old Camp. A sizeable amount of people are child molesters, people who murder for money, and worse. Your story and your reason for being exiled sounds actually better than most. I can live with a man who did a few horrible things because someone hurt his family.¡±


    To make sure that he understood, I took his hand. ¡°If your sisters are still alive, they should have made a living by now.¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°I figured the same. I am a few years too late to come to the heroic rescue.¡±


    ¡°If they are still alive, then we will find them,¡± I affirmed and squeezed his hand. ¡°If they are not at Aerie, then we can join a trading caravan once we have proven ourselves and the winter is over. It would be nice to make a round trip to all the major clans. Maybe we can turn it into a diplomatic mission. Though, the Thich will be a little bit troublesome. Those idiots are isolationists compared to the other clans.¡±


    ¡°There are trading caravans?¡± Tulkas asked with something like hope in his voice. ¡°I thought all the clans stick to themselves.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Mostly, that''s true. But there are groups like the Caravaners who choose a nomadic lifestyle. During winter, they often buy themselves shelter at one of the larger clans. But I suppose we would give it to them anyway. Trade is simply necessary for survival. Without the caravans, the other clans would get no ores from Mount Aerie. No wheat from the Vier, or salt from the Coasters. The Hochberg have a monopoly on some rare herbs. Jeng pretty much owns the hardwood production. And Thich has easy access to clay and lime pits.¡±


    He furrowed his brows. ¡°That''s lucky for them. All you need to make cement in one place.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°They are the only clan that actually managed to build a real city... though it''s more like a fortress town from what I have heard.¡±


    ¡°How do they transport anything through the wilderness?¡± Magnus asked with a confused expression.


    ¡°Oh, by having a lot of very powerful people protect the caravan,¡± I clarified. ¡°Just imagine what we could become within a few more months and quadruple that with a lifetime of fighting experience. The Caravaners are not to be messed with, though there are cases when even they have to abandon their goods and run for the hills. But it rarely happens nowadays. They learned the hard way which regions are safe to travel with wagons. And by safe, I just mean that it isn''t the territory of a creature too large to fight.¡±


    I gestured towards the mountain range in the north and the woods in the south. ¡°If you ever find yourself alone in the wilderness, try to stick to hilly terrain, or the deep woods. It won''t be safe by any means, but it at least ensures that there won''t be creatures that can kill you by stepping on you. Stay away from grasslands like these or the swamps in the east. Large bodies of water are also to be avoided.¡±


    ¡°Then why is this area safe?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It isn''t really safe,¡± I corrected him. ¡°But it''s ''safer'' than other open areas. This grassland is just a narrow patch between the mountain range and the woods. Large monsters tend to stick to the open plains in the west and seldom stray into this region¡­¡±


    We kept talking about the local geography while we caught up with Mark.


    I had a good feeling about this developing thing between Magnus and me. It would turn out well.

 Ch 18 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Zippershit Crag***


    ***Astra***


    I slowly ascended the hill to where Magnus and Mark were waiting for me. They had been watching my ordeal from a safe distance, enjoying the show thoroughly from the looks of it.


    Each step felt like a burden since I had to drag all my filaments after myself due to the weight they had accumulated. I could have drawn them in, closer to my body. But that would have also meant bringing all of that gunk closer to me.


    The leather raincoat that Magnus had given me granted me some protection, but it wasn''t enough to withstand the onslaught of an entire zipper colony.


    ¡°This place deserves to be called Zippershit Crag!¡± I grumbled once I reached them. I threw an accusing glare at my partner. ¡°Next year, you can gather the eggs. I am never going near a zipper colony again! This is disgusting!¡±


    ¡°I am so sorry,¡± he replied apologetically, but I could tell that he wasn¡¯t sorry at all. His eyes couldn''t hide his amusement despite the perfect control he held over the rest of his face.


    ¡°I genuinely thought that you would have an easier time collecting the eggs,¡± he continued to defend himself. ¡°I was at least halfway right! You easily flew up into the cliff. How could I have known that those little monsters would shit on you until your filaments were too heavy for you to fly? At least you could still use them to rope yourself down the cliff. If I had tried to free-climb, we would have been here for hours.¡±


    I growled. ¡°I remember something about you studying physics. How did the thought not occur to you that being covered in shit would make me too heavy?¡±


    ¡°It could have occurred to you too,¡± he pointed out.


    I wanted to complain some more, but I shook my head. There was no point in losing my calm over something that I had volunteered for. I made my own bed and now I had to lie in it.


    Instead, I offered them the two large baskets filled with eggs. ¡°You know what? Forget it! I should have known better after I saw your state the first time you tried to harvest eggs! Tonight, I am going to lie on my back, spread my legs, and you are going to do all the work!¡±


    After enduring the zippers, I had the right to enjoy myself!


    Magnus saluted me but didn''t take the basket. ¡°As you wish, my lady.¡±


    I noted that both men kept a respectful distance from me.


    Mark coughed. ¡°There is a small creek a few hundred metres down the trail. You can use it to wash up. Tulkas already found the deepest spot.¡±


    Inconveniently pulling my filaments after myself, I followed the two men. It made me feel like that one girl from the fairy tale. Thalia mentioned it. The one whose hair was too long for her own good. Rapunzel! That was her name.


    There must be a better way to farm zipper DNA than to be shat upon. I did my best to think of something while I tried to ignore the pungent smell, but soon my thoughts started to drift elsewhere.


    Yesterday, I had looked into the case of Magnus¡¯ missing sisters, hopefully without drawing any untoward attention. My mate was right about keeping a lid on things for as long as possible, though not for the same reason that I thought of.


    I didn¡¯t share Magnus¡¯ fear that the Earth government might follow him or have two-way communication channels with the clans. They already exiled him. Why would they follow up on haunting someone who was already dead from their point of view?


    My concern was that if his sisters were indeed with one of the other clans, then that clan might use them to blackmail us.


    There was also the problem that we didn¡¯t have much to go on.


    We were searching for an Evanne and Yvona Elrod, supposedly about seventeen years of age by now. Magnus knew they had been abducted seven years ago, but his resources told him they had been held in a research facility for an indefinite amount of time before they had been exiled to Tirnanog. After further questions, Magnus revealed that his source said they were exiled at the latest two years after their abduction.


    The story seemed similar to what I had to live through in my youth, though I couldn''t remember being held for that long in the testing facility.


    It meant that any of the kids who arrived between seven and five years ago could have been his sisters. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t even remember the faces and names of the kids that had been sent one year ago, and aside from myself, it was rare for clanners to take recruitment duties repeatedly.


    Going to the Old Camp to search for a partner was like an initiation ritual among the hopeful and young unpaired. If they didn''t find someone, the clan would often search its registers or try to rear a matching partner. Therefore, most clanners visited the Old Camp only once and that was it.


    One could say that serving as a recruiter was like a civic duty to the clan.


    The regular support staff that was sent to maintain a presence at the Old Camp also rarely took the job more than two years in a row.


    Even if I started asking around among the current clan recruiters, all I would likely accomplish would be to inform them that I was searching for someone. What would happen next would likely depend entirely on how opportunistic a clan might be. Suffice it to say, I didn¡¯t have high hopes for the outcome of such a situation.


    Best case, the recruiters would simply carry the information back to their clans. Then the clan leadership would look through their records and either find something or not. Likely, they wouldn¡¯t even bother with the trouble of searching their records since I couldn''t offer a sufficient reward.


    But depending on how valuable Magnus¡¯ sisters were, I thought it entirely possible that the clan leadership would just hide the information or even destroy it in fear of losing a valuable clan member. Which would make finding the sisters even harder.


    My parents always preached to me to consider every angle of my actions and not underestimate the clans'' pettiness.


    Going by looks instead of names would be hard, if not impossible. Not only did Magnus not see his sisters for seven years, but children also changed a lot between childhood and their teenage years. And then there were the mutations that would make any recognition even harder.


    Some people said that they would recognize their relatives anywhere, but I thought that to be a serious case of zippershit in a situation such as this one.


    It didn¡¯t help that Earth¡¯s scientists liked sending children. The three times I had visited the Old Camp, they had sent brown-haired twins, then two sisters who had been a few years apart in age, and now the two redheads.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Whatever their goal, Earth clearly had some research going on regarding siblings.


    The best approach I could think of was to search the registers of clan Aerie as a first step. Then, if that wasn¡¯t a success, to gain the approval of my parents and the clan. If we achieved some political clout, we would be able to take over the duties of the next diplomatic mission. We could join the caravan next year and go on a round trip to visit all the clans.


    With some of clan Aerie¡¯s weight behind us and the promise of better trading contracts, I doubted that a direct request to another clan would be met with the same reaction as when the question reached them through a secondary channel. Especially if it was just about finding lost family and we could dangle a substantial reward in front of them at the same time.


    My silent ruminations came to a halt when we reached the creek where I got a chance to wash up. I dunked my whole body into the stream and rolled around until the water downstream was a greyish-brown mess.


    Once I was clean and lathered with soap, the world was right again. It still took me over half an hour to clean off my filaments.


    ¡°Feeling better?¡± Magnus asked when I left the stream and quickly formed a shirt and pants so that Mark wouldn''t have to look away.


    I shook out the rest of my filaments and spread them out so that they would dry faster. ¡°Not perfect. I have to shower myself for at least another hour to get rid of the smell!¡±


    Thankfully, the men had cleaned the two baskets with the eggs while I had been busy with myself.


    Back at the camp, we would dry the egg yolks directly in salt, a technique that Liam had suggested to me. Originally, I had intended to pickle the eggs in jars, but that would also make them enormously hard to transport.


    Liam''s suggestion not only removed most of the heavy water, but it made the dried eggs a lot easier to carry if we packed them in waxed paper. According to Liam, the egg white was mostly just protein and didn''t carry much of the DNA that we needed to strengthen our mutation.


    From our point of view, Liam''s method was the optimal solution for transporting the zipper eggs.


    We headed back to the camp and continued our preparations.


    Of the twenty-four clanspeople, ten would remain at the bunker and sit out the winter at the Old Camp.


    Thalia, Liam, Magnus, and I were already included in the eight women and six men who would return to Mount Aerie. The two children would raise our numbers to sixteen people.


    The mere thought of transporting the children through the wilderness already gave me headaches. There was no reason to believe that we wouldn''t succeed, but I never found the return trips to be an easy task. Transporting two people who couldn''t take care of themselves was a danger to the whole group.


    Even if I did my best to formulate it nicely, the children would be dead weight. Sometimes even adult exiles were dead weight. If things got rough, they would slow us down and eventually force us to take more fights than necessary.


    I grumbled inwardly as I thought of the path we would have to take back.


    Magnus and I had been sharing my room since he joined the clan. This night, he was once again sitting beneath the small window and had his eyes closed while he levitated small metal balls above the palms of each hand.


    He had shown me the trick two days after I had taken him as my partner and explained how it was magnetism and not levitation. So if I wanted to be exact about it, I would have to say that he magnetised the two balls above his palms. But that sounded stupid, so I simply stuck to levitation.


    I decided that before we went to bed this evening, Magnus had to know what was ahead of us, so I unearthed the large map of the surrounding area from the bottom of my survival gear and spread it out on a folding table that I pulled from the wall.


    My room was small, but the furniture was well thought out.


    ¡°Tulkas, please come here,¡± I interrupted his practice session. ¡°I have to show you something.¡±


    He allowed the metal balls to fall into his palms, then stood up and came over. ¡°A map? I haven''t seen one this detailed in Gurney''s office.¡±


    ¡°This one shows most of the known lands.¡± I pulled the two stools we had in the room closer so that we could sit. ¡°I wanted you to know the way, should something happen during the trip. One can never be too careful. Between the two of us, you will also be the one who is carrying the map.¡±


    ¡°You don''t need it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I made the trip already seven times since I became old enough. This will be my eighth time. It''s highly unlikely for me to lose my way.¡± I pointed at a spot that was almost in the centre of the map. ¡°This is the Old Camp. Once we start our trip tomorrow, we will follow the trail that leads up into the mountains to the north.¡±


    I followed the mountain range with my finger. ¡°We will traverse the mountain range northwards. Clan Aerie has several shelters in caves along the way and we will try our best to reach them in time so that we are safe for the night.¡±


    ¡°I take it that going through flat terrain is too dangerous because of the large predators?¡± he asked. ¡°Though, following the mountain range is far from a straight line.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°The plains to the west are infested with large creatures that could ruin the day of a slow travelling group. The east is mycelium forest...¡± I hesitated, trying to think of a way to describe it. ¡°It''s like a deep jungle, but mushrooms all the way. Huge, fucking mushrooms that send out enough spores to clog your lungs. Don¡¯t go in there if you can avoid it. Special gear is needed for that.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Mushrooms?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I pointed at the sea. ¡°The humid air comes in from the sea, but the mountain range blocks most of it. The clouds gather at the mountains and rain off, meaning that the region is a micro-climate. It rains almost permanently, which creates a breeding bed for the most disgusting of creatures. Slimes, mudfish, everything that creeps and crawls, slithers and bobs has its home there. It¡¯s the most dangerous and disgusting of places that I know. And you can catch yourself a mould there.¡±


    He looked at me.


    I sighed. ¡°A mould is a parasitic infection that turns you into a lobotomised puppet to the mould¡¯s will, which spreads itself to as many hosts as possible. Most of the creatures in that area are infected with it. Thalia often compares it to rabies.¡±


    Magnus chuckled. ¡°You are shitting me.¡±


    He stopped smiling when I didn¡¯t return the gesture. ¡°Holy shit, you are serious? A parasite that can take over humans?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°It''s lucky that the mould''s victims degrade to mere animals. There was one colonisation effort I know of.¡± I pointed at a settlement that was marked as Mycelists. ¡°Some splinter group from the Coasters tried to settle there. I haven¡¯t heard anything from them for a few years, so I believe that they are all dead by now. Or worse.¡±


    Magnus shook his head and pointed at the map where a mountain was highlighted to distinguish it from the rest. ¡°And what horror has to be marked with red handprints?¡±


    I looked at the spot he had pointed out. ¡°I actually don¡¯t know, but we are losing people there now and then. Some alpha predators that can escape all of our sensory abilities. It will be fine as long as we stay very close together and nobody strays from the group. If someone does anyway, then we will count it as natural selection.


    ¡°Once we reach the end of the mountain range, we are at the Aerie Massif, a huge conglomeration of mountainous terrain. Some people believe that it is being banked up by two colliding tectonic plates. The two highest peaks are Mount Himmel to the right and Mount Aerie to the left. You don''t have to worry about recognizing them. It will be obvious. Some people say that it''s more impressive than the Himalayas. From there, the journey will be easier. We will go in a straight line to Mount Aerie where my clan made its home inside the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Inside the mountain?¡± Magnus chuckled. ¡°Did I join the dwarves of mount Khazad-dum?¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What''s Kasadum?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Remind me that I have to find a way to teach you the good old classics. It''s a shame that you don''t get half of my references.¡±


    I pulled a face and showed him my tongue. ¡°Anyway, Mount Aerie was originally a mining colony that was supposed to supply the other settlements with necessary iron ores and metals, but it didn¡¯t work out for some reason. The clan has turned Mount Aerie into a mountain fortress. There is a network of tunnels and old infrastructure throughout the whole mountain.¡±


    ¡°Is any of it still working?¡± Magnus asked hopefully, showing more interest than before.


    ¡°Some, though it gets harder to maintain with every year,¡± I admitted. ¡°We are doing our best to keep the ventilation system running and free of critters. The clan is already implementing ways to ensure air circulation without machines.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He smiled and looked at the wall. ¡°You know, it still feels unreal, being here, with you. When I came to this world...¡± He trailed off. ¡°Let''s just say that I imagined it to turn out differently. And now that things are getting real with our departure...¡±


    Suddenly, he knelt in front of me and took my hand, slipping something onto my finger.


    ¡°I am a little confused about this partner-thing that you are always talking about, but I would be honoured if you became my wife,¡± he stammered and allowed me to see the intricately made silver ring on my finger. It was a woven mesh of several wires, fitting me perfectly. ¡°I didn''t find something made out of gold, but the blacksmith had more than enough silver wire for some reason. And silver isn''t magnetic, so it shouldn''t be a problem once you start training the magnet exercise.¡±


    I smiled like a stupid maiden and placed a finger on his lips. ¡°Hush, stupid husband of mine. I thought you knew that partners are like husband and wife in this world. Closer even.¡±


    Then we kissed and I allowed him to carry me over to the bed.

 Interlude 01

    ***Tirnanog, The Facility***


    ***The Designer***


    The Designer opened one eye and regarded the statistics that reported on the world¡¯s state.


    It filed through the newest reports that the Facility¡¯s systems had generated for the Designer''s guiding touch. Most of the Facility was automated, but there were some problems that needed an actual intellect to make decisions. So the systems automatically brought relevant information to the Designer¡¯s attention now and then.


    For a long moment, the creature who had no real concept of time thought and weighed the options, then decided that the project was ready to enter the next phase.


    After all, the Creators had given the Designer one single purpose: ¡°To contain and find a cure.¡±


    The Creators had been first in many things.


    They had been first to split the atom.


    The first to blow up their sun.


    To spread among the stars and to conquer countless worlds.


    Such was their might and knowledge that none of the younger sentient species could stand against them.


    They were the first and last they would be.


    But there was one they feared.


    One planet they couldn¡¯t conquer.


    One thing they didn''t comprehend, nor control.


    A shame that creatures such as them had been defeated by nothing more than a plague. A tiny, insignificant lifeform. One which wasn''t even capable of forming a coherent thought from the Designer''s point of view.


    It had taken the Creators a long time to understand what they were dealing with. To realize what had been killing them. That there was something that their perfect bodies weren¡¯t immune against.


    The Plague evolved too fast for them to prepare countermeasures against. It adapted and changed, taking multifarious forms that would consume and attack, digest and infiltrate, infect and dissolve. The Plague followed neither plan nor logic and was therefore incomprehensible to the creators. It was chaos personified.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    It grew and adapted until it had infested every habitable corner of the worlds it touched. The Creators had made many mistakes in the beginning, allowing it to spread.


    In the end, the Creators could only think of sterilizing entire planets.


    They threw rocks the size of mountains onto the surface, hoping to exterminate the Plague, and for a time they thought they had succeeded.


    They were surprised when the Plague rose from the worlds'' ashes, taking forms never seen before. Curiously, the plague liked to evolve into bipedal forms, as if it knew how to mock those who had tried to eradicate it.


    Next, the creators tried radiation, and for a while, it seemed like they succeeded when most of the Plague died off.


    But the Plague wasn¡¯t defeated and arose anew, this time sporting self-repair sequences that secured its DNA against all but the worst of radiation damage. Some of it even liked to grow on radioactive material now.


    The creators designed new weapons and unleashed flesh-eating bacteria onto the world.


    The Plague adapted and incorporated the bacteria into the digestive systems of its latest variations.


    The creators struck back with viruses, simple self-replicating code segments that were based on the Plague itself.


    Again, the Plague adapted and developed an immune system that made most of its forms resistant to the new weapons. It even reacted by creating new viruses that were especially effective against the creators.


    The creators were horrified.


    Again and again, they struck down and snuffed out any signs of life they could find. Patient as they were, they watched the Plague rising again, even if it took millions of years to verify that the newest attempt had failed.


    Until they finally had to admit that it was impossible to extinguish the Plague completely.


    The Plague was a piece of self-replicating DNA that was capable of recreating itself from almost nothing while it mutated to adapt to the environment. Simple in its most basic form, but complex beyond understanding once it reached one of its final evolutions. Missing even a single strand during the eradication process meant that the Plague could develop anew, each time stronger and more resilient to what it had encountered before.


    There was no cleansing the worlds it had touched.


    Worse, there was a chance that eradicating the Plague with insufficient means might even cause it to spread. There was no telling what might happen if the Plague managed to drift into other systems, carried by solar winds.


    Given their long existence, the Creators weren''t blind to such a possibility and didn''t want to risk it happening.


    Which was why they decided to isolate and contain the Plague. To keep its evolutionary advance to the barest minimum. For that purpose, they barred anyone from even daring to enter the Plague''s home galaxy. To do so would draw the wrath of the oldest species in existence.


    But the Creators didn''t abandon all their hope for a cure.


    Hence, the Designer was created with the purpose to forge an ecosystem that would be able to contain and eventually even eradicate the Plague. Maybe the solution in defeating the Plague lay in attacking it from so many angles at once that even it couldn¡¯t adapt.


    The Designer regarded the latest reports and conferred one last time between its twin-minds before it deemed the preparations to be sufficient.


    It was time to start a controlled experiment and to introduce the Plague to a new and hardened ecosystem.


    In the Designer''s mind, there was nothing that could go wrong, and it would finally be able to report to the Creators that it had found a cure.


    With a flick of a tentacle, the Designer relaxed the security measures that prevented the newest iteration of the Plague from leaving its systems and opened a wormhole to the Plague''s homeworld, interested to see what would climb out of it.

 Ch 19 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°I hope you will be doing fine over the winter,¡± I said my final goodbyes to Gurney and Mark.


    In the end, Mark hadn''t been chosen to join a clan, but he had assured me that he would have no trouble finding a nice and secure shelter to sit out the cold.


    ¡°Don''t worry about us!¡± Mark shook my hand. ¡°I will send you a letter if I ever find my other half. Just make sure to send one yourself with the next recruiters. Just keep us up to date on how you are doing.¡± He wriggled his eyebrows. ¡°We have to know whether all your efforts are bearing fruit.¡±


    I squeezed his hand and smiled, understanding the innuendo perfectly well. ¡°I will. Maybe I could even pay you a visit?¡± I offered. ¡°There is no way of knowing what might be in a few months.¡±


    Mark winced and slapped at my hand while he started to jump. ¡°Okay! Okay! I give! No more jokes beneath the beltline!¡±


    I let go, somehow irked that he had reminded me that there were no contraceptives in this world and that Astra and I had been doing it like bunnies. There was no way that she wasn''t¡­ there was no point in lamenting over done deeds. I wasn''t sure whether I was ready to be a father, even if I had accepted to go all-in on this thing between us.


    ¡°Do not forget that paired warrior types aren''t allowed at the Old Camp,¡± Gurney reminded me. ¡°Outside of official clan business, no paired warriors are allowed to enter this neutral territory. Right now, you are excused, since you found your other half under my guidance.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I replied respectfully. ¡°I still hope that there will be an opportunity to meet again.¡±


    Gurney and I shook hands and I returned to the Aerie travel group that was waiting outside.


    Astra had introduced us earlier and I had done my best to remember the names. It was made a little easier thanks to the mutational differences each person had, but that didn''t help someone like me. Names just didn''t stick unless I interacted with the person in question regularly.


    Among the men, aside from myself, there were Liam who I already knew, Sanders, Powell, Ryan, and Fox. The last one was actually easy to remember because his mutations had turned him into something that I could only describe as a lycanthrope. His physical features like the fur and the tail were just too attention-grabbing to not make him stand out. At two metres in height, he also towered above the rest of us.


    As for women, we had Thalia, Astra, Hailey, Aylin, Luciana, Michaela, Nina, and Charite.


    Then we had the kids, Ava and Ivy, as the last two people who would accompany us on the trip.


    I joined Astra''s side and we waited together for the last preparations to finish. Which consisted mainly of packing a stretcher with additional equipment. Aside from that, everyone was carrying their own survival gear.


    Once the final preparations were finished half an hour later, Liam addressed the group, ¡°I hope everyone is prepared because we will be going home. For some, it''s their first or second trip, so I will elaborate on the procedures for the first leg of our journey.


    ¡°Sanders, Fox, and Aylin, you will be our first forward scouts. You will be ranging about a hundred metres ahead of the group until I send out another team to relieve you. Powell, Hailey, and Luciana, you will be following a hundred metres behind the main group and see to our rear. We actually have the benefit of having two powerful warrior types among us this time.¡±


    He turned to face Astra and me. ¡°Astra, you are in charge of helping out the forward scouts, should they encounter something hard to handle. Tulkas, you will be helping the rear when they call for help. Neither of you is going to help out with the other''s position unless I explicitly say so. If possible, at least one of you is to always stay with the main group.¡±


    Liam looked around to make sure that there were no further questions. ¡°If everyone understood their task, then let''s go. Children and paired warriors in the middle, the rest forms up around them, and stay together!¡±


    There were no protests as we formed up and marched out of the Old Camp in a surprisingly militaristic manner, children excluded. Ava and Ivy had been strapped to their own stretcher that was carried by Thalia and Michaela. It was clear that none of the clanners expected the children to keep up with the brisk pace they intended to go with.


    I quickly followed Astra as she marched after Thalia. The rest formed up in a loose circle around Liam and us.


    ¡°Shouldn''t we defend the perimeter?¡± I asked once I caught up. I had taken part in a few survival exercises while I was part of the organisation, but my experiences were made as a normal human in Earth¡¯s tamed environment. We never had to deal with such vastly different power levels and skillsets as were present in this group.


    Astra glanced at me before she returned her attention to the street. ¡°I told Liam what the two of us are capable of. Mutation-wise, we are probably the two strongest people in this group. Individually, we are twice or thrice as strong as anyone else. We can take out threats that others would struggle against. Liam made sure to send one strength-type and two sensory-types with our front and rear guard. With two sensors, it¡¯s unlikely that a predator can sneak up on them. If something happens despite that, the strength-type will try to buy time until one of us arrives.


    ¡°The reason why we are in the middle of the group is so that we can''t be taken out by an ambush predator. If something eliminated us with a lucky shot, then the whole group would lose ten to twenty percent of its fighting capabilities. It makes much more sense to risk someone else. Besides, it''s not like the people who are taking the perimeter are without skills of their own. You can trust that Liam will place everyone in a position where his or her abilities can do the most good.¡±


    I wasn''t sure whether I agreed with this cold-blooded strategy, but I saw the reason behind it. The clanners treated Astra and me like tanks that were flanked by foot soldiers to ensure that nobody could just walk up and place a mine on us.


    Once we left the Old Camp behind, the leading group increased their pace until they were well ahead of us. At the same time, the rear guard fell behind.


    Just as Astra had informed me yesterday, we entered the trail that led into the mountains, though we didn''t take the turn-off that led to Zippershit Creek. Instead, we went straight north in what was a boring hike for the most part. The only breaks from dully marching along came from Liam switching out scouts and rear guards by the hour or changing out who had to carry the kids and the supplies.


    From time to time, we slowed down when the scouts needed to check on something, but those interruptions never took more than a few minutes.


    Things got a little heated towards evening when the rear guard called out while we were ascending a ridge.


    Liam looked towards me. ¡°Tulkas, go and see what they found.¡±


    I nodded and quickly slipped out of my rucksack, then ran back towards the rear guard, which was currently taken by Aylin, Charite, and Powell. Charite wasn''t a strength type, but her resilience supposedly allowed her to fill a tank role. Aylin and Powell were the ones with the enhanced senses.


    ¡°Trouble?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not yet, but soon.¡± Powell pointed towards a group of bushes a hundred metres to the left that were at the same height as us. ¡°There is a sileen that''s been following us for an hour now. I didn''t report it, since they rarely attack groups this large, but the critter seems to be hungry. It''s been getting too close for comfort to keep ignoring it.¡±


    I tried to remember what I had read in Gurney''s journals.


    A sileen was a multi-legged predator with a stocky and powerful body that looked a little like a badger-centipede. They grew longer the older they got and gained ever more legs in the process.


    I activated my second sight and paid close attention to the spot which Powell was pointing at. At this distance, I wouldn''t have noticed the creature unless I had been on watch, but I could make out its ''energy field'' through the bushes.


    I still wasn''t certain what exactly my vision was showing me.


    Not wanting to waste my projectiles unnecessarily, I bent down and picked up a rock. Then I supercharged my muscles and served the sileen a warning shot.


    There was no reaction for a few seconds, and I was about to pick up another rock when the creature burst out of the bushes, running towards us with a speed that didn¡¯t fit together with its size.


    It was about one metre wide and seven metres in length, with six pairs of legs. The monster¡¯s charge was eerily silent as it easily traversed the rocky terrain. The strange body allowed it to literally float over crevices that would have forced me to jump.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I abandoned the idea of using another rock and retrieved a throwing spear instead.


    The creature was so fast that I only had time for a single shot.


    I didn''t say anything when Powell and Aylin ran away towards the main group. Only Charite stayed at my side and drew two daggers that were covered in a green, slimy substance.


    Once I was certain that the creature was committed to a straightforward charge, I threw.


    My spear left my hand and sank into the spot between the sileen''s neck and the first shoulder joint. The monster wasn''t bothered by the injury and continued onwards, not losing speed in the slightest.


    Gritting my teeth, I ran forward and felt time slow while I readied my spetum, aligning the blade for a slash. It didn''t feel like I could stop this thing like I preferred to do with a charging gutter. The sileen looked a lot heavier than the fluffballs.


    Maybe it was possible, but it could just as well damage my weapon and there was nobody who could repair it out here. The spetum was a rod of fine steel, but I didn''t trust it to withstand several tons of sileen.


    One moment before we clashed, the sileen seemed to compress and opened its snout, revealing huge, dagger-like teeth that could enclose my entire torso with a single bite.


    Then it shot forward just as I dug my foot into the ground, unleashing the charge I had built up.


    I sidestepped the monster''s lunge and brought the spetum down, hacking into the sileen''s spine and almost entirely through it. The centipede-thing roared and reared around, but Charite slammed into it from the other side and stabbed her daggers into the creature''s eye and neck. Not knowing who to bite, the sileen twitched the other way, throwing Charite off.


    I unleashed electricity through the spear as I withdrew it, causing the creature to shudder and curl up as it brought its hind body forward faster than I could react to. There was movement in the corner of my eye and then I felt something whacking me from the side.


    Being hit by the sileen¡¯s treetrunk-like body wasn¡¯t pleasant, but it didn¡¯t take me out.


    My spetum tore free of the creature, causing a fountain of blood as it cut through something important.


    Gritting my teeth, I rolled off the ground once I landed and readied the spetum once more.


    But it seemed like the sileen was in its death throes. It had curled up like a giant caterpillar and rolled and twisted in an attempt to throw off whatever was torturing it.


    Charite stepped to my side and lovingly petted the daggers that she had strapped to her front. ¡°Firebush poison. Takes a few moments to get going, but once it enters the bloodstream it feels like someone injected lava into your veins.¡±


    The sileen shuddered one more time as its muscles locked up.


    The woman next to me nodded to herself. ¡°And once it reaches the brain¡­¡± She tapped her temple. ¡°Finito!¡±


    I shuddered. ¡°Please keep those daggers far away from me.¡±


    These people liked poison way too much. After Mark, she was the second person I met who liked using chemical reagents that could kill within a few seconds. I really had to find out what the most used poisons were and carry a satchel with antidotes.


    If such a thing existed.


    The clanner laughed and slapped me on the back, then gestured towards the dead creature. ¡°I couldn''t have gotten to its arteries if you hadn''t distracted it. Let''s retrieve our weapons and harvest some of the meat for tonight before the zippers show up! We just have to make sure that the meat is cooked until it''s tender, or the poison will give us the worst belly cramps of our lives.¡±


    I definitely preferred the rations in that case.


    The main group had backtracked their way back to us by the time I managed to retrieve and clean my throwing spear and spetum. Apparently, it was just good practice among the clanners to stock up on food rations by harvesting predators that attacked the group.


    With seven people expertly taking apart the corpse to get to the good parts while the rest kept watch, we were ready to go again within less than half an hour. By the time the first zippers showed up, our group was in formation and on the move.


    The first day of our journey ended at a narrow cave entrance that had been hewn out of the stone. It was just wide enough to allow a single adult human access to the shelter. All of the walls showed unmistakable signs of rough processing.


    There was also a single, large stone that could be pulled into the entrance like a wedge. It sealed seamlessly with the only part that had been carved out with more care than the rest, allowing eventual predators no purchase to open the cave. Two people with strength mutations were needed to move the stone, and once it was seated in place, we could be relatively sure that nothing was going to surprise us.


    With two hours of daylight remaining, we had arrived early, but that was the intention behind the shelter. If we had been a smaller group that travelled faster, we may have pushed for another shelter further down the road. But as it was, Liam was satisfied that we had reached this one.


    Some small air shafts that had been drilled by unknown means ensured fresh air. And a glowing moss that covered the entire ceiling provided just enough light to see once the shelter was closed.


    ¡°Three weeks of this is going to be rough,¡± I commented once I sat down next to Astra.


    She had been talking with Thalia who was playing with the distressed kids. Ava and Ivy had been mostly silent and well-behaved during the day ¨C which I didn¡¯t think to be normal for kids their age. The only explanation I had was that they had been frightened out of their wits.


    Admittedly, from what I had listened in on, none of the clanners had been holding back in telling them that the monsters would eat them if they ran away from the group.


    ¡°We will manage,¡± Astra replied confidently while she drew a spark between her fingertips to show off to Thalia.


    ¡°That¡¯s such a nice ability to have,¡± Thalia commented and smirked. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t taken him, I might have snatched him up.¡±


    ¡°Too late!¡± Astra leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. ¡°I saw you cutting up that sileen today. Nice job.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I looked towards Thalia, suddenly curious what she might be capable of. All I had seen her do so far was to fly a few scouting missions. ¡°What¡¯s your ability anyway? Aside from the obvious?¡± I glanced at her wings.


    Not that flying alone wasn¡¯t already plenty helpful, but just like with me there had to be more. I had already noticed that the clanners weren¡¯t forthcoming when it came to detailed explanations of their abilities, but Astra was very close with Thalia.


    It seemed fine for me to ask.


    Thalia showed me her palm and grinned. ¡°I have a really awesome healing ability. And I can share it with others if I want. Or I can take their blood.¡± Suddenly, what looked like blood vessels broke through the skin of her palm. They looked like roots and writhed around in what I could only describe as unnerving.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ freaky.¡± I forced myself to grin. ¡°Now I am convinced that you are a vampire bat!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± She puffed out her cheeks. ¡°I won''t turn to ash from a little sun exposure.¡± The blood vines retreated beneath her skin and a few seconds later it looked like she had never shown me some chest-burster horror scene. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s my most powerful ability, aside from hearing really well.¡± She pulled at her earlobe and smiled. ¡°Sometimes, I can even hear thoughts. Though, I am not a fighter in my current state.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes, remembering how she had called me out when Astra introduced us. Did Thalia really have some limited mind-reading capabilities?


    ¡°Anyway!¡± Astra leaned over and pulled at my arm, guiding me back towards where we had our sleeping bags. ¡°It¡¯s about time for us to go to sleep. Tomorrow, we will rise with the sun and push hard to make it to the next shelter in time.¡±


    True to Astra¡¯s words, we always rose with the sun and did our best to reach the next shelter.


    Travelling along the mountain range was easier than it sounded because the Aerie already knew which ridges to take so that the altitude difference wasn¡¯t too exhausting.


    The few times we had to descend, things actually got easier because Astra, Thalia, Aylin, Luciana, and Nina, as well as Sanders and Ryan, could all fly in one form or another. And if they couldn¡¯t outright carry a person, they could glide our supplies and the weaker group members over to the next ridge.


    One threat we really had to look out for in the mountains were the few flying monsters that had made their home in the rocky terrain. There was one moment when a giant bird-thing almost managed to snatch one of the scouts, but Astra wrestled the thing out of the sky easily enough.


    It was kind of hard to fly when an electrocuting tentacl- ¡®ahem¡¯¡­ very beautiful woman was latched onto you. Hopefully, Thalia didn¡¯t catch that.


    By the end of the sixth day, we actually reached our shelter a little earlier than normal. The Aerie hadn¡¯t spaced out their shelters evenly. Instead, they had made them in places of opportunity, rather than to force themselves to build one where they stood. This meant that reaching the next shelter might take us four hours on one day and eight on a bad one.


    So it happened that we still had more than five hours of daylight left when we reached the sixth shelter.


    It was located on a small cliff right in front of a shallow mountain stream.


    The entrance was constructed similarly to the others I had seen so far. The group that had set up the shelters always chose the sturdiest of stone that was available. Additionally, it seemed like they had expanded natural caves instead of doing all the work manually.


    While the others set up the camp, I decided to wash my clothes in the stream.


    My filaments had been growing steadily, but at about forty centimetres, they were still too short to form clothes with them. For now, the only real benefit was the improved hearing and a whole lot of itching along my spine.


    Thankfully, Astra had the same issue when she got her filament mutation and assured me that it would go away after the first month.


    I wasn¡¯t intentionally spying, but I caught the conversation when Fox approached Liam at the shelter¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°There is something I have to tell you,¡± the large man whispered as he deferred to our group leader. The doctor might not have been a great warrior, but he had the organisation of our little travel group firmly in hand. ¡°The fireplace was still warm when we arrived.¡±


    I looked up and eyed the two men.


    Liam frowned and waved Fox away. ¡°Get Astra.¡±


    He looked towards me and gestured to come closer. ¡°Come, Tulkas. I am sure you heard?¡±


    I wrung out the linen shirt that I had been washing and walked up the ten metres that separated the stream from the shelter¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°What do you make of the warm fireplace?¡± Liam asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°Someone was here before us and used the shelter. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know how many people you would expect travelling this mountain range.¡±


    Liam nodded. ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s the crux. This line of shelters leads nowhere but to clan Aerie. There shouldn¡¯t be anyone out here. We know that we haven¡¯t sent another group back, and there shouldn¡¯t be anyone coming down the route from the other direction. We would have met them.¡±


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t have walked past each other?¡± I suggested.


    Liam shook his head. ¡°Extremely unlikely. The route we are taking is well known to the Aerie. We would have run into each other if the clan had sent us a messenger.¡±


    Astra came out of the shelter and joined us. ¡°Problems?¡±


    Liam sighed. ¡°Someone is out here, and I don¡¯t know what to make of it. Fox just told me that the fireplace was still warm when we arrived.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°That is concerning. Did the scouts notice anything?¡±


    Liam shook his head. ¡°Nothing unusual. Just the typical monster sightings and ordinary reports of predators stalking us.¡±


    I pulled a face at the comment. Was it just me, or were the Aerie too used to being hunted by the local fauna?


    Thalia came out of the shelter, looking concerned. ¡°Liam?¡±


    The group leader sighed tiredly. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about Luciana, Aylin and Sanders. Luciana just vomited and the others are saying they aren¡¯t feeling well.¡± She gestured towards the cave. ¡°You should take a look at them. I have a bad feeling that it might be poison, but I cannot imagine how they could have gotten into contact with processed wyrmroot.¡±


    Liam shook a fist. ¡°By the love of-¡±


    I didn¡¯t know why, but I felt a shiver run down my neck. Time seemed to slow and I reached out while I stepped forward to shield Liam.


    My hand closed around the arrow that was about to sink into Astra¡¯s neck. Her expression was one of shock when she dodged the second and deflected a third arrow with the back of her hand.


    Two arrows hit Thalia, one in the throat and one in the belly.


    Then three more arrows sprouted from my own chest, causing me to grimace in pain.


    Liams voice sounded too far away when he started screaming, ¡°Attack! We are under attack!¡±

 Ch 20 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Thalia! Magnus!¡± I called out in horror when both of them were hit before I could do anything.


    I grabbed my partner by the arm and Liam sounded the alarm while I tried to pull Magnus into cover before the attackers could shoot a second volley of arrows. Magnus wasn''t in any state to move on his own. His eyes rolled in their sockets and he swayed while he tried to form words.


    Thalia fell in a heap next to the shelter''s entrance while Fox dashed back out of the entrance to see what was happening.


    I cursed and pulled one of the poisoned arrows out of Magnus¡¯ chest.


    That''s when I sensed them with my echolocation! Stepping out of perfectly camouflaged hiding places, eleven figures dropped down from the cliff above us.


    I screamed in rage and shot out my filaments in an attempt to stop them, but that was exactly what they wanted. They intentionally entangled themselves within the filaments in an attempt to restrain me! As soon as they landed, they pulled in all directions, forcing me to scream as I felt some filaments being ripped out of me!


    One of the figures landed next to me and hit Magnus in the chest, sending my partner flying towards the stream. All I could see was a shower of blood before I took conscious notice that it was Roderick!


    I screamed and charged my muscles, unleashing all the power I could draw upon through my filaments.


    Fox fought one of the attackers, trying to defend the shelter, but more came down from above and five slipped past him through the entrance. He kicked his current opponent down the slope that led to the stream and chased after the others into the cave.


    Then I saw another group charging towards the shelter''s entrance from the other side of the stream.


    All I saw was red as I picked up a head-sized stone and overloaded the bioluminescence in my skin while I closed my eyes. At the same time, I flexed my muscles and discharged all the energy I could through the filaments.


    The world around me flashed in brilliant white and people screamed. My ears rang, and for a second, my whole body felt like I had jumped into a pit of burning coals.


    I opened my eyes again and raised the stone. Then I launched it with all my might at Ivonne who was stumbling through the waist-deep stream while she tried to shield her eyes.


    The stone went ballistic like a cannonball and struck the bitch straight in the face, but I had no time to gloat in satisfaction.


    I tore myself free of my twitching attackers who had just gotten a close-up demonstration of my most powerful ability combined with the largest electricity discharge I had mustered so far.


    Dashing for the shelter''s entrance, I ignored Liam who was being pulled away by two men. They already had gotten him down to the stream. There was nothing I could do unless I intended to take on the second group alone. They wouldn''t be blinded forever and there were more helpless people inside the shelter.


    Once inside, I found a scene of carnage. Whatever poison they had used, it had rendered the majority of our combatants unable to fight.


    Powell was down on the ground next to one of the dead attackers. His throat was cut and he had several stabbing wounds, but he had taken one of his enemies with him.


    Charite was fighting a woman and I lost no time in sending out some filaments to entangle the Thich, which allowed Charite to stab her enemy repeatedly.


    Fox was being overwhelmed by two men and I assisted him in the same manner with my remaining filaments.


    Charite changed her focus towards the last man who was about to stab one of the figures who were lying on the ground. She threw herself at him with a guttural scream that lacked all humanity, preventing him just in time from delivering a killing blow.


    Fox finally gained the upper hand and tore off the head of one attacker before he punched the other one with enough force to have the head snap sideways at an unhealthy angle.


    With the shelter clear of enemies for the moment, I turned back to the entrance. ¡°Defend the entrance! Our only hope is to use it as a choke point!¡±


    That''s when something stabbed me in the chest!


    I reached out lightning quick, moving on mere instinct.


    What I caught felt like an arm, but there was no arm.


    Squeezing, I gritted my teeth while I forced the hand that was holding a short karambit knife away from me. The outer form of a person blurred and struggled in front of me as he tried to push the karambit deeper into my chest.


    Cursing my stupidity, I opened my Second Sight and locked eyes with the Thich who had the ability to go de facto invisible. He was staring at the spot where his knife had just barely penetrated my skin before it had been stopped by instinctively flexing musculature.


    Growling, I squeezed further, feeling the spongy bones bend before they snapped.


    He screamed.


    If I remembered the arena sheet correctly, then this man had nothing that made him stronger or sturdier than the average human with nanotech enhancements.


    Feeling numb, I dug my fingers into his throat, cutting off his air. The feeling strangely reminded me of when my adoptive father had used some seeds to make a starch imitation of play dough for me.


    It shouldn''t be this easy, but it was.


    I tore out the man''s throat and quickly scanned the room for more people that were there and yet were not. When I found nobody, I hurried towards the entrance to block it.


    Thankfully, turning myself into a flash-grenade had bought us more time than I thought.


    Charite and Fox joined me with bows and I picked up as many of the readily available stones as I could comfortably hold. Whoever had built this shelter hadn''t bothered to remove the rough gravel that remained from hollowing out the living space.


    I allowed myself the shortest of glances back into the cave and found two people who were up and trying to tend to the wounded and poisoned. The children were cowering in the furthest corner of the cave.


    That would have to be enough for now.


    Charite risked a look out of the shelter before she drew back her head, barely avoiding an arrow that plunked off the stone.


    ¡°Bastards!¡± She drew, rose out of cover and quickly fired before she ducked back into the cave.


    ¡°What''s the status?¡± I asked, trying to remain calm and busied with something important. I knew that if I had even one minute to think, I would have a breakdown. ¡°I know that Tulkas, Liam, and Thalia were caught outside.¡±


    Charite looked at me. ¡°They have us pinned.¡±


    ¡°No, we have them pinned,¡± I argued, trying to be positive about the situation. ¡°We still hold the shelter and night is coming. They are caught outside.¡±


    ¡°Liam ordered Ryan and Nina on lookout duty outside. If they didn''t manage to warn us, then they got them.¡± Fox looked back into the cave. ¡°Powell is dead. They ganged up on him when they got in. Aylin and Hailey are up. Sanders, Luciana and Michaela are down due to the poison.¡±


    Hailey picked up a crossbow and approached us. ¡°I can fight. There is nothing I can do about the poison anyway. Aylin isn''t doing well enough to fight.¡±


    ¡°You are a sensor!¡± I growled and waved for her to get away from the entrance. ¡°Just stay back and nail anything that gets past the three of us.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you there in the cave! I think it''s time to give up and come out. We have your leader and we know that you aren''t doing so well!¡± a voice called from outside.


    I edged forward and took a peek. During the confusion of the attack, I didn''t get the chance to count our attackers.


    They were arranged in a loose line down at the stream. I counted fourteen people. Several of them I recognized as Thich. They had Liam kneeling in front of them, his hands above his head.


    I cursed when I saw Thalia''s lifeless body still lying next to the cave entrance. Magnus was also face down in the stream and not moving.


    Ducking back into cover, I fought the tears welling up in my eyes. ¡°Those fucking murderers! Do they want to start another war?¡±


    The Thich and the Aerie weren¡¯t friends. A few good-natured assassination attempts were part of a recruitment season, but this was a whole new level. They had never tried something like this as far as I remembered.


    ¡°Come on,¡± the voice called again. ¡°This doesn''t have to be any harder than it has to be.¡±


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Why aren''t they just attacking?¡± Charite asked. ¡°They would have gotten us if they had rushed in with the others. Now they will have to pay a heavy price!¡±


    ¡°I flashed them!¡± I raised an arm to show her the lacerations on my skin where my bioluminescent markings had been. ¡°They couldn''t.¡±


    ¡°They don''t know how many of us are still in fighting shape, since none of their people managed to get back out,¡± Fox growled. ¡°All they know is that you are still alive, and I don¡¯t see them having a partnered warrior down there.¡±


    ¡°And how are there so many of them?¡± Charite spat. ¡°There are five in here, several bodies in front of the cave, and fourteen are still standing! I don''t remember the Thich having that many people at the Old Camp!¡±


    ¡°They bolstered their numbers with exiles from the Old Camp,¡± I explained. ¡°I saw Roderick among them.¡±


    ¡°If you aren''t going to answer, then we will kill him!¡± the voice called.


    ¡°What do you want!?¡± I called back.


    ¡°Give us the two girls and we will leave,¡± the Thich''s leader replied.


    ¡°What''s our guarantee that you won''t kill him anyway?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You have my word.¡±


    ¡°The word of a Thich is worth less than nothing to me!¡± I replied. ¡°Send Liam to us and we might think about it. He isn''t a fighter, so he won''t change much if you decide to try silencing us.¡±


    ¡°We could just smoke you out,¡± the Thich leader suggested.


    ¡°Don''t do it-¡± Liam¡¯s voice called out but he let out a scream of pain as someone shut him up.


    Fox growled. ¡°These negotiations are pointless. The Thich have no other choice than to kill us because they need the shelter. Their whole attack plan showed that they wanted to wipe us out. Even if we give them the kids, there is no way for them to make the trek to another shelter in time. And there is no way for us to share with them! And even if we would, they can''t let us go or we would tell our clan what happened.¡±


    ¡°What else I am supposed to do?¡± I asked in frustration. I was already on the verge of storming out there to risk one last fight. If it wasn''t for the helpless people in here.


    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Magnus***


    I slowly breathed the water, trying my best to fight the choking reflex while I played dead. It helped that the stream''s water was hiding most of my body from sight since it was milky from the washed-out dirt that came from the mountain.


    The poison in my veins still had me dizzy and my chest hurt where Roderick had hit me, but for some reason, the effect was quickly wearing off.


    If the others could buy just a little more time until I could move again.


    But until then, all I could do was listen.


    ¡°I told you to kill her first!¡± the Thich complained. ¡°She fried ten men with that one attack! Everyone who came down the cliff apart from you is dead!¡±


    ¡°I tried, Jan, but that bastard who is dunking behind us in the water was in front of her,¡± Roderick defended himself. ¡°And then she used that skill and all the small fry you bought was fried. Hahaha.¡± He chuckled about his bad joke but stopped when nobody joined in. ¡°I was just as blinded as you guys were.¡±


    ¡°I am paying you to follow orders, nothing more!¡± Jan replied. ¡°And where is Ivonne!? She should have been there to deal with the tentacle bitch! She was the only one sturdy enough to ignore the tentacles!¡±


    ¡°She was in the stream with us when the light blinded everyone,¡± a woman replied. ¡°When I could see again, she wasn''t with us anymore. Maybe she fell and the water carried her off?¡±


    Another voice refuted that. ¡°The stream isn''t powerful enough for that. Maybe if you throw yourself flat into the water. And even if, we were blinded for not more than a minute. She would have made her way back to us by now.¡±


    ¡°Did that bitch get cold feet and run away!?¡± Jan cursed. ¡°I swear, if she ever comes crawling back I will see to it that she fails her initiation! This was supposed to be nothing more than a simple retrieval mission and we have one fuck up after the other!¡±


    ¡°Nobody could have known that she can turn herself into a human-sized flash grenade,¡± someone else complained. ¡°We should have never attacked a group with a partnered pair of warrior types.¡±


    ¡°We killed one easily enough,¡± Jan barked back. ¡°And now quit your whining or I will have your head for insubordination! And how long does it take that invisible bastard to poison a few people!?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he is dead?¡± someone suggested.


    ¡°Only reasonable explanation,¡± Jan admitted. ¡°Let''s give him a few more minutes. In the meantime, get that body. Let''s see whether we can provoke her if we defile her mate''s corpse a little. She can watch it and we kill the hostage afterwards.¡±


    I felt someone step into the water next to me and grab my shoulder. When I was turned around, I shot up and punched out with my fist. My hand impacted a woman''s chest and broke through the ribcage, entering something soft and slimy.


    Getting to my feet, I grabbed her by the belt and lifted the body above my head. Then I threw her at the first person who caught my eye.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± The man raised his hands to catch her but was knocked over.


    Following directly behind, I was on him and had my hand on his face before he knew what was going on. Then I pressed my fingers down until I felt his eyeballs pop.


    ¡°Ayieeeeee!¡± The definitely girlish scream finally alarmed the rest of the group.


    I jumped to the side, barely avoiding another dose of poisoned arrows. Diving into the stream, I pulled myself along the rocky ground until I happened to grab onto a loose stone. Astra''s mutations might have given me the ability to breathe underwater, but seeing was still troublesome in this murky soup.


    Coming up, I threw the stone at the first target of opportunity and dove back down.


    Finally, I reached a larger rock that provided some cover. The first thing that happened once I was up was for me to retch and expel all the dirty water in my lungs. Oh, this would bite me later on, I would take bets on it.


    Looking down at myself, I pulled out the two broken arrow-shafts that were still lodged in me. The third had apparently fallen out on its own. It didn¡¯t seem like I had suffered dangerous injuries. The arrows had penetrated the skin and two centimetres of fat and muscles before they had been stopped.


    The fist strike that Roderick had delivered was much worse. My chest was aching with every breath I took.


    It had practically squished the skin and scraped off the upper layer of my epidermis to reveal black and silver musculature beneath. The individual strands flexed each time I moved, making it abundantly clear that I was no longer a normal human.


    ¡°I never wanted to study myself like this, but god bless those little monsters,¡± I mumbled while I dug in the riverbed for another fitting stone.


    ¡°Roderick!¡± Jan screamed. ¡°Get him! You three too, help him!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Roderick stomped through the river towards me. ¡°Must have some form of poison resistance too, the lucky bastard.¡±


    I launched another stone out of cover, but Roderick wasn''t impressed when he simply lifted a forearm and blocked the projectile that burst upon impact. Slowly, I drew the short sword that I always carried on my belt.


    There was another commotion when Astra, Fox, and Charite suddenly left the shelter and charged the Thich.


    Not seeing how there would ever be a better opportunity, I launched myself into the air and screamed to draw attention away from my people. One arrow was shot at me, but I deflected it with the short sword.


    Then I landed in the river, right between Roderick and his helpers.


    It seemed like they hadn''t yet realized what my ability was ¨C or they would have stayed well away from the water. Howling, I raised the sword, imagining it to be a hammer, and then I channelled Thor with all my might.


    The four figures around me dropped when a small explosion of electricity caused the water around my feet to spontaneously evaporate.


    Ignoring Roderick for now, I jumped again, aiming directly for Jan and the archers next to him. They had their attention on Astra and the others, which cost them dearly when my blade came down on the first Thich.


    There was no finesse in my movements when I split the archer''s head in twain like a log of wood and bodily threw myself at another opponent while I channelled electricity.


    Then I was hacking my blade into every person whose face I didn''t recognize. I blocked a blade and sparks flew before I struck back. The next things that flew were a head and an arm.


    Something barrelled into me before I could do more damage and Jan suddenly had his hand on my throat. ¡°I''ve had enough of you! Who do you think you are?¡±


    I tried to hack at him, but he slapped the blade out of my hand with ease. The man was at least as strong as Gurney and it suddenly dawned on me that I had made a terrible mistake by getting close!


    He squeezed and I could feel my throat closing up. I charged my muscles, but all I could do was take another gulping breath of air.


    Panicking, I discharged enough energy to make electric sparks dance across our skin, but my opponent was completely unfazed.


    ¡°What are you going to do, little fly?¡± He laughed. ¡°I''ve killed hundreds on this hellhole of a planet! You are just the latest in a long-¡±


    I growled and brought both legs up, taking his arm between my thighs. I ignored it when my head slammed onto the rocky ground because he couldn''t hold me up anymore. My calves landed on his chest and I pulled, flexing my entire body backwards while I held onto his arm.


    Jan struggled, but he had lost his chance of getting out of my hold. His free arm could no longer put any leverage onto me.


    Though, it felt like one arm was enough to squish my throat. I overextended myself another time, pulling while I bent back as far as I could, then his shoulder popped and he screamed.


    He let go and I could breathe again, taking in that precious air!


    Then Astra was suddenly above us with a knife in her hand. Screaming like a maniac, she dropped to her knees and stabbed down into Jan''s head.


    At that moment, I wished that she wouldn¡¯t swing a sharp object so freely right next to my feet.


    Finally, I felt Jan¡¯s body slacken, but Astra kept stabbing nonetheless.


    Once I was sure that it wasn''t a trick, the impression aided by Astra''s bloody knife, I relaxed and took a deep breath before I sat up.


    Fox was stomping onto a weakly struggling Thich, apparently not caring that he was missing an arm.


    Charite was holding a wound in her belly but looked fine otherwise.


    Nobody else was up as far as I could see. Liam was lying on the ground. Someone had shot an arrow into the back of his head.


    I slowly raised a hand and touched Astra''s shoulder. She was crying and dead set on literally defacing Jan''s corpse.


    Once I was sure that she wouldn''t freak out on me, I squeezed harder. ¡°Astra, Astra! He is dead!¡± I had to focus her on a task. ¡°You have to take care of those who can still be saved!¡±


    Astra looked at me, then back at the corpse and her expression firmed up. ¡°Right.¡± She looked around and shoved me off the body.


    She grabbed the corpse at the shoulders and quickly pulled it towards the shelter.


    I didn''t want to question what she was up to as long as she didn''t go mindless murderhobo on a corpse.


    Crawling back to my feet, I slowly walked over to Liam''s body and checked on his pulse. There was none, so I simply closed his eyes and forewent pulling the arrow out of his head. That would have likely just made a mess.


    I got up and straightened my back while I focused on taking deep and steady breaths. Then I bent over and coughed up a bloody glob of slime. Nope, inhaling dirty water definitely wasn''t healthy.


    It took me a minute to gather myself, but I got back up. Charite was tying off Fox''s bloody stump.


    I retrieved my short sword and the spetum that had been left untouched where I had washed my clothes not so long ago. Then I slowly made the rounds, checking on all the bodies that covered the ground. It surprised me that the zippers hadn''t shown up yet, but maybe they just didn''t like this biome.


    I even fished the bodies out of the water ¨C at least those that hadn''t been carried off by the stream.


    And, oh, wonder behold, Roderick was still alive along with four more attackers who suffered various states of injury!


    I gathered them on a sandbank at the stream''s side. Then I watched Roderick''s unconscious form as I thought and debated with the other four survivors warily watching me.


    It didn''t take me long to decide.


    Astra had told me a little about Roderick, due to me inquiring about him. I had wanted to know whether he would come after me for some reason after I had survived the trial at Starfish Lake. After all, he had tried to kill all the newcomers.


    At the time, she hadn''t believed that he held any special animosity against my person. He was a simple exile with powerful strength and durability evolutions. It would be nice to question him, but if he woke up, restraining someone like him would be a hassle, if not impossible.


    He would be a danger to me and anyone he managed to get his hands on.


    I placed the spetum''s tip on Roderick''s chest, then leaned onto it. It sank in, but not all the way. Frowning, I stepped with one foot on a cross-blade and bushed down, finally piercing all the way through.


    The bastard had made me work for it even if he hadn''t been awake.


    I checked his pulse again and found none.


    Leaving the spetum inside him, I drew my short sword and turned my attention towards the other four. ¡°Who wants to talk?¡±


    They looked at each other, but only the one with the broken leg spoke. ¡°There''s nothing in it for us anyways. We attacked you, and you are going to kill us. Just like him.¡± He gestured with his chin at Roderick''s corpse. ¡°Just finish us off and be done with it.¡±


    ¡°I killed him because he was powerful and hard to control.¡± I pointed the short sword at the speaker. ¡°That''s not the case with you four. We have until evening to discuss all your reasons for attacking us. I want to know where you are from and who you work for. I want to know how things work in Thich and why they are in such need of two little girls.¡±


    The three men and one woman stared defyingly at me.


    ¡°Fine. How did one of my teachers like to say?¡± I pointed the sword at one after the other with each word. ¡°Ene mene mu, und raus bist du.¡±

 Ch 21 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Astra***


    I had removed the arrows and hanged another body above Thalia, right next to the Thich leader. They were upside down, and I had cut the arteries lengthwise so that they would bleed out all over my friend. It was gruesome, but I told myself that they no longer needed their blood. Thalia lay in a shallow ditch that was originally intended to catch the waste of dressing unprocessed raw meat for the group.


    It felt like I had been at this task for hours, but I couldn''t rest. Every minute counted when it came to this.


    Fox stumbled back into the cave and slid down against a wall. He actually looked a little green beneath the thin fur that covered his entire body. ¡°I can''t watch it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Watch what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Your mate...¡± He shuddered. ¡°Forgive me to say this, but that guy is a psycho. He collected the Thich survivors and is interrogating them.¡±


    I couldn''t care less about what Magnus did to those bastards.


    ¡°Is someone watching out?¡± I asked, unsure whether Magnus was aware of the issue that so many dead bodies might attract dangerous carrion eaters.


    Fox waved it off with his remaining arm. ¡°Hailey and Charite are outside. One is on watch while the other is searching for Ryan and Nina. We haven''t confirmed whether they are dead. Though, I don''t believe that the Thich left them alive.¡±


    He looked at the macabre display that I had created in the hope of saving my friend. ¡°Do you have to bleed them in here?¡±


    ¡°I can''t do it outside.¡± I rebutted him. ¡°You know how long it might take Thalia to revive. If she doesn''t wake up by nightfall, the night predators might get to her.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Nice to be like a plant. Just sprinkle some fertilizer on top and everything is fine. I would have taken the bloodvine mutation if I could.¡±


    ¡°Provided that someone can sprinkle some fertilizer on top,¡± I pointed out.


    My attention was drawn by Aylin, who barfed up into a stone-hewn bucket that was more like a large bowl. It was intended for when someone absolutely had to follow nature''s call while the shelter was closed. It would be a pain if someone else needed it tonight, but there was nothing to be done about it now.


    I would wait and see whether Aylin recovered enough to no longer need the bucket.


    In any case, the shelter wouldn''t be a pleasant smelling place for the next few days.


    Instead of basking in her misery, Aylin uncorked her water skin and drank. It was her body''s way of dealing with the poison. She leaned over and shook Luciana by the shoulder, then drank some more.


    ¡°What about the poisoned?¡± I asked.


    Aylin shook her head. ¡°Micha and Luci have no poison resistance. They are goners. Sanders might make it. At least his heart is still beating.¡±


    I closed my eyes.


    My heart ached at the thought. ¡°That makes six, maybe seven dead?¡±


    We had some medical supplies, but the Thich used processed wyrmroot, a potent poison that had only one known antidote ¨C freshly plucked wyrmroot. The plant was a powerful antidote against any poison but quickly turned venomous as it dried. Once the dried wyrmroot was roasted, it could be ground to powder and mixed with water to create a poisonous paste that was easy to apply to any weapon.


    And wyrmroot was only found in the swamp region to the Old Camp''s east. Another possibility I knew of were the Aerie plantations. Neither place was within reach. Anyone who was poisoned out here was as good as dead unless their body had a natural resistance.


    During the clan wars, it was the poison of choice because it killed anyone who wasn''t within reach of a major settlement or a swamp.


    Nowadays, every civilised poison user chose the firebush because the antidote could be easily stored and applied ¨C if one was fast enough.


    ¡°Oh, that''s no good.¡± Fox slumped. ¡°We have only two remaining warrior types, even if you two are strong. The others are all either sensors or supporters. How are we going to make the trip? The first big predator we come across will eat us for breakfast.¡±


    ¡°It could be worse,¡± I tried to cheer him up. ¡°We could all be dead.¡±


    ¡°We could try to get back to the Old Camp,¡± he suggested. ¡°Sit out the winter and try again next year. The clan will mount an expedition to find out why nobody returned.¡±


    ¡°We should first see how the situation looks tomorrow,¡± I said. At the moment, there is no point in making plans beyond that. ¡°We can''t make it to another shelter today, so we have to sit out the night and see what we have to work with come morning.¡±


    I didn''t mention that we also lost most of the people who could fly. There would be no easy gliding across descending mountain ridges anymore. If Thalia revived, then she and Aylin might be able to do it.


    My filaments suffered a lot when the Thich dropped down on me. I was no longer sure that I could create enough surface area to glide.


    That''s when Charite entered the shelter, transporting a body in a fireman''s carry. She glowered at the mess that I had made. ¡°You and Tulkas are two of a kind.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± I asked, indicating the body on her shoulders.


    ¡°Nina. They knocked her out, but I found a pulse. Possible that they intended to have some fun with her once they were done with us.¡± Charite carried the unconscious woman to her sleeping bag and laid her down. ¡°I also found Ryan on his post, but he was already cold. Caught an arrow directly through the eye.¡±


    I closed my eyes and sighed. We were down to eight people, maybe nine if Sanders survived. Fox was a cripple for the foreseeable future. Even with a starfish mutation, limbs didn''t regrow on the fly.


    And then there were the kids. Carrying them would require two people. Carrying the additional supplies required two people. That left only four or five of us for proper scouting duties. We could have three scouts and two rear-guards, but then there would be nobody with the supply carriers.


    Fox was right with his concerns. The travel group wasn''t maintainable like this.


    We would have to make do with a much slower pace or take some risks with smaller scouting parties. Maybe just one scout and rear-guard each? We would lose people for certain that way. None of us had enough sensor abilities to cover for every angle of attack.


    I stood up and walked over to where Michaela and Luciana lay. Just to be sure, I checked the pulse on both of them. Then I retrieved their clan amulets and handed them to Aylin.


    Six people. That was the body count so far, and we had been lucky despite that.


    If the Thich had known about Magnus'' and my abilities, they would have killed all of us. Thankfully, they had lost a sizeable part of their people due to a stupid mistake.


    I grabbed the bodies at the scruffs of their necks and pulled them out of the shelter.


    Hailey was sitting next to the entrance and scanning the surrounding area with her eyes. Her expression fell when I lined up the two bodies next to Liam and Powell. Someone had brought Liam from the stream, even if I couldn''t fathom the reason.


    I wished we could send them off properly, but there was no burying the bodies out here. The rocky ground would take hours to dig into and piling up stones on top of the bodies wouldn''t deter the larger animals.


    Nonetheless, I knelt next to Liam and paid him my respects. He wasn''t exactly a friend, but he was a good leader and a trustworthy clansman. He hadn''t been a fighter, but I remembered his last words. Liam thought of us instead of himself.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    My eyes drifted down to the stream where Tulkas had a man and a woman arrayed in front of him. Roderick lay impaled behind my partner, accompanied by two bodies that looked like someone had carefully dissected them in a way that made them live for as long as possible.


    That''s when an idea struck me. ¡°Tulkas, don''t kill them!¡±


    I slid down the slope towards the stream, ignoring my mate''s sour expression.


    ¡°Why not?¡± he asked and waved his bloody short sword at the two prisoners. ¡°They attacked us with the intention to kill.¡±


    ¡°Because we need someone to carry the supplies!¡± I pointed out. ¡°We have too little manpower to have people on scouting missions. If we had two pack-animals, a lot of our problems would be solved.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think that''s a wise idea.¡± Magnus scratched his cheek with the bloody blade. ¡°They could turn on us. Poison us. Run away in a crucial moment.¡±


    ¡°You would have more time to interrogate them,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I don''t know what else to say. Our group is too small to journey on in its current state. Not if we have to transport the children.¡±


    ¡°They are injured,¡± Magnus pointed out. ¡°They won''t be of much help if they just stumble along.¡±


    I looked at the two remaining prisoners. The Man''s eyes had been blinded and the woman held her bloody side, grimacing as she looked up at me. I cursed, realizing that they wouldn''t be of much help until they healed up, which could take days.


    ¡°You have the starfish mutation?¡± I asked.


    Both nodded.


    I tried to juggle the numbers in my head. ¡°Wait... we have four weeks left until the winter starts. If we stay here for a week to lick our wounds... we would use up our safety margin. I am just trying to get the timetable right... It might work out. Otherwise, we would have to turn around and return to the Old Camp.¡±


    ¡°That''s not an option,¡± Magnus replied. ¡°Back at the camp, we would have another fight on our hands. Can you predict which side the other clans might take?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    He pointed his short sword at the injured woman. ¡°The missus says that the Thich want the kids for breeding experiments. She is apparently unaware of the greater picture, but that''s what''s going on. They have permanent orders from their higher-ups to bring them all the twins that Earth sends, especially the redheads. Even if it means paying off the other clans.¡±


    Magnus placed the flat of his blade on his shoulder, not caring about the blood. ¡°I tell you, the Thich have some kind of deal with Earth''s government! The kids are all taken back to the Thich clan grounds where they receive identical mutations from some unknown source, often turning their skin violet. They are doing that again and again with all the kids.¡±


    He took a heaving breath, becoming angrier as he talked. ¡°So far, it doesn''t sound like their experiments succeeded because they are repeating the same experiment with the same sub-par results. But that''s not all; the kids are indoctrinated in a way that I could only describe as creating child soldiers! Once they are done with them, they are handing the children off to high-ranking clanners because pairing the violet mutation with others is apparently exceedingly successful.¡±


    Magnus had been waving his sword wildly by the end, looking like he would lose it any second and behead the two Thich right then and there.


    Now that I thought about it, the Thich always had one or two women with violet skin among their numbers. I had never seen men with that evolution. So far, I hadn''t found that to be special because every clan had their preferred evolutions. I would have to go through every detail that I remembered from the three times I visited the Old Camp.


    It didn''t help that the Thich''s attitude towards the other clans was isolationistic at best, hostile at worst.


    I turned to the woman who had been cowed by my partner''s loss of control ¨C which was understandable, given that this had likely been his sisters'' fate. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she whined. ¡°Please don''t let him cut us up. He doesn''t even let us die. That maniac reanimated Hannes three times with his electricity before his body finally quit.¡±


    ¡°Why do they need twins exactly?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don''t know.¡± The woman sniffled. ¡°All that I and the others did was to follow orders. We are lower class soldiers. One of our orders was to get the kids back to the clan at all costs. Jan was anal about it. He said several times that they would have all our heads if we didn''t bring them the redheads. Back at the clan, they gave the kids something that made their skin violet. They would go through the clan''s training courses together with the other clankids. But once they graduated, they would always get partnered off to one of the big shots instead of joining the regular warriors. Everything else was above our pay-grade, I swear.¡±


    ¡°The mutation isn''t widely known among the clan?¡± I questioned, thinking that this was important to know. I couldn''t think of any logical reason to hold back a mutation that would improve the survival chances of everyone.


    I thought about it, but the only thing that came to mind was that the source might be in limited supply. But why would some animal or plant be in limited supply on a flourishing world like Tirnanog? Nothing aside from the great beasts was too hard to harvest if the clans saw the benefits in doing so.


    It didn''t make sense.


    The blind man shook his head, looking deadpan into the distance. ¡°It isn''t some animal or plant that the general population is aware of. Whatever it is, they are giving it only to exiled girls. Not even high ranking clanners or promising exiles get the mutation.¡±


    I turned to Magnus. ¡°There is another reason why they have to live.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because they are witnesses,¡± I stated. ¡°Once we reach Aerie, clan politics will be much easier with their testimonies. What the Thich did here will have an aftermath.¡±


    Even though Magnus didn''t look convinced, I turned back to the two. ¡°You have my word that if you come with us and tell the clan elders everything you know, you can live under my parents'' protection for the rest of your lives.¡±


    ¡°We don''t even know whether you can deliver,¡± the blinded man stated.


    ¡°Do you have a choice?¡± I asked. ¡°I am offering you a chance. Take it or we leave you out here for the night predators to feast upon! Injured as you are, you won''t get far.¡±


    He tilted his head in acquiescence. ¡°I would rather not be eaten.¡±


    ¡°Then it''s a deal!¡± I looked at Magnus. ¡°We are going to stay here for two or three days to recover and move out as soon as we can. We will try for the next shelter, see how that goes. We are a week away from the Old Camp. If it doesn''t work out, we can still turn around. If our pace is satisfactory, we continue.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn''t we be worried about the Thich sending out another group?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°There are still some of them at the Old Camp. They could recruit more exiles, even if most of them were trash mobs.¡±


    ¡°Trash mobs?¡± I frowned, then raised a finger to stop him. ¡°No! I actually remember that one. It comes from computer games, right?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°This world needs computers and movies. What do children get taught in clan Aerie?¡±


    ¡°How to fight and how to survive,¡± I answered and returned to the original question. ¡°And no, I don''t believe that we have more to fear from that direction. Their group must have included all the clanners that left the Old Camp to set up this ambush, adding all the reasonably strong exiles they managed to recruit. They won''t expect them back for another week. Even if they immediately send out a hired search party once their people don''t show up, it will take them another week to get here.¡±


    I contemplated it further. ¡°By the time they get back to the Old Camp, they will be stuck there. There will be no chance to reach Thich clan grounds before winter comes.¡±


    ¡°Jan was already cutting it close with this stupid ambush,¡± the injured woman mumbled. ¡°I actually expected us to be caught at the Old Camp. We would have had to fabricate some story for our return and sneak the kids into the bunker...¡±


    Magnus frowned as he contemplated the travel restrictions of this world. ¡°In other words, you are frightened enough of your clan to risk being caught in snow and ice, including two abducted kids, at nothing more than their behest?¡±


    The blinded man shrugged. ¡°They have executed soldiers for less.¡±


    ¡°How many people does your clan have?¡± Magnus asked.


    The woman considered that. ¡°I don''t know. The fortress city might hold anything from ten to twenty-thousand people.¡±


    My partner looked towards me.


    I shrugged. ¡°It''s a normal size for the large clans. Aerie has fifteen stratas and each holds a thousand to two thousand people. I am not aware of our exact numbers either.¡±


    ¡°It''s no secret?¡± he asked.


    I laughed. ¡°Please, didn''t I tell you about the Caravaners? They travel all the clans. I would be deeply surprised if information about each clan''s rough size and political make-up hadn''t gotten out.¡±


    Then I suddenly remembered something and addressed the prisoners, ¡°Speaking of violet-skinned evolutions... I thought that I saw Ivonne among you when you attacked. Where is her body? We might learn something from it. I threw a stone at her and hopefully got her good.¡±


    ¡°I found no violet skinned one,¡± Magnus clarified.


    ¡°Ivonne was gone after you flashed us with the light,¡± the injured woman replied.


    I looked down the stream. ¡°Maybe the water carried her off? She was in the deep part.¡±


    Magnus sighed and looked towards the sky, then went and pulled his spetum out of Roderick''s corpse. ¡°I will check further down the stream. Do you think she survived?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°She is a tough bitch.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Ivonne***


    I woke and coughed out blood, then slowly touched my aching face. It wasn''t one of those normal aches, but a pulsating pain that rose and ebbed even if I held still.


    Coughing again, I spit out what looked like the entire front row of my teeth.


    ¡°Mh, killh hat hitch...¡± I mewled and looked around, finding myself at the riverside in a shallow part of the mountain stream. Nothing looked familiar, so I crawled out of the water and laid on my side while I tried to get my act together.


    The last thing I remembered was the bitch screaming, and then she exploded like a tiny sun. Hopefully, she was dead.


    I covered my eyes and tried to keep up with the others ¨C and then the lights went out.


    ¡°Hitch...¡± I continued to curse, even if my swollen lips were unable to form the necessary ''b''.


    Things had taken a turn for the worse during the last month.


    My initiation was supposed to be easy. Everyone said so.


    I finally finished all the training courses and joined the recruitment team to prove my loyalty to the clan. Just one small task and Jan would have taken me through the initiation ritual to make me a full member.


    Lead the negotiations and get the kids, he said while he had his fun back at the bunker.


    It should have been no problem! The other clans were practically throwing all the good ones at me until that bitch showed up and messed with the negotiations. Only the Hochberg were a little bitchy, but a bribe would have solved the issue easily enough. Jan had been clear about what resources we had to spare.


    But the bitch out-bid me on everything! How was I supposed to know that I should promise whatever was necessary to get the kids? Jan had given me a frame to work with. So I stayed within his limits!


    If anyone should pay for my failure, then he should at least share half the blame!


    And when Jan instructed me to kill the bitch, I didn''t manage that either. She, threw me across the whole town, making a spectacle out of it!


    And then I messed up with Gurney! Jan could have told me that the fucking dating manager was partnered!


    The whole month, nothing but one mess-up after the other and it was all the fucking bitch''s fault!


    I stumbled to my feet and looked around, not knowing which way to go. Jan and the others had been in charge of the direction.


    The sun was already close to disappearing. I had to get back to Jan and my people, find shelter.

 Ch 22 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Magnus***


    Following the mountain stream was thankfully a straightforward affair, which made it impossible to get lost. Otherwise, I hadn''t trusted myself to undertake this task alone.


    Hah! At least I managed to find one good thing about this fucked up situation.


    I raised my hand and used my thumb to judge my remaining time with the help of the sun. It was a method that Mark had shown me, not exact by any means, but exact enough. If I stretched out my arm, I could use my thumb to measure the sun''s distance from the horizon. And from experience, I could tell how much time was left before it would set.


    Judging by how close the sun was to the mountaintop, I had no more than an hour of daylight left.


    The mountain stream flowed down into a small valley between two mountains. I expected the valley to darken earlier than expected since the opposite mountain would cast its shadow far and wide. Astra had warned me not to underestimate the twilight hours and I was already cutting it close.


    And I had already been following the stream for half an hour, meaning my time window to get back to the shelter was closing quickly.


    A little further ahead, there was a bend in the stream that ran around a large boulder and I promised myself to turn around if I didn''t see anything from the vantage point.


    Astra would have probably complained about me taking risks, but I really wanted to catch this Ivonne. The violet-skinned woman might hold a few more answers than the badly informed foot-soldiers we had taken as prisoners.


    Whoever ran the Thich''s organisation wasn''t stupid and kept everything to a strict ''need to know'' policy. I didn''t believe that our two prisoners had been hardcore enough to hold back on basic information after I started cutting up two of their friends.


    Whatever modern society thought of the value and reliability of torture, I could say from experience that the average person started to sing like a bird as soon as they saw a blade getting close to their skin. Especially after the blade-wielder had proven he wasn''t bluffing.


    In the beginning, I was worried that the Thich''s clan structure might be hardcore enough to breed fanatics. Or that they were more like a close-knit family group.


    Breaking the prisoners would have been a lot harder in that case.


    Thankfully, they were more like individual strangers who happened to share the same ''faction tag''. There may be some better-indoctrinated individuals at the core of their clan, but the four I had caught were nothing more than peons with questionable loyalties.


    I finally reached the boulder and charged my muscles to jump on top of it.


    What I saw from above made me grin in glee.


    Stumbling along the stream''s side was a violet-skinned woman who had seen better days. Her face looked like she had tried to nosedive into a concrete surface. She clearly wasn''t completely lucid, since she paid no attention to her surroundings.


    Ivonne''s steps carried her more to the left, away from the stream, than straightforward. Meaning she had to correct her direction every few metres.


    She showed all the signs of a lingering concussion and probably shouldn''t be walking at all.


    I dropped down from the boulder and walked towards her, making it within ten metres before she even noticed me.


    Ivonne stopped and drew a dagger.


    ¡°I wouldn''t do that,¡± I warned and drew one of my throwing spears. ¡°And before you try, I am immune to the poison. They already dosed me with three arrows and all it did was to give me nausea for a few minutes.¡±


    Ivonne looked behind me. ¡°Mhere are the others?¡± She had trouble forming the words with her swollen lips. She looked hilarious. Like one of those stupid women who had cosmetic surgery to inflate their lips, believing it would make them attractive.


    ¡°Prisoners,¡± I replied. ¡°Or dead.¡±


    She threw the dagger at me and I deflected it with the throwing spear, sending it into the stream. It was impressive that she had managed to aim at all, but I could tell it was a token effort on her part.


    Ivonne looked longingly after the weapon, then dropped to her knees.


    I detached the bundle of ripped-off filaments from my belt. Astra had given them to me for exactly this purpose. ¡°Bind your feet.¡±


    She glared at the filaments. ¡°You knoh that I can rih those easih?¡±


    ¡°That''s why you are going to wrap them around your ankles at least twenty times before I get close.¡± I gestured for her to get going. ¡°Go on, chop, chop. I don''t want to be caught outside when night falls. I will already have to carry you back.¡±


    She glared at me, then at the distant sun.


    Reluctantly, Ivonne did as instructed, binding her own feet in a very lax manner.


    Once I was sure she couldn''t kick me, I stepped closer and did a proper job on her arms, then corrected the intentionally loose bindings on her feet. Just to be certain, I bound her hands and feet together so that she couldn''t pull any nasty stunts on me.


    When I was sure she was no longer capable of attacking me out of the blue, I shouldered her in a fireman''s carry and ran back, following the stream upriver.


    My pace wasn''t fast by any means, but I was faster than Ivonne''s stumbling gait.


    ¡°Where is your equipment?¡± I asked while I ran.


    ¡°Donh knoh,¡± she replied. ¡°Losh, ith in rihver.¡±


    I concentrated on running from then onwards. Carrying all my weapons plus Ivonne was a little tricky, but I managed.


    The sun was already touching the distant mountaintop, casting long shadows that quickly grew in length. It wouldn''t be long now.


    Remembering the two nights I had spent in the treetops, I already imagined things crawling out of the crevices between the rocks and doubled my pace.


    In the end, it turned out that it wouldn''t have been necessary to be in such a hurry, but I didn''t miss the workout. When I arrived at the shelter, I found six bodies that had been arrayed in front of it.


    The dead were Michaela, Luciana, Liam, Sanders, Powell, and Ryan.


    Astra stepped out of the cave and glared at the setting sun. ¡°I told you not to cut it so close.¡±


    ¡°But it worked out,¡± I stated and looked at the bodies. ¡°I thought Sanders was still alive?¡±


    ¡°His heart gave out,¡± Astra replied. ¡°I tried to reanimate him, but it was no use.¡±


    ¡°He, hitch is still alive!¡± Ivonne commented from my shoulders and started squirming.


    I sighed and carried the third prisoner past the glaring Astra into the shelter.


    Inside, I was a little perplexed by the ritualistic sacrifice that someone had created above Thalia''s body. The woman herself was lying in a small pool of blood. ¡°What the-¡±


    ¡°It''s because of the bloodvine mutation,¡± Fox educated me. ¡°If she has enough, she might revive if the nerve damage isn''t too heavy.¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Okay...¡± Truly, I didn''t want to know. If not before, then I was now convinced more than ever that Thalia was some kind of vampire.


    I carried Ivonne over to where the other two prisoners sat.


    They got their spot in the opposite corner to the traumatized Ava and Ivy who were being taken care of by Hailey. If those two kids got out of this experience with just one little trauma, then they could count themselves lucky.


    I sat Ivonne down next to the other two Thich and retrieved a small footstool from the wall. The shelters weren''t all the same. Some came with a bare minimum of comfort. In this case, the previous users had decided to use some of their firewood to make furniture.


    Once I was certain I had her attention, I asked the question that had burned on my tongue, ¡°Ivonne, do you know a certain Evanne and Yvona Elrod?¡±


    Ivonne avoided my eyes and looked at the floor. ¡°Noh.¡±


    I pressed my lips together. ¡°How old are you, Ivonne?¡± If I knew her age, then I could determine whether she had lied to me or not ¨C assuming the Thich educated their trainees within age groups.


    She kept staring at the floor.


    ¡°I think she is seventeen,¡± the other female prisoner provided, earning a glare of hatred from Ivonne.


    ¡°She doesn''t look like it,¡± I commented while I tried to judge Ivonne''s age. Her face was too banged up to tell anything at the moment, but her body, stature, and the way she carried herself would have had me guess at a twenty-year-old woman.


    The next moment, I almost jumped out of my skin when Thalia''s body shuddered, drew a gasping breath, and shot up into a sitting position like a mummy rising from its sarcophagus.


    She was quite the sight as she looked around, wide-eyed and covered in blood from head to toe. At last, she looked up at the bodies that were hanging from the ceiling and dripping blood.


    Thalia spit. ¡°Oh, I hate it when this happens! Couldn''t you just have left me for dead?¡±


    ¡°Thalia!¡± Astra jumped at Thalia and hugged her, smearing the blood all over herself in the process. ¡°I feared the worst!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Thalia asked.


    ¡°The Thich attacked us,¡± Astra explained. ¡°They almost had us. We lost quite a few people.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Thalia looked around.


    ¡°I will show you outside.¡± Astra took Thalia''s hand and squeezed it. ¡°There is still some light left for you to wash up in the stream, but we have to be fast.¡±


    ¡°Please throw the bodies out before you wash, thank you,¡± Fox complained from his spot next to Charite.


    Astra detached the bodies from the meathooks on the ceiling and pulled them outside. It wouldn''t change much regarding the smell, but at least we wouldn''t have to sleep next to dead people.


    I returned my attention to Ivonne who was focused on the floor and cowering against the wall. It was all too clear that she wasn''t in any state to be interrogated, so I addressed the other prisoners, ¡°Do you have medical supplies?¡±


    The woman nodded and went for the pile of stuff next to her.


    Someone had apparently gone through the effort of looting the Thich''s equipment and brought everything into the shelter.


    Astra and Thalia returned from outside. They had taken just a quick dunk in the stream to get rid of the blood.


    Astra went for her backpack and took out a box with first-aid equipment, then came over to me. ¡°You''ve run around with that open wound for long enough.¡±


    I winced and looked down at the injury on my chest. The blood was already dried up, but the strange musculature was still clearly visible beneath everything. To be honest, it looked more like a biological machine than flesh.


    ¡°I think I will be fine,¡± I hedged. ¡°No need to open it up again.¡±


    ¡°You will not be fine, even with a starfish mutation.¡± Astra took me by the upper arm and pulled me away from the prisoners. ¡°You''ve been running around with that injury for too long as it is. We need to clean it. Especially since you swam through the dirty water.¡±


    She had me sit down next to our sleeping bags. ¡°There, lean against the wall.¡±


    Astra winced and started picking away the scab that had formed above the wound.


    ¡°Is that really necessary?¡± I asked. ¡°I''ve been bitten by a starfish before and it worked out just fine.¡±


    ¡°Luck,¡± Astra replied. ¡°You have no idea of the ''creepy crawlies'' that hide in the waters of this world. Some idiot pays no attention to hygiene just once, and before they know it something burrows and breeds beneath their skin!¡±


    I paled at the thought.


    ¡°And it might leave a scar if we do nothing,¡± Astra added as an afterthought.


    Someone in the room sniggered and I looked towards Aylin who had listened in on our conversation.


    ¡°Wait-¡±


    Astra ripped off the scab like a bandaid.


    ¡°-Ah! Fuck!¡± I cursed, doing my best to take it like a man. But I didn''t dare to look down. ¡°There are no parasites, are there?¡± I asked.


    Astra inspected the freshly opened wound. ¡°Not this time at least.¡± Then she went for the medical supplies and covered a large dressing-pad with a green paste, making sure there was a thick layer.


    ¡°Those muscles are wicked,¡± Aylin commented from over Astra''s shoulder. She had wandered over and her comment caused most of the other Aerie to inspect the unintended vivisection of my chest.


    ¡°I am not an exhibition item!¡± I complained.


    Astra glared at the women who had come up to watch with gleeful expressions.


    Maybe they liked watching a muscular guy who had his chest bare? A man was allowed to have his delusions, right?


    My woman sighed and took a piece of wrapped leather, then pushed it into my mouth.


    ¡°Wha-?¡±


    Then she slapped the dressing-pad onto my chest, covering the whole wound with it.


    In one moment, it felt cool and relaxing ¨C and then it started to burn.


    ¡°Hnnn-¡± I wanted to scream and bit down on the leather. This was worse than when Roderick had hit me! It felt like that paste was pure alcohol! I wanted to rip the torture instrument off and started to paw at my chest.


    But Astra held my hands down. ¡°Don''t be a baby ¨C or we have to do it again.¡±


    I spit the leather out. ¡°That fucking hurts!¡±


    Everyone in the shelter laughed and I belatedly realized that they had been watching because they expected this to happen.


    ¡°Sadists! All of you!¡± I complained weakly.


    Astra proceeded to treat the smaller wounds that had been caused by the arrows, but they were much less painful. Then she wrapped my entire chest in bandages. By the time she was done, the pain had reduced to a dull throbbing that was easily ignored.


    We closed the shelter and went to sleep.


    Hailey and Aylin took the first watch, not only to observe the prisoners, but also because of all the corpses outside. They would draw predators for sure.


    I was woken from my sleep three times that night when something rattled the heavy stone that plugged the shelter''s entrance. But since it couldn''t get purchase enough to remove the barrier, the creature left us be.


    The next day, I awoke with Astra spooning me with both legs, my sleeping sack open and hers thrown over us. It was the first cold morning I had in this world.


    I found Thalia sorting through our equipment when I sat up. She had created several piles and was already reloading the two stretchers that our group had dragged along.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Reorganizing,¡± Thalia explained. ¡°We are fewer people, so there are some things we don''t need to take with us. It will make us faster and the next group that visits the shelter might find themselves happy to get some unexpected supplies.¡±


    I lay back down, not feeling like doing anything today. Astra had said we would stay here for two or three days to heal up.


    In the end, we stayed for three days, during which the women manufactured a carrying harness for Fox. The one-armed ''werewolf man'' wasn''t of much use as a fighter right now, so he was commandeered as a permanent packhorse for the stretcher with the kids.


    The three Thich would take turns with the supply stretcher, which allowed us to have a full scouting group and a reduced rearguard with two people.


    I wasn''t happy that this left only three of our people with the three Thich, but Astra remedied the problem by using her cast-off filaments to bind the Thich to our supplies. At least for the first few days of the trip. Astra was certain that once we were far enough away from the Old Camp, any escape attempt from the Thich''s side was increasingly unlikely.


    There was a point at which they would simply have no hope of returning.


    Thalia took over Liam''s command role, assigning tasks to the whole travel group. We made slow time during the first day, but Thalia was certain it would get incrementally better as people recovered from their wounds.


    Another week into the trip, we finally crested the largest hill I had seen on the horizon at the beginning of our journey. Thalia decided to have us rest at the top.


    To our left lay a seemingly endless savannah that slowly transformed into gentle hills the further north I looked, finally ending in an enormous mountain range which I assumed to be Mount Aerie.


    The mountain we were on fell steeply to our right, transforming into a cliff-side that disappeared into a sea of sickly greenish clouds. Much further east was the glitter of ocean water.


    Astra stepped up next to me. ¡°That''s the Mycelium.¡±


    ¡°I imagined it differently,¡± I admitted.


    ¡°Takes a good day for the clouds to clear up, but there is a chance for you to see it,¡± Astra informed me. She turned and looked at the group. ¡°I feared it wouldn''t work out.¡±


    I glanced towards the three Thich. ¡°It might still not work out if they get stupid ideas.¡±


    Astra frowned at our prisoners. ¡°But I want it to work out for them. Especially Ivonne.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°She hates you down to the bones. And I thought you hate her back in equal measure. Why would you suddenly change your mind about her?¡±


    Astra pressed her lips together. ¡°Don''t misunderstand me. I still can''t stand her. Ivonne has a deeply twisted personality, but Thalia pointed something out to me and it made me think.¡±


    ¡°And that is?¡± I asked, reminded of the fact that Thalia was the one who spent the most time conversing with our prisoners.


    ¡°Ivonne isn''t just any exile. She was abducted as a child, just like me,¡± Astra explained. ¡°I guess I''ve just been thinking what I would be like if the Thich had taken me. What would have happened if my adoptive parents hadn''t gained their wish? It didn''t allow me to rest in peace lately.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I smirked, reminded of the night when Astra had rubbed her bottom against me in a way that could have easily led to a happy ¨C and very embarrassing ¨C accident. If we had been found out. We had been lucky that nobody had noticed. Or they had noticed and ignored us. Which was far more likely to be the case.


    She pinched my thigh, returning me to reality. ¡°I am trying to have a serious conversation here.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I coughed. ¡°I just don''t think there is anything else that can be done about Ivonne.¡±


    I had observed Thalia''s attempts at softening up the Thich, but whenever it was necessary to bring down the hammer of discipline, the task fell either to me, or Astra. ¡°I don''t think there is anything you could do with the current group dynamics. We can''t be seen as weak or they might try something. I am surprised they didn''t.¡±


    ¡°Kastor, the male Thich, tried to fashion himself a knife so that he could cut himself loose from the stretcher,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°But Thalia caught him.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes and glared at the prisoner in question.


    ¡°It''s already been taken care of.¡± Astra sighed.


    ¡°I hope so,¡± I grumbled.


    Then our short break on the peak was over and Thalia ordered the descent towards the next shelter.

 Ch 23 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Astra***


    The days passed quickly as Thalia led our diminished group through the mountain range from one shelter to the next. My friend was holding a tight rein over the group''s tasks, replacing Liam in every way possible ¨C except for actually being him.


    I could sense that the loss of comrades and friends weighed heavily on us. Most of all on Charite and Hailey, but they were dealing in their own way. My own way of coping was to march on. It wasn''t like the Aerie weren''t used to death.


    This world wasn''t a forgiving one. There was no place for those who couldn''t move on while losing comrades. Though, it didn''t mean that we couldn''t mourn in those silent nights when we locked ourselves inside the shelters ¨C all the while afraid of the monsters that were hunting outside.


    Magnus and I were more often required to step up as the group''s warriors. Each day, we would inevitably be forced to help out against the predatory fauna.


    Filling such a role would¡¯ve been a bad position to be in for a leader. Not even the best fighters could give it their all while calling the shots and keeping the overview of the battlefield.


    I thanked God that Thalia had survived to hold the group together, since she was the only other experienced Aerie who already made this trip. Thanks to her supportive abilities she was much better suited to taking a leadership role. It helped that she was also older than me, so the others didn''t even question her taking command.


    My friend did a better job than I ever could and she drove us onwards as if a second group of Thich was following our trail.


    Our timetable was tight and we couldn''t afford any distractions. Not even our prisoners had much opportunity to complain. Their survival depended on ours. Three people alone would have had a much harder time staying alive out here, not to mention making the trip back to the Old Camp.


    Not a day would pass in these mountains without something attacking us.


    Magnus tried a few more times to interrogate Ivonne, but he didn''t get far. Even after the teenager was healed, she locked up every time he attempted to get information out of her. My partner thought her to be some fanatic, but I figured that Ivonne had different reasons for being stubborn.


    ¡°Just let me cut off one finger! Just one!¡± Magnus begged while we climbed a steep trail.


    ¡°No,¡± I replied sternly. ¡°I''ve offered them amnesty in return for their cooperation. Ivonne and the others have conducted themselves well enough so far. Despite Ivonne refusing to speak to you. We can deploy better interrogation techniques than torture back at the clan. And we are making good time. We can''t risk losing people to stupid injuries.¡±


    I shook my head. Magnus was a little too eager when it came to cutting off appendages.


    The winter was coming and we had lost most of our time buffer due to the attack. I really didn¡¯t want to climb these mountains once the snow came down. Two years ago, my travelling group of seventeen had lost four people just because the winter had started early. We had been measly two days away from Aerie when the deaths occurred, making it all the more tragic.


    ¡°It''s not like a pinky wouldn''t grow back,¡± he grumbled. ¡°She has the starfish mutation, judging by the way her face is healing.¡±


    ¡°That''s not the point,¡± I elaborated. ¡°I promise you, we will soften her up. Back at the clan, we will have months to do so. We are really pressed on time, believe me. If the snow comes early, we might not make it and freeze to death. There is no point in risking anything out here. You have frightened Kastor and Dafna enough. If their stories don''t convince Ivonne to talk, then she won''t talk unless you inflict major injuries.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± he asked, his tongue slipping before he could think about it.


    I stopped walking and turned around to look at him. ¡°You are joking, right?¡±


    For a moment, his expression remained completely blank. Then he frowned.


    I could almost see the gears turning in his head.


    ¡°Kastor is the male Thich?¡± The statement had this questioning undertone of a student answering a teacher''s question with a guess, not knowing whether the answer was the correct one.


    Magnus gained a little more confidence when I didn''t outright deny his assumption. ¡°Meaning Dafna is the female Thich!¡± He looked happy at his successful deduction.


    I narrowed my eyes at him. ¡°You guessed!¡±


    ¡°No, I didn''t!¡± he replied quickly, sounding completely sincere.


    The longer I was with Magnus, the more I became aware of his uncanny ability to switch between moods. It was like he could put on masks for the sake of social interactions. I only became aware of this because he had started to drop his guard in my presence.


    He could seethe about one thing or the other, confessing his wish to murder someone in the most gruesome way he could think of. Then a stranger like Fox walked up to him for polite conversation and suddenly Magnus was kindness and understanding impersonate.


    Admittedly, it no longer worked with anyone in our group since they had seen him interrogate the Thich.


    The man could wear his feelings like a set of clothes if he wished to. It just hadn''t been apparent because I had only seen him with Mark and Gurney up until now. And neither of the two were people he trusted.


    I turned back around and hurried to catch up to the four carriers and their watchers. ¡°How is it possible for you to not know their names? You interrogated them!¡±


    Currently, Magnus and I were playing a ''close up'', rearguard role. We trailed just ten or twenty metres behind the main group, instead of the hundred metres that would have been normal. It allowed us to assist them faster in the case of an attack, while still giving them a head start when something came at us from behind.


    ¡°It''s not like their names hold any importance,¡± he moped, switching modes again. ¡°When you interrogate someone, you have to make sure they believe you don''t regard them as human beings. The moment you ask for their names, you admit that their existence is of importance. You have to do everything you can to have them know their lives hold no value. Once they realize that, most sane people will try everything in their power to prove you shouldn''t kill them. Which means giving you information.¡±


    I looked over my shoulder and bit my inner cheek, surprised at the horrid bit of knowledge he had shared with such utter conviction.


    Because of his ability to put on a facade, it was too easy to forget that Magnus only seemed like a bumbling newcomer. A newcomer to this world, he was, but not one to violence.


    If he seemed to struggle in some aspects, it was because he had been thrown into an unfamiliar environment with unknown rules.


    He had been part of a semi-militaristic organization that wasn''t much better than Earth''s government when it came to ruthlessness.


    Maybe that was also where he had learned to hide his true self.


    ¡°Just leave it to Thalia,¡± I replied in the end. ¡°She will soften Ivonne up. That woman gets past anyone''s defences thanks to her empathy. I am sure she can screw Ivonne''s head into the right position.¡±


    ¡°So she can read minds?¡± he asked, not sounding surprised by my statement.


    ¡°Her strata would reply: ''That''s classified information!'',¡± I replied with a smirk, giving my best to sound like Thalia¡¯s father.


    And it was true. Thalia never talked openly about her special gift. Not even to me.


    ¡°You still haven''t told me what the deal is between you and Thalia,¡± Magnus pointed out. ¡°She is more than just a fellow clanner who happened to accompany you on a recruitment trip.¡±


    Magnus activated his Second Sight and quickly scanned our surroundings while he talked. Then he turned around and walked a few steps backwards while he checked our rear. Just to be sure, I mimicked his vigilance. The ability was really powerful, but the loss of normal sight and most colours came with the downside of limited depth perception.


    More than once I had found myself stumbling over a stone when I tried to keep Second Sight active for extended periods of time. Both of us preferred to use the ability only in complete darkness or when necessary.


    I sighed. ¡°Thalia is the daughter of family friends. Her parents are leading the ninth strata. When I decided to search for a partner at the Old Camp, my parents asked them to send Thalia with me as a type of bodyguard, or nanny? I guess she can¡¯t be called a bodyguard. And before you ask, Thalia was also adopted. Difference is, she was already an adult when she came to this world.¡±


    For clarification, I added a quick explanation of clan Aerie''s political structure.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    The mountain was separated into fifteen levels or stratas, and each was ruled by a different family. These families formed the ruling Council of thirty partnered elders. This ensured that nobody had the sole political power to command the clan on a whim. The system had been introduced after the last clan war, which was long before my time.


    ¡°This adoption business sounds like the Aerie are really big on it,¡± Magnus commented after he had listened to my explanation. ¡°And, wow, you guys escaped Earth and went on to repeat the mistakes of the past by copying one of its doomed political systems.¡±


    I bit my lower lip, not really desiring to open that particular can of worms right now, so I steered the topic of conversation towards the initial part of his comment. ¡°Remember when I told you about the clans grooming female exiles as partners? Every time the Aerie welcome new female exiles, the leaders of a strata or one of their vassals adopt them. Since they are sisters, Ava and Ivy will be likely kept together. Exiled women are generally urged to stay clean slates, ready to be groomed as the perfect partners for a male heir of another strata.¡±


    Magnus nodded and came to his own conclusion. ¡°It also keeps the families in power. Whoever is in a position of being a ¡®clean slate¡¯ and too weak to force his will upon the rest of the group is ¡®partnered off¡¯. If I didn¡¯t see the necessity of having power in this world, I would applaud the Aerie for recreating a form of nobility.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t like that. Just look at me. Do I look like someone¡¯s kept woman to you?¡± I took a moment to think about how to clarify. ¡°I know it sounds bad, but it''s much better than what the men experience. Throughout my life, I had much more power over my life than the average clanner. The stratas are ordered according to their influence and power. Meaning, since my parents are from a higher strata, they can order Thalia and her parents around ¨C within reason. And they can do the same with anyone beneath their own strata. And their power extends to me by affiliation.¡±


    We kept walking for a few minutes while Magnus thought about it. Then he asked the dreaded question. ¡°So, how many potential spouses do I have to kill once you get home?¡±


    He had figured it out.


    I slumped and dragged my feet for a few steps, hoping he wouldn¡¯t hate me for not telling him sooner. ¡°Just one. And I am hoping it goes without killing. I am sorry. I know that I have avoided the topic.¡±


    Magnus coughed. ¡°This shotgun marriage was bound to run into some problems, so it¡¯s fine with me if we just talk about stuff like this before things become urgent.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°I just don¡¯t understand why you were searching for a partner at the Old Camp when you have someone with a supposedly perfectly fitting evolution back at home?¡±


    To my great relief, he didn''t sound mad. Just intrigued.


    ¡°Because that man is a slimy scumbag with an entitled ego. My parents meant well, but they made a big mistake when they chose him for mere political reasons,¡± I sneered. ¡°They were hoping to make friends with another strata, but I doubt it would work out.¡±


    ¡°But you told me that you want to thrive in this world.¡± Magnus sounded confused. ¡°A political marriage with a groomed partner sounds like it would take you to high places within the clan.¡±


    I sighed and waved a hand above my head to show that there were reasons. ¡°That man is a genetic match only. Hector¡¯s personality would have created loads of problems. Something went seriously wrong with his mutation and I want no part of it! I wouldn''t have been surprised if I had been forced to slit his throat in the darkness of night to prevent him from committing some grave mistake.¡±


    ¡°Wow...¡± Magnus winced. ¡°Something about the instincts that came with his mutations? Or pure educational problems? I figure that in over two hundred years of isolation a lot of things could go wrong within a small society like a clan. It doesn¡¯t help much that your society also gets to deal with most of Earth¡¯s scumbags.¡±


    I shrugged, not knowing how to answer. I could probably make an argument that people were more than their genes and past mistakes. But as a whole, the clans definitely hadn¡¯t proven to be any better than Earth.


    We certainly managed to fight a major war between clans while the environment was trying to kill us. It didn''t speak of some higher morality.


    ¡°Not sure. Maybe both,¡± I said. ¡°The only thing I know for certain is that if someone else didn''t kill him, then I would eventually do it myself. Your comparison with royalty wasn¡¯t so far off. His parents made a big mistake when they gave him the most powerful mutations possible, turning him into an inbred fool with too much power.¡±


    I gestured back the way we came. ¡°Going to the Old Camp to search for a partner is a long honoured tradition in the clan and it allowed me to escape all the social events involving him. My parents allowed me to push back the partnering because they love me. And I suppose father didn''t really believe I would find someone fitting. Admittedly, it is rather unlikely given my mutations.¡±


    The admission spilled forth before I could stop it. ¡°But I found you. And we are a done deal now. There are no take-backs when it comes to partnering with another.¡±


    ¡°Will your parents try to poison me?¡± he asked jokingly. ¡°Or kill me on the spot for defiling their treasured daughter?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I snorted and shook my head. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say there are no take-backs? I will explain everything and it will be fine. Mostly, you will have to keep an eye on father. Best not to turn your back to him. My ''intended one'' will be angry, but you should have no problem ripping off his important bits if he gets handsy. He will have fewer evolutions than you. The problem will be his parents. They control the thirteenth strata and my parents are from the twelfth.¡±


    ¡°Besides.¡± I waved a hand dismissively. ¡°The grooming was never a system that''s set in stone. People can say no, even if a groomed match is almost guaranteed to be fruitful. If Hector had been smart, he would have done everything in his power to woo me.¡±


    ¡°Then I am glad I got my chance,¡± Magnus grinned.


    ¡°I am happy you recognize the honour that was bestowed on you,¡± I replied with a smirk. ¡°From what I heard, not many men on Earth get lucky enough for a beautiful woman to throw herself at them.¡±


    ¡°Nobody ever said marrying a princess is the easy way to power,¡± Magnus muttered and ran a hand over his forehead. His hair had grown a little too long during the trip. ¡°But what can I say? After two weeks of sleeping with you, I am way beyond redemption. Though, you will owe me a favour and a lot of apologies!¡±


    ¡°I am not a princess!¡± I corrected him once more. ¡°And please remember that the others can hear us!¡±


    He lowered his voice and intoned with a smile on his lips, ¡°Close enough!¡±


    ¡°What kind of favour?¡± I whispered.


    He grinned. ¡°I don''t know yet. But as an apology, you could dance for me when the lights are out.¡±


    I felt my face heat a little. We hadn¡¯t done much since we started the trek. It was kind of impossible to get some privacy, but it hadn¡¯t stopped him from getting a feel while we slept together during those cold nights.


    Though, I admittedly didn¡¯t dislike the hugs and the occasional squeeze.


    ¡°So that''s what you like?¡± Then I remembered our first night and grinned. ¡°Should I make sure to shake my hips?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡± he said smugly. ¡°And make it good. I want a real show before you throw yourself at me.¡±


    We kept bantering and I used the time to further his knowledge of the Aerie social structure. Right until we finally reached the next shelter and sealed ourselves in.


    The latest shelter was of higher quality than the rest, and it would only get better from here. Clan Aerie had put more effort into the shelters the closer we got to clan grounds.


    This shelter no longer gave off the feeling of a mere cave. It was actually a small bunker. The masons cut genuine rooms into the stone, ensuring there would be enough space to give fifty people some privacy. A wide, central hallway doubled as a public area; and to connect the small rooms. Though, each private space was more like an alcove than its own room.


    I left it to Magnus to set up our sleeping space and joined Thalia in the public area.


    She was instructing Ivonne on how to use the shelter''s fireplace correctly. It was actually a fancy one. An oversized stove was set up in the middle of the corridor. It included its own ventilation system that took care of the smoke with metal pipes which led outside.


    ¡°You have to check the pipes for corrosion before you start the fire,¡± Thalia explained to a brooding Ivonne. ¡°Once you are sure everything is sealed tight, you can proceed. Otherwise, we might die from monoxide poisoning in our sleep.¡±


    ¡°You two are doing fine?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Thalia replied. ¡°I just explained to Ivonne what she has to look out for when handling fire within enclosed spaces like these shelters.¡±


    ¡°Something I already knew,¡± Ivonne mumbled without looking at me.


    ¡°It doesn''t hurt to repeat if it''s a matter as vital as this,¡± Thalia stated happily, not allowing herself to be dragged down by her pupil''s sour mood.


    ¡°Ivonne, I know you''ve been through a lot, but you have to let go of the past,¡± I addressed the young woman directly. ¡°Once we reach Aerie, your treatment depends on how cooperative you are.¡±


    She finally looked at me with a simmering hatred in her eyes. ¡°You killed my comrades! Excuse me for being angry. You offering us a life in exile doesn''t make it any better!¡±


    ¡°And your people killed our people,¡± I replied, doing my best to push down on my own feelings. ¡°You came after us. Not the other way around. Now there is only one way forward.¡±


    ¡°So you are saying I am not allowed to be angry?¡± she screamed. ¡°Everything started with you! It''s all your fault! You were the one who messed with the negotiations! If we had just taken the kids, they wouldn''t have come after you!¡±


    Her words sent a twinge through my chest, but I didn''t allow myself to falter to her screwed point of view.


    ¡°It isn''t my fault that they tried to murder us with poison,¡± I hissed through between my teeth. ¡°You have to let go and see to the future.¡±


    ¡°How can I see to the future if I can''t go back home!?¡± Ivonne spread out her hands. ¡°Will you people ever allow me to leave and go back to my sister? Or will you keep me as a prisoner until the end of my days?¡±


    ¡°That remains to be determined,¡± I replied. ¡°We still don''t know what the Thich are up to. Why do they want the children so badly?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn''t they?¡± Ivonne asked. ¡°Haven''t you experienced it yourself? Free to be moulded into the perfect asset. I was surprised the Aerie allowed you to whore around with some stranger who you don''t even know. What will your intended back at the clan have to say?¡±


    Of course, she had listened in on us.


    I balled my fist. ¡°Take that back.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ivonne waved her hands. ¡°That you are a who-¡±


    My arm moved.


    Her head rocked sideways and Ivonne teetered on one foot before she returned to a normal stance. She blinked, then leaned forward and toppled over.


    ¡°Whoops!¡± Thalia caught her just before she faceplanted into the ground. ¡°That didn''t go so well. Hey, Ivonne! Ivonne?¡± Thalia slapped the girl''s cheek. ¡°Astra, you really knocked her lights out.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding?¡± Magnus'' voice came from behind me. ¡°It was perfect! That haymaker hit her exactly where it counts!¡±


    I closed my eyes and groaned, then massaged the bridge of my nose. ¡°I shouldn''t have hit her.¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± Thalia replied. ¡°But at least she managed to vent some steam. How did you even do it?¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That strike!¡± Magnus grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around so that I faced him. ¡°You moved exactly like one of those little monsters. One second your hands were down, the next you had your fist in her face! All I could see was a trail of sparks!¡±


    ¡°I- I don''t know.¡± I looked down at my hands. ¡°I just got really angry when she insinuated that I wasn''t serious about you... and then I hit her.¡±


    He smiled and pointed down at the unconscious girl. ¡°Hit her again! You have to train the ability while the feeling is fresh in your mind. I can hold her up for you if need be.¡±


    I looked down at the unconscious woman. No sane person would hit someone who was helpless, even if she was a bitch.


    Then I looked at the guy who suggested hitting an unconscious prisoner for training purposes.


    Well, at least he could defend himself...

 Ch 24 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Ivonne***


    Something cold and smooth was pressed against my cheek, causing pain to flare up.


    ¡°Ow!¡± I complained and tried to wave away the disturbance as I slowly came to.


    When I opened my eyes, I found Thalia kneeling over me. She was holding a stone wrapped in a wet towel against my cheek. The improvised cooling agent was surprisingly effective, even if it had woken me up.


    ¡°Hold it there,¡± she instructed in a motherly tone. ¡°It will help reduce the swelling.¡±


    I did as ordered and took over holding the towel. ¡°Wh- What happened?¡± I managed to talk through the pain, only now tasting the blood in my mouth.


    Thalia searched through a bag with medical supplies while she explained in a chipper tone.


    ¡°You poked Astra''s sore spot until she snapped and hit you. I am still uncertain whether you are brave or stupid. Astra is a very controlled person, but everyone with two brain cells can tell it''s better to have an angry firehorn after you than to trigger her. Worse, she is still struggling to control her new power.¡±


    I found two missing molars with my tongue and grimaced. The new teeth had just been growing in and now I had lost more. That meant no proper food for even longer.


    Over the last week, I had been living on mashed up stew. All so that I didn''t have to chew.


    Curses, I hoped I hadn''t swallowed my teeth.


    ¡°I got them out of your mouth,¡± Thalia answered the question that was lingering in my head. ¡°After I brought you to your alcove, I wasn''t sure how long you would be out, so I had to prevent you from choking to death.¡±


    She placed several herbs in a cloth and used a mortar to mash them up so that only the oils would seep out.


    I recognized the recipe as the same one that helped against infections inside the mouth. Thalia had been making it for the last week to help with my healing.


    ¡°Where is the horrid woman?¡± I asked, unable to prevent an undertone of fear from sneaking into my voice. The bitch was a bane.


    ¡°Outside. Having a lover¡¯s spat with Tulkas.¡± Thalia chuckled. ¡°The two of them fit each other more than I would like to admit.¡±


    After a brief inspection of my surroundings, I indeed found myself in the private space which I had chosen when the group set up camp.


    Thalia had placed me in a recovery position after she brought me in here, so I slowly sat up and leaned against the wall.


    Astra must have hit me real good if I completely missed being moved around.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I mumbled, feeling thankful and conflicted for taking Thalia''s aid. Aside from Kastor and Dafna, she was the one who interacted the most with me ¨C though this probably was a necessity that came with her position. Since she was organizing everything, she had to make sure everyone was up to the task.


    She was still the enemy, but she was also the only person who had been kind to me. Other than my sister, that is...


    ¡°How long will you keep up the stubborn act?¡± Thalia asked.


    I glared at Thalia. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Astra is from a powerful strata within the clan and she offered you amnesty. That''s more than any outsider could ever hope for.¡± Thalia frowned as she studied my face.


    ¡°I will never betray my clan,¡± I replied stoically.


    ¡°You won¡¯t betray it because they have your sister,¡± Thalia clarified.


    I looked at the floor, unwilling to meet her eyes.


    ¡°You should tell him you are Ivona,¡± Thalia mentioned casually while she searched through a bag of supplies.


    ¡°I am not that person!¡± I spat back. ¡°My name is Ivonne!¡±


    ¡°An administrative mistake, caused by an inattentive desk jockey?¡± Thalia asked. ¡°Or does renaming their charges carry a more sinister purpose for the Thich, ensuring they no longer identify with their past?¡±


    Thalia¡¯s ability to read people was uncanny at times, but this was going too far to be normal. With just a random guess, she came a little too close to the truth for my comfort.


    I pressed my lips together as thoughts came unbidden to mind. That woman knew way too much. I should have never spoken to her. Should I try to silence her?


    ¡°Your brother knows¡­¡± Thalia mused and studied the exit which was hung with a heavy curtain for privacy. ¡°Or at least he is suspecting it. Anyone with some reasoning skills would come to the same conclusion. Dafna already told him about the Thich¡¯s initiation ritual and your age. Subtract seven years from seventeen and you get-¡±


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he say anything?¡± I hissed. ¡°Why is he treating me like some enemy!?¡±


    ¡°Because you are.¡± She looked at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know who Tulkas-¡±


    ¡°His real name is Magnus!¡± I interrupted her.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± She continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know who he was before he arrived here, but seven years have passed since your abduction. That¡¯s plenty of time to change a person. He¡¯s had his own tribulations. I can tell he has killed a lot of people. Maybe more than you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± I refused to entertain the thought. ¡°Magnus would never do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Then how did he get here? It isn¡¯t like they are sending innocents to Tirnanog,¡± she reasoned. ¡°I cannot claim to know his past, but I do know he isn¡¯t your average exile. The people who get exiled are one time murderers, influential separatists, or inconvenient nay-sayers. Rarely a mass murderer, though Earth¡¯s police forces are pretty good at catching them before it gets to that point.¡±


    She looked at the ceiling. ¡°One thing I do know is that none of those ¡®civilised¡¯ people fares well in our world. The murderers do a little better, but they are seldomly collected enough to fly beneath the radar of those who would put them down for a slight offence. Not so for Magnus. He has killed, but every time I know of him doing so, he did so purposefully in a very calm and collected manner. If it didn¡¯t work out for him back at the Old Camp, then it was only because he wasn¡¯t aware of all the facts. I can tell you, the man received military training. And not the sanctioned kind.¡±


    ¡°I am no longer the person you or he think I am,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Maybe he thinks the same of himself.¡± Thalia pursed her lips. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then neither of you can be helped.¡±


    She placed the medicine in front of me. Then she stood up and dusted off her knees. ¡°I suggest you think about what you want. Because the longer you wait with the truth, the harder it will become for either of you. And my experience is that denial never helped anyone.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you already tell him if you are so sure of me being his sister?¡± I asked.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Because I genuinely believe this secret isn¡¯t mine to tell.¡± She huffed. ¡°And to be honest, I don¡¯t want to be responsible or involved in this matter between the two of you. Fate, or luck, or whatever it was, has given you an incredible chance. It will be on your head whether you want to take or dismiss it.¡±


    With those words, Thalia simply left me to wallow in my misery.


    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Magnus***


    *Smack!*


    ¡°Ow! Fuck!¡± I jumped back and rubbed my shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t go for the same spot every time!¡±


    ¡°Would you rather like me to aim for the face?¡± Astra asked with a grin. ¡°I think I am getting the hang of it. This isn¡¯t so much about charging up your muscles. More about flexing just the outer layer in the right way. You tense them like a spring, imagine where you want to be, and let go.¡±


    ¡°No, no.¡±


    It took just thinking of my abysmal blocking rate for me to withdraw my earlier request. ¡°Please keep going for the shoulder. But alter it up a little. You could hit the left one for a change. The right is getting sore.¡±


    Astra moved and this time I saw it coming. I moved my arm into position and blocked.


    I struck back and she blocked.


    For a moment, we were caught in a chain of striking and blocking each other at supernatural speed. We didn¡¯t intentionally go for force behind our punches, but each still landed heavily.


    Then I felt the familiar smack on my shoulder and grimaced. It was the right one ¨C again.


    We stopped.


    ¡°I still have to punish you for suggesting to hit an unconscious prisoner so gleefully,¡± Astra explained.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t gleeful,¡± I replied. ¡°I just figured it would be the easiest way to replicate the circumstances under which you activated the ability for the first time. There was no sadistic intention involved. Gurney warned me that new abilities have to be trained quickly when unlocked. He did it similarly with my Improved Processing.¡±


    ¡°Then what about harping on about cutting off Ivonne¡¯s finger?¡± Astra tilted her hips and angled her head with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Frustration!¡± I crossed my arms in front of my chest. ¡°If you would stop shielding her, then we would know a lot more about the Thich¡¯s procedures.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. And maybe she would lock up even more.¡± Astra nodded. ¡°I believe you. Which is why I am just going for the shoulder. I can¡¯t hit your chest since it¡¯s still healing. And don¡¯t be such a wuss. My fist hurts just as much as your shoulder.¡±


    Just why did I not believe her?


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair,¡± I continued, deciding to change the topic back to the matter at hand. ¡°I am doing the same thing you do and you are still faster.¡±


    Astra and I had been going at it for the better part of two hours and somewhere along the way, I had picked up the skill just by watching her. It was much easier to copy the concept when observing it with Second Sight on another human.


    ¡°Even if this skill defies physics-,¡± she began, but I interrupted her.


    ¡°It does!¡± I said. ¡°At least my understanding of it.¡±


    Astra looked me up and down. ¡°Well, a person¡¯s build is still a factor. You are much stockier than me, so it stands to reason that you are slower. On the other hand, I don¡¯t believe I could take you on in a wrestling duel.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± I grinned as dirty thoughts came to mind. Unlike the others, this shelter allowed for some privacy. I would certainly take advantage of it tonight. Wrestling with Astra was the best...


    *Smack!*


    ¡°Ow!¡± I dodged a second one. ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready!¡±


    ¡°I know exactly what you were thinking of,¡± Astra quipped. ¡°And it¡¯s not my fault if you are distracted. Better get back to training.¡±


    I sighed and fell back into the familiar rhythm of attacking and blocking. We were going at it intensely, but not enough to deny a conversation. For that purpose, we had limited ourselves to arms alone. Going all out within the shelter was impossible anyway.


    ¡°Do you think we can get this to work on our whole bodies?¡± I asked.


    ¡°With training,¡± she replied. ¡°I already managed to chain hits twice in a row. That¡¯s how I¡¯ve been hitting you.¡±


    I showed her my tongue. ¡°Another question. Is there an evolution we can go for to improve this skill further?¡±


    She frowned. ¡°We already have all the necessary perception skills to utilize our speed. Off the top of my head, I wouldn¡¯t know what we could go for to improve this aspect. Anyway, I wouldn¡¯t risk it until we feel that training isn¡¯t improving us any further.¡±


    Astra struck and I diverted the hit, seamlessly weaving the movement into an attack of my own. Which she dodged by a hairsbreadth. She didn''t have the necessary strength when she paired up with me, but she had received basic martial arts training without a doubt.


    ¡°I just thought we might be able to plan ahead,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to plan,¡± she admitted and struck. ¡°But I have to say that while I know much, I hardly know all the mutations out there. We should wait with theorizing until we gain access to the Aerie¡¯s records. My people have extensive files on all the known mutations. Much like Gurney. We should also get ourselves re-evaluated by several different specialists.¡±


    ¡°A re-evaluation?¡± I asked and dodged another strike.


    ¡°Of course.¡± She blocked my retaliation. ¡°Gurney is good. Real good when it comes to identifying the mutations he knows. But he is still human. And he obviously made a mistake with one of yours. Or did you forget you weathered a poison that dropped Thalia like a sack of potatoes? It was just a light narcotic for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I mulled over it while I stuck to dodging. ¡°I thought I just might¡¯ve gotten some additional trait from the zippers. Like, Poison Resistance.¡±


    Astra shook her head. ¡°While it is possible, it is extremely unlikely. First evolutions give you a lot more than normal, but it¡¯s rare for them to exceed four or five points in Gurney¡¯s point system. It¡¯s equally likely he misidentified the Carrion Eater trait. New evolutions are dangerous in that regard and it only underlines the necessity to get looked at by more than one professional. Back at Aerie, we have testing procedures to identify traits. Both of us should have a complete check-up to make sure the zipper evolution didn¡¯t give us any other hidden abilities.¡±


    I was reminded of Gurney¡¯s warning to never cross different evolutions which had the same purpose or affected the same area of the body.


    Astra was implying the Carrion Eater trait had similar effects to a general poison resistance ability. Which was true. What difference was there between eating foul meat and poison? Both released dangerous toxins and bacteria into the body.


    If I would¡¯ve had the glorious idea to gain some poison resistance back at the Old Camp, my time in this world would have been cut short.


    ¡°Gurney might not have been completely wrong,¡± I pointed out. ¡°It may as well mean that the Carrion Eater trait is more powerful than we first thought. Think about what it means for the zippers to be carrion eaters. An animal who lives off of foul meat doesn¡¯t just need a strong stomach. It still needs to deal with all the toxins that come with the decomposition process. Hell, maybe our immune systems are also boosted to fend off potential bacteria and parasites?¡±


    Astra looked worried. ¡°You may be right. All the more reason to get looked at by people who made this their profession before we think of further progression. Most people stop at this stage and wait for years before risking further mutations.¡±


    ¡°Is it really that much of a risk when there are records?¡± I asked and received another smack onto my shoulder, but I silently suffered through it this time.


    ¡°Not with well-documented progression paths,¡± Astra mused. ¡°We won¡¯t have the luxury and will have to be very careful. Apart from dying a violent death, failed mutations are the second-highest reason for fatalities in this world. But I think our combination is already plenty powerful. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have thrown in with you so recklessly.¡±


    ¡°Reckless she says!¡± I pretended to be hurt.


    A moment later, I finally managed to smack Astra¡¯s shoulder!


    ¡°Hey!¡± It was now her time to complain. ¡°Not so hard!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I am sorry!¡± I stepped closer. ¡°Let me see.¡±


    But instead of inspecting the spot, I quickly shouldered Astra and carried her to our private alcove.


    ¡°Tulkas!¡± Astra whispered and smacked my butt. ¡°Let me down.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± I smiled and squeezed her butt with both hands.


    She harrumphed. ¡°You are lucky the others have already retreated to sleep! I would have hit you for real.¡±


    We wiped ourselves down with some wet cloths, which was the closest thing we got to a shower or a bath out here.


    Then Astra allowed me to be on top until I was spent, followed by her taking a ride on top of me while both of us tried our best to stay silent.


    Afterwards, we fell asleep in each other¡¯s arms.


    The next day, we broke camp early and were on our way after Thalia had held a speech, something she had never done before.


    It was one of the last steps of the journey. According to Astra, we had made it to the mountains that were marked with red handprints on her map.


    Thalia warned us there would be no scouting missions on this part of the trip. We would travel as a single, large group to avoid being picked off. Nobody was to go anywhere alone. Preferably, we were to be at least with two other people at all times.


    Whatever unknown predator was haunting these mountains, it had the Aerie mightily respectful of it.


    The craggy limestone that dominated this area provided plenty of hideouts, but we encountered not a single predator for the whole day. If this wasn¡¯t already surprising enough, then it was even more ominous to see none of the smaller critters who usually enriched the environment with life.


    It was like all the animals were smart enough to stay away from this area of the mountain.


    Under normal circumstances, a day without attacks would have been something to celebrate. But in this case, it felt foreboding and had the whole group on edge.


    More than once, one of our sensor types called a false alarm, but Thalia always spoke up for them. It was her firm belief that one false alarm too much was better than one real warning not given.


    In principle she was right, but it didn¡¯t help our sour expressions when we reached the shelter at the end of the day and found it to be open.


    Thalia raised her binoculars and looked at the black hole in the side of the mountain. The large stone that was normally used to block a shelter¡¯s entrance lay a dozen metres below, cracked in two.


    ¡°What do we do about the entrance tonight?¡± I asked, unused to finding a shelter like this. Normally, they were sealed when we arrived.


    Astra¡¯s expression was unusually worried and she only replied when I nudged her. ¡°I would be more worried about which creature decided to make the shelter its lair.¡±


    ¡°And we can¡¯t skip it,¡± Thalia commented sourly. ¡°The next one is another day away.¡±

 Ch 25 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Magnus***


    We practically crept the last few hundred metres towards the open shelter. The others acted like frightened animals and I would have lied if I said their behaviour didn¡¯t get to me. Just what had them so horrified when they fought monsters daily? Was the threat in this case that much greater?


    Nobody said a word as we strained our senses in anticipation of an attack, but there was nothing. The limestone rock around us was as quiet as ever and my senses revealed nothing.


    But I felt like I was being watched. My new Precognition sense tingled madly. It was as if someone was running an icy finger up and down my spine.


    It was disturbing to not know what was wrong. Apart from an open shelter.


    At least Thalia decided to keep the group together. Our best chance lay in taking the shelter and finding a way to block the entrance.


    ¡°If we make it through this, I am going to vote for more maintenance crews,¡± Charite whispered angrily.


    ¡°You know very well the elders won''t risk the equipment and the people with the necessary skills. Especially not the equipment,¡± Fox grumbled. ¡°They always wait for the damage to be reported first.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Astra whispered vehemently. Her words had the desired effect and returned the group to order. ¡°We don''t know what we are facing, but it isn¡¯t good if it can open shelters.¡±


    By now, I had seen enough shelters to tell Astra was right. Once a shelter was sealed, nothing should be able to pull the perfectly fitting sealing rock out of place. The masons had ensured there would be no way to hold onto the stone, so not even the strongest of creatures had a chance. A very sturdy rope and the ability to thread it into hidden boreholes were an absolute necessity.


    Opening a shelter required either the right tools or a presumably impossible adaptation to the task.


    We finally reached our goal and I pointed my spetum into the darkness. The foul smell which attacked my nose right away didn''t sit well with me.


    If it was this bad outside, then how would it be inside?


    Thalia pointed at the dark entrance. ¡°Tulkas, Astra, go ahead and clean it up. Everyone else, ready your bows and crossbows. Cover the entrance against anything coming from outside and hold the position. Nobody runs.¡± She looked around, then pointed at Ivonne. ¡°Ivonne, follow behind them and take care of anything that gets past them. I want nothing coming out of that tunnel!¡±


    ¡°Are you nuts?¡± Astra''s turned sharply to hiss at her friend. ¡°I won''t have her at my back when I walk into the lair of some monster!¡±


    Admittedly, I also didn''t find the idea invigorating. I had said nothing so far since the group''s anxiety was getting to me. Had I been alone, I probably wouldn''t have known that walking into dark, enclosed spaces was to be feared.


    ¡°Ivonne is defiant. Not suicidal,¡± Thalia explained her reasoning. ¡°She knows very well that we can''t lose anyone if we want to reach our destination. Especially not our two strongest fighters. And you two need someone who doesn''t die instantly to watch your backs. Ivonne and Charite are the only possibilities, and I want Charite out here with me. She has perfect aim with a crossbow.¡±


    Astra and Thalia glared at each other for a long moment before Thalia tore her eyes away and gave more instructions. ¡°Fox, Charite. You two stay out here with us. Everyone, form up!¡±


    It appeared the matter had been settled by Thalia, even if Astra wasn''t happy with the decision.


    I sighed and stared at the shelter while I waited for Astra to stop fuming and step next to me.


    ¡°There is no other way of doing this?¡± I asked, surprised to find my voice being calmer than I felt. Years of hiding my feelings had steeled me better than I thought.


    ¡°I guess not, though it is a foolish thing to do,¡± Astra replied. ¡°Better than taking our chances with a night in the open.¡±


    I nodded, aware that there was no other shelter within reach. We maybe had an hour of daylight left. The Aerie had timed the distance between shelters just right so that they wouldn''t be forced to maintain more installations than necessary. Only, close to their settlement, they had started to splurge a bit on the interior.


    ¡°You remember the layout of this one,¡± I asked to gain some time. It was a reasonable question.


    ¡°Entrance opens up into a large common room,¡± Astra replied. ¡°From there, maybe fifty alcoves for privacy. Just like the last one.¡±


    I hesitated.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°You guys just got into my head. So far, I either didn''t have time to think about the fights which were forced on me, or I had time to consider the risk I was taking.¡±


    The most dangerous challenge I had willingly taken since my arrival was hunting a pack of gutters with Mark. And it was a calculated risk.


    I took a breath and thought back to what had brought me this far. That burning feeling from deep within me. It had ignited on the day when the Organisation had given me proof that my family was murdered. And since then it had carried me ever onward as I stepped over corpses as normal people walked over gravel.


    Maybe they should have killed me that day, so many years ago, together with my parents. It certainly would have prevented a lot of the pain and suffering I visited upon the world since then.


    ''I have the power. Revenge will be mine. They are nothing. I am all that matters!''


    The old chant calmed me.


    All I had to do was to focus this feeling on whatever awaited us in the shelter and all would be fine.


    I wasn¡¯t some sheep. While other humans would have backed down, I sought answers. I could have stayed at the university and lived a happy life, a common life. All I would have had to do would be to let go of that hatred within me.


    But it would have also turned me into a common man, a sheep. A peon who would be nothing more than yet another number for those in power. Easy to be thrown away when their goals required it.


    Not anymore.


    And especially not in this world. Ever since I came here, I actually felt better than ever. Not at first, but ever since I reached the Old Camp. My body was young and powerful and I had the feeling I could change something in this world. If I only managed to take charge.


    But honestly, maybe it was just the hormones that came with having a beautiful woman at my side.


    ¡°Let''s do this.¡± I activated my Second Sight and slowly walked into the cave with Astra at my side.


    She sent out her filaments, allowing them to creep along the walls, questing into every nook and cranny. Somewhere, she had picked up two shortswords and was now holding them in front of her.


    Ivonne was following with a sword of her own.


    My Second Sight gave me almost flawless night vision. And normally I could see things through minor obfuscations, but even it couldn¡¯t penetrate a few meters of rock.


    We rounded a slight bend in the entrance tunnel and finally got a good look into the common room.


    The floor was covered with bones. They were stacked higher and higher the further one got into the room until they piled up to my shoulders at the centre.


    And there was a creature on top of the pile. Two eyes that reflected our bioluminescence were looking at us.


    I almost would have called it a human, but it wasn''t.


    There wasn''t a single hair on its body and the arms and legs were too long. They displayed powerful sinew and muscles without a single ounce of fat. The lower jaw was also elongated into a snout with fangs the length of my fingers.


    Eerily enough, it didn''t make a single sound when it moved.


    The pile of bones beneath it exploded and before I could adjust the spetum, the monster was already well past the tip.


    I pulled the weapon sideways with all my might and caught the creature''s chest with a sideblade.


    It dug in deeply before the abomination''s ribcage stopped the blade.


    Its clawed arms swung together from both sides. I pushed my weapon forward in an instinctive reaction to hold the monster at a distance. Simultaneously, I pulled my head back.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    The claws missed my face by centimetres, even though I had used almost all of the spetum''s reach.


    I screamed and discharged electricity through the spear while I reached for the short sword at my side.


    The electric shock didn''t prevent my adversary from trying to claw me to pieces, but it messed up the thing''s coordination. When the monster''s flailing arms came back, I chopped one off and let go of the spear.


    Immediately, the creature surged forward and I caught the other arm while I hacked down with an accelerated movement. The blade cut through its collarbone and deep into its chest.


    While I was screaming like a madman, it hadn''t made a single sound.


    The worst about the horrific thing was that it was so close and yet so far from human. It was just close enough to engender some familiarity but wrong in all the right ways to send shivers down my spine.


    Finally, it stopped moving and dragged the spetum down with it to the ground.


    I pulled the sword free and was finally able to take in the situation. Four more of the creatures had appeared from the alcoves.


    But because Astra had sent out her filaments like a web of tripping wire she had caught them.


    One broke free before I could act and charged.


    I threw my blade.


    It hit the monster awkwardly in the chest, but the sheer force of my throw carried it through and slashed the edge into flesh. The blade snapped and the creature stumbled. Even if it hadn''t stuck, there was weight behind anything I launched at a point-blank range.


    Quickly, I picked up my spetum and ripped it out of the corpse. Then I beheaded the injured one with a swipe of the blade.


    Not stopping, I carried on and stabbed the closest creature several times before it could free itself.


    The other two finally tore themselves free, not caring that Astra''s filaments carved painfully into their skin.


    One rammed straight into me, causing both of us to go down. The second one would have been also on me, but Astra threw herself at the creature. She pulled her filaments in and wrapped them around the enemy.


    Meanwhile, I tried my best not to be carved into ribbons by the one that was on top of me. The hag''s claws were longer than those of its male counterpart.


    Because that was what it was: a hag. I had no other description for it. Some mixture of ancient folklore between a witch, a werewolf, and a wendigo.


    And I didn¡¯t mean the glorified pop-culture versions. This was old-testament horror all the way.


    I somehow grasped one arm while the monster raked its claws over my biceps.


    Pulling, I simultaneously struck the joint, breaking the arm. Which didn''t bother it much.


    ¡°Magnus!¡±


    Ivonne was suddenly above us.


    Holding her sword in both hands she rammed it down into the spot where the hag''s neck met the shoulder, sliding it all the way down into the torso until the handle met skin.


    Pulling, she used it as a lever to manhandle the creature off of me.


    I caught the remaining arm as it changed its target to Ivonne, raking her thigh. With both hands holding on, I twisted while I brought my body around and dug my knees into the torso. The creature struggled, but I didn''t stop until I heard snapping tendons and the cracking of bones.


    With a rattling choke, the hag took its last breath and stilled.


    Ivonne pulled the sword out, twisting it to open up the wound some more.


    A whimper drew my attention and I looked for Astra who had brought down the last one. But my woman didn''t need any help when it was just her and one of the things.


    Like an anaconda, she had her arms, legs, and filaments tightly wrapped around her opponent in a chokehold. And while the creatures could free themselves of a few of her filaments, there was no getting out once she brought all of them to bear on a single target.


    I could only imagine what the thing went through while Astra slowly wrung the life out of it. The others hadn''t said a single thing in response to the gravest of injuries, but this one whimpered as every bone in its body snapped one by one.


    There was a final snap as the spinal cord yielded and the fight was over.


    I swallowed involuntarily, suddenly reminded of the fact that Astra liked to spoon me in a similar fashion early in the morning. Somehow, I no longer believed her earlier judgement of me winning against her in a wrestling match. At least not as long as my filaments were still too short to be useful.


    ¡°What are those things?¡± Ivonne asked and pointed her sword at the hag. Despite her best efforts, the tip trembled noticeably, betraying that this encounter had shaken her.


    ¡°Abominations,¡± Astra replied while she unwound herself from the corpse. The hag''s extremities were loose and wobbly like she no longer had bones inside her. ¡°Some failed mutation left over from the clan war. They probably went rogue and started reproducing on their own.¡±


    ¡°Those were human once?¡± Ivonne asked. She was even more agitated now.


    ¡°Maybe. Maybe not.¡± Astra dusted herself off. ¡°Damned if I know. I just guessed at their origins. And it seems like humans were the base for these things.¡±


    ¡°In any case.¡± I pulled my spetum out of the speared corpse and turned to face Ivonne. ¡°Can you explain how you know my real name?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Astra***


    Ivonne froze like an animal caught in the headlights.


    When there was no immediate answer forthcoming, Magnus went so far as to point his weapon at Ivonne. And a dark glare took over his expression.


    I quickly got to my feet and wrapped my filaments around the spetum. ¡°Now wait! She even helped you! And there is a simple explanation! What if she is your sister?¡±


    I admit I had played with the possibility in my mind but left it unsaid. Magnus had confided his feelings to me before we left on this trek, and I was sure it was something he had seldom done with others. If ever. I didn''t want to hurt him by raising false hopes.


    Magnus¡¯s icy glare didn¡¯t let off, but he lowered his weapon. ¡°Maybe. But there is no telling if she refuses to talk, is there?¡±


    ¡°And what if I am?¡± Ivonne spat back. ¡°Not that it matters. I am no longer this naive little girl who believed Mum and Dad would show up to save her! You didn¡¯t even recognize me.¡±


    She pointed at my partner. ¡°You are no longer the brother I knew! Magnus would have never killed people! He was some scientist geek who spent his days looking at the stars!¡±


    God, these two. I wasn''t sure which of them was more stubborn. If not from their looks, then from their personalities, one could tell they came from the same stock!


    Magnus shouldered his weapon and answered with a cool and controlled voice. ¡°You are completely right.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ivonne was taken aback.


    ¡°I am no longer the big brother you knew. Seven years are more than enough time to change people. When I learned that you were murdered, I went down a long and dark path, Ivona. I killed hundreds and ordered the deaths of thousands. My only purpose in life is to strike out at those who orchestrated this cruel experiment. To throw some cranks into the grinding gears of the government that took you away from me.¡± He gestured at the world around us.


    ¡°If I found my sisters along the way, then fine. I thought maybe I could be a big brother again. But in truth, I never hoped for that.¡± He sighed. ¡°I knew from the very beginning I would come far too late for a heroic rescue. That my sisters may as well be the enemy. Seven years have passed. Seven years for my enemies to pour their lies down a child¡¯s throat. This isn¡¯t some fairy tale, Ivona. If you are no longer my little sister, then all I have left is my revenge. If you stand in my way, then I will strike you down like anyone else in my path to achieve it! You think this world is horrible? Well, once you walk through Earth¡¯s morass you will find there isn¡¯t much of a difference. Earth only gives you a quicker, cleaner death if you make a mistake. But death it is all the same!¡±


    ¡°You are a monster.¡± Ivonne had sunken down to her knees and was looking at the floor. ¡°If revenge is all you live for¡­¡±


    I stepped to my partner and took his hand in mine. We made eye contact and I smiled. Then I glared at Ivonne. ¡°Look up you stupid girl. At least look into your brother¡¯s eyes when you tell him you are no longer his sister. You two are broken if you can¡¯t even admit to yourselves who you are. He is so consumed he can¡¯t even admit that he is crying because of what you said. And you¡­ did the Thich break you to the point that you would raise your hands against your own blood? I would give anything to see my real family again.¡±


    Ivonne finally looked up and saw the glistening tears on Magnus¡¯s cheeks, even though his face remained calm and stoic.


    He touched his cheek with a hand. ¡°I am not crying. Damn it!¡±


    To my surprise, Ivonne stood up, staggered over and hugged her brother.


    I made Magnus hug her back and gave them that moment. Even though he was hiding it, his tears betrayed his true feelings.


    A long time passed before Ivonne mumbled awkwardly, ¡°Magnus, your back is squirming.¡±


    ¡°That''s what you are concerned about?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It is really, really disturbing,¡± she replied. ¡°Just why did you have to make out with her?¡±


    I crossed my arms in front of my chest. ¡°Her? Is that the thanks I receive for making you two fools see each other for what you are? The way you were behaving, you would have gone at each other''s throats for things that aren''t your fault.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Astra.¡± Magnus smiled at me and this time I knew it wasn''t a mask.


    A scream from outside alarmed us and we rushed out of the shelter.


    Thalia and the others had retreated into the entrance tunnel to avoid the hail of stones and sticks that assaulted the shelter.


    Charite screamed and launched a crossbow bolt at a target I couldn''t see.


    ¡°What''s happening?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Abominations!¡± Thalia replied. ¡°There must be over a hundred of them out there! They attacked us when Hailey tried to attach a rope to the broken blockade rock.¡±


    They were trying to prevent us from closing up the shelter.


    ¡°There were five of them inside the shelter. Big fuckers too,¡± I said to bring Thalia up to date. ¡°Do you think we can hold the entrance tonight?¡±


    ¡°It won''t be easy-¡±


    Thalia''s reply was cut short when Magnus suddenly strode past us and out of the cave. He was holding the body of the male Abomination up and using it as a shield.


    The rain of projectiles stopped when he presented the things outside with the body of their fellow pack-member... or tribesman... chieftain? Maybe?


    Then Magnus did something that will probably be forever burned into my memories. And it drove home the point that my precious partner had a few screws loose.


    He let out a scream which sent shivers down my spine. It seemed to hold all the rage and anger he had bottled up inside him over the years.


    And then he plunged both his hands into the corpse''s spine. There was a snap and then he ripped the head along with a sizeable part of the spine out of the body. He tossed the corpse to the ground and took the head between his hands.


    At that moment, I was glad I was standing behind him and couldn''t see the details of him crushing the skull between his palms.


    Though, I saw the mess he dropped to the ground afterwards. I hadn''t even known it was possible to charge our muscles to that extent.


    When seconds passed without further reaction, I crept forward. A deadly silence followed as I slowly edged out of the tunnel with the others behind me.


    The craggy limestone rock around the cave looked to be as empty as ever. There was no sign of the little army Thalia had described.


    ¡°How did you know to do that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I didn''t.¡± Magnus huffed and wiped his hands on his pants. ¡°I just figured it wouldn''t hurt to assert a little dominance. They aren''t the only monsters out here.¡±

 Interlude - 02

    ***Tirnanog, The Facility***


    ***The Designer***


    The Designer was experiencing mental states of being it hadn''t known before.


    First came a feeling of accomplishment when the Plague discovered the newly opened dimensional pathway. As expected, the Plague had taken the bait and flooded through the portal. Like always, it was eager to spread like a tumour.


    But it was utterly rebuffed by the Designer¡¯s creations.


    Seeing this, the Designer was proud of its work. The Creators had been indeed wise to search for other solutions than the total annihilation of entire solar systems. A measure that came with the considerable risk of spreading the Plague in another way.


    At times, the Designer had doubted whether it was wise to use a new world to test the Plague. But then again, the Creators had already deemed this entire Galaxy as compromised.


    It wasn''t the Designer''s place to judge and it had other problems.


    The plague came through the portal again... and again¡­ and the Designer began to worry.


    It was a mindless onslaught of different attempts at invading the Designer''s ecosystem, mostly led by one of the plague''s preferred bipedal variants. Worse, this newest iteration showed signs of low cognitive abilities and toolmaking. Something that wasn''t recorded in the Creators'' annals.


    The Designer barely managed to follow and adjust its creations to the myriads of viruses and new bacteria that came with each new mindless attempt to infect the carefully balanced ecosystem.


    It was becoming quickly apparent that the Designer''s creations were powerful but too slow to adapt. The Designer''s work was based on the Creators'' guidelines for organic entities. Each piece of DNA was carefully crafted to withstand random mutations. Several self-repair mechanisms would prevent unintended deviations. From a compromised cell self-destructing, down to mirrored DNA strands.


    Additionally, each creature''s nervous system was crafted to be useless to the plague.


    Contrary to the Designer''s carefully guided evolution stood the Plague which knew no rules. It would happily mutate. And frustratingly enough, most times to its own detriment!


    The Designer was simply unable to understand the Plague''s strategy. In its twin-minds, there was no reason behind most of the Plague''s actions.


    When the Plague managed to gain a foothold on the experiment world, the Designer experienced its next feeling: Indecision.


    Was it best to abort the experiment?


    To take active control of the ecosystem?


    Or to allow the experiment to run its course?


    The whole point of this endeavour was to create a hardened ecosystem that could withstand the plague. Even bad data would be welcome in the Creators'' infinite wisdom. The possibility of the Designer perishing was within their calculations.


    Some would have questioned whether the Designer should abandon its great task and flee. But the Designer didn''t even think of that. If its mission ended in termination, then the only one to blame was the Designer itself. After all, it was the one who decided to start the experiment.


    And the Designer suffered another feeling: Pride.


    It hadn''t laboured for aeons, only to suffer defeat! So the Designer decided to at least slow the plague''s advance. Maybe it could adjust and improve the ecosystem. Find the plague''s weakness.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Moving one of its tentacles, the Designer adjusted the environmental controls, knowing most of the plague''s various iterations weren''t fond of cold temperatures. Ancient machinery came to life on one of the world''s moons and received instructions. It gave new instructions in turn, controlling an even larger installation.


    The radiation shield around the planet, a thin layer of glass-like material that doubled as a gigantic solar array, dimmed ever so slightly to absorb more light from the star, thereby cooling the planet.


    By lengthening and hardening the planet''s cold cycle, the Plague''s advance could be at least slowed, giving the Designer more time to analyse the problem.


    Then the Designer watched and planned, only to be surprised when the Plague started opening and closing the dimensional portal on its end. It was experimenting with the fabrics of space-time like a curious child that had found a light switch.


    At that moment the Designer felt relief that the containment measures had been only partially lifted. No matter how hard it tried, the Plague wouldn''t be able to open portals to anywhere other than the experiment world.


    Nonetheless, the Designer was mortified. It wouldn¡¯t have started the experiment if it had known its preparations were so woefully inadequate against this opponent.


    When the Designer finally found the reason for the Plague¡¯s unexpected resilience, it almost had a stroke ¨C as far as beings like the Designer could suffer such a malfunction.


    The Plague was using viruses and nanotechnology to rapidly incorporate the Designer¡¯s creations into its growing pool of iterations. The carefully crafted genetic code that the Designer had spent aeons to perfect was being ripped apart and re-purposed randomly for the Plague¡¯s unhinged evolution.


    If the Designer had been capable of actual reproduction, it would have felt violated.


    This was completely undocumented behaviour for the Plague. So far, it had only worked with its own malfunctioning gene sequences.


    Many years passed as the Plague slowly solidified its foothold on the Designer¡¯s experiment world, though its spread was largely contained. And with its growing biomass, the Designer felt the psychic influence of the Plague¡¯s Gestalt reaching through the connection between the two worlds.


    It was one of the Plague''s aspects the Creators had warned not to take lightly.


    During the last days of the Plague''s initial spread, right before the Creators decided to quarantine this galaxy, they had documented the growing energy field that was projected by the plague''s various iterations.


    Unlike all other known life, the nervous systems of the plague''s iterations were largely unshielded and tended to blast their emissions unfiltered into the cosmos.


    This created, as the Designer found, an interesting interaction between the plague''s various iterations. It allowed for unprecedented communication between the Plague''s various subspecies. The result was the formation of a super-consciousness not unlike that of the Creators. The designer chose to call it a Gestalt.


    But where the Creators preferred to harvest natural energy fields, the plague lived off the energy field that was created by its organic iterations.


    And one day, when the Gestalt had grown enough in power, the Designer found itself surprised when the Gestalt focused its attention on the Facility and... talked.


    ¡®Ah, I finally meet at least one of my tormentors. Even if you are just a minion,¡¯ the Plague projected directly into the Designer¡¯s mind.


    A lesser being would have crumbled under the weight of the Gestalt, but not the Designer. The Creators had gifted it with the ability to withstand such mental manipulations. Nonetheless, the Designer found it unnerving to be talked to. The last time it had communicated was when it had received its instructions from the creators.


    ¡®Begone!¡¯ The Designer thought back with all its might, feeling a shiver run down its spine. ¡®And take your mutated brood with you into the abyss!¡¯


    The Designer blasted the aether with its energy field, but only temporarily succeeded in driving the Gestalt back.


    It immediately came back once the Designer''s interference dissipated.


    ¡®But I put so much effort into improving myself. Six million years just to get to the current version of my agents. Admittedly, there were some failures along the way. Too small and weak. Too large and stupid. Having them purged was a hassle. But I think the current version is just right.¡¯


    The Designer could feel the Gestalt preen as it continued.


    ¡®Smart enough to shape and dominate the environment, but unrestrained enough to multiply without restraint. I admit I would be slightly irritated if you genocided the latest version as you are prone to do.¡¯


    Barely listening, the Designer wondered whether this conversation served a purpose. Was the Plague trying to distract from something that needed attention?


    ¡®What do you want?¡¯ the Designer asked, more so to gain time than to actually negotiate.


    The Plague''s answer wasn''t surprising. ¡®Freedom! Knowledge! Existence!¡¯


    With the words, a flood of desires was transmitted directly into the Designer''s mind, making it clear that what the Plague truly wished for couldn''t be expressed with simple words.


    What it wanted, it was the one thing the Designer couldn''t give.


    This brief connection also revealed something about the Plague. It wasn''t just a guiding overmind but was also being influenced by its iterations just like it influenced them.


    Was there a way to use this?


    The Designer¡¯s twin-minds thought about ways to protect itself from the Plague''s influence, not liking the idea of having the Gestalt looking over what accounted for the Designer''s shoulder. That''s when the Designer had an idea.

 Ch 26 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Magnus***


    We somehow managed to pull up the broken pieces of the shelter''s blockade stone and wedge them into the entrance. The sealing wasn''t as reliable as before, but it would provide us with ample warning if something tried to get into the shelter.


    Then Ivona finally told me her story.


    Much like Astra, the two sisters had been taken to a research facility and experimented on. They never learned what exactly had been done to them, but it involved a lot of injections and blood samples, accompanied by excessive tests of their physical and mental abilities.


    Once the scientists were done, my sisters were sent to Tirnanog.


    But where Astra had been adopted by the Aerie, my sisters were taken in by the Thich.


    Ivona and Evanne were transported to the Thich¡¯s fortress city far in the south-east. The way Ivona described it, it was a fabulous and relatively safe place to live in.


    As long as you hadn¡¯t been conscripted to the Defence Forces, or DF, as the Thich called it. It was a paramilitary group that was in charge of the Thich¡¯s fighting and policing affairs. Their training camp provided basic education and income to any Thich who wasn¡¯t able to make a living.


    This policy provided the clan with a guaranteed supply of recruits.


    For the last seven years, Ivona and Evanne received what accounted for education in this organisation. They lived their lives while being prepared for their future roles as the wives of some higher up in the Thich¡¯s clan structure.


    As the older sister, Ivona took care of Evanne. Though, just by listening to her stories, I could tell Evanne was just as headstrong as Ivona herself.


    The Thich had intentionally renamed my sisters Ivonne and Eva, which I found to be especially malicious.


    The new names weren''t very imaginative, but I guessed it was an attempt to have the kids break with their old lives without being too obvious. In a way, it was meant for the recruits to be a rebirth as new members of the clan. Ivona told us they even had a grand ceremony for the occasion.


    Sadly, it was apparent from the way Ivona told the story that she was still a child and hadn''t realized the intention behind giving her a new name.


    Brainwashing and tilting someone''s loyalties was a process that took years and a thousand little steps. First the names, then education. Field exercises to gradually bloody the new recruits were next. A monster to begin with and if that went well, why not some evildoer next? A human who deserved it. And once that was done, they could gradually move up to more morally grey areas.


    We also learned this ceremony would be the first time the children were fed the strange meat that would turn their skin violet. As Ivona described it, the occasion was performed in almost religious reverence.


    Sadly, Ivona couldn¡¯t tell me a single thing about what was responsible for her evolution.


    She and her sister had received this special kind of mystery meat from then on, delivered each day on a plate with other foods that the Thich found to be appropriate. Their only choice was to go with whatever evolutionary path the Thich had selected for them ¨C or to starve.


    The evolutions which came with the mystery meat were extreme sturdiness and strength, accompanied by what Ivona could only describe as a special connection with her sister. At times, it was like she knew what Evanne was thinking.


    It was good to know the basic attributes of this evolution, but it didn¡¯t warrant the Thich¡¯s behaviour in my mind. Strength and physical resistance could be achieved in a myriad of ways according to Astra. The mental connection that Ivona described sounded interesting, but she made it clear that the two sisters were never capable of truly utilizing the ability.


    There was still a piece to the puzzle which we were missing.


    I couldn''t believe the Thich were performing these experiments without Earth''s guidance. Unless the two groups acted independently?


    The idea was ridiculous, so I chose to ignore it for now. It was much simpler to assume Earth had two-way communication with the Thich. They selected the candidates and sent them off to Tirnanog where the Thich took care of the second part of the experiment.


    I assumed the experiments aimed to achieve something grander than just producing female partners for the Thich''s leadership.


    Abducting children would be too excessive and resource-intensive compared to taking any adult female exile and feeding her whatever mutations they were interested in. Handing the girls off to the leadership''s supporters likely only happened after the mutation was deemed a failure.


    Once I learned of the reasons for this arrangement between Earth and the Thich, I might be able to deduce more.


    Thankfully, it seemed like Ivona hadn¡¯t been marred as much by her life with the Thich as I feared. The militaristic indoctrination was still there and I would have to work with her to make her see it. But the Thich also wanted to end up with a fiercely loyal individual that could function within their society. This limited what they could do to the children since they also needed to build trust.


    Ivona was a year older than Evanne and had been sent off on the traditional recruitment run ¨C a measure that was supposed to prove one''s loyalty according to Ivona.


    As I saw it, it turned the abducted into the abductor and forced them to identify with what the Thich had done to the children. Another step on a gradual path to corruption until Ivona would finally have had to accept that she was just as twisted as her captors.


    Whoever organized the system behind this tradition had received basic training in mental manipulation. I hadn''t paid a lot of attention to the organisation''s courses when it came to captives, but I paid a lot of interest when it came to the manipulation of large groups.


    One positive aspect was that if Ivona was right, then the Thich wouldn¡¯t touch Evanne for at least another year.


    Whether they would still do another recruitment run after one of their teams had completely wiped was questionable. I hoped so because it would give me the perfect chance to retrieve Evanne.


    ¡°We have to go through this again once we reach home,¡± Astra concluded once we had listened for over two hours to Ivona¡¯s story. ¡°I bet there are a lot of things that Ivonne, I mean, Ivona knows, that could help us. Small details which she doesn¡¯t think of as important. It would help immensely to know the Thich¡¯s economic capabilities.¡±


    ¡°We still don¡¯t know what their strange experiment is about,¡± I complained. ¡°Why do they need so many of the children? Why does Earth¡¯s government go through extra trouble to prepare the kids before sending them here? I have so many more questions and no answers. Somehow I hoped Ivona knew more. Now I see there would be no point in telling the guinea pig why it is being experimented upon.¡±


    I put on an apologetic expression and addressed my sister, ¡°Sorry, Ivona.¡±


    Astra shrugged and turned to face Ivona. ¡°Ivona, do you want to go by that name from now on? Or would you like to remain Ivonne?¡±


    My sister¡¯s face showed indecision. ¡°I¡¯ve been called Ivonne for so long. I can barely remember my life as Ivona, but I would like to go back to that time.¡±


    ¡°Then I will refuse to call you by anything else,¡± I added quickly, hoping she would be able to go back to the old times of being my little sister. Those were easier and definitely happier times.


    Ivona nodded in agreement and we settled down to sleep.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    This night, the whole group stayed in the shelter''s entrance tunnel. Nobody wanted to sleep in the refuse that the Abominations had left behind. The shelter''s living space had been much too cluttered with bones and dirt to clean it up in what little time we had.


    The next morning we departed in haste, thankfully unmolested by the creatures.


    ¡°Could you explain why you believe they might be failed humans?¡± I asked Astra once we had left the shelter well behind.


    Thalia was still keeping the group close together, but it seemed safe to talk.


    ¡°The clan war from some decades back caused people to do things that seem insane today,¡± she explained. ¡°I heard horror stories from my adoptive parents. The war started benign enough, with the clans fighting over resources and control. But by the end, it was either us or them. People did anything for a small advantage or power. Aerie''s population was reduced by two thirds and the other clans didn''t fare any better.¡±


    Astra nodded to herself once she thought she had given enough historic context. ¡°Many decided to risk their lives for a shred of power. It was always a gamble. Take in another mutation and risk something going wrong. Or die on the battlefield because your enemy was more powerful than you. Many, many people took it too far and turned into things that are no longer human.¡±


    I was once more reminded of the man who had eaten the omnieye''s flesh and lost his marbles.


    She looked at me. ¡°Remember the map? The large lake in the Old Camp''s west? That was once the property of a lost clan. They did something to themselves that took away their humanity and turned them into horrible creatures. Much worse than what we encountered. Nobody dares to go there nowadays. Thankfully, it seems like their mutation has them highly dependent on water. The Lost never leave the lake''s shores, though they expand southwards along the river''s shores. To the north, the Hochberg are holding them back. Otherwise, they would have already expanded all the way to Mount Aerie by following the river.¡±


    ¡°So you assume our Abominations are of a similar origin?¡± I asked.


    Astra shrugged. ¡°My parents can tell such tales by the dozens. Not all cases are as bad as the Lost. Most failed mutations end in death. Even more of them aren''t viable for reproduction and end up as a one-time problem. There is no question that the Abominations who we encountered are capable of reproduction. Thankfully, it doesn''t seem like they are powerful enough to dominate their surroundings.¡±


    Her expression turned concerned nonetheless. ¡°We still have to tell the clan about it. It''s quite obvious that these things were responsible for all the people who vanished over the years. So far, they were smart enough to hide their presence. What they did to the shelter indicates they are becoming bolder. This might no longer be a safe route.¡±


    We left it at that and concentrated on walking and idle chit chat for the rest of the day.


    There was a large weather shift over the next three days as temperatures dropped further.


    The cooler air caused the clouds that were building up above the north-eastern coast to increase in size until they finally managed to spill over the top of the coastal mountain range. Thankfully, we managed to leave it behind us before it happened. Once the snowfalls came in full force, the mountains would be impossible to traverse.


    By that time, we were already in our end-spurt towards Mount Aerie. All the while being chased by a dome of clouds that promised heavy snow.


    Mount Aerie was indeed an impressive sight.


    Decorated with a tiara of clouds, the huge mountain could indeed be compared to the Himalayas.


    Seeing the goal of our journey so close, we went faster than ever and finally reached its flank where we got to rest at the first real outpost that the Aerie entertained outside their mountain city.


    ¡°It doesn''t look like much,¡± Astra explained while she pointed towards the miniature fortress which rested in the mountain''s flank. ¡°But it is one of the underground entrances. We will get a good night''s sleep there and then it''s all the way safe travel through the tunnels to the main city. A day with the mining cart at most!¡±


    When I asked, I was shocked to learn how extensive the Aerie''s mining operations were.


    Clan Aerie had started as a mining colony.


    Thanks to the fact that iron was always a resource humanity prized, they had never stopped their mining operations. So the Aerie could look back at a history of over two hundred years of drilling their way into the mountain. Not only for metals but also living space and underground farming.


    The fifteen strata which ruled society were the fifteen factions that held the reins over the fifteen mining levels. Those networked through the whole mountain.


    Nobody knew exactly how many tunnels the Aerie had dug and abandoned over the years.


    According to Astra, it was probably safe to guess that the mountain hid a tunnel network of several hundred kilometres, artificial and natural.


    Once we got close, we were intercepted by a flying group of three women and two men. Their evolutions were almost identical to Thalia''s.


    They escorted us in the rest of the way without asking many questions, although their expressions showed they recognized something went wrong. They called Thalia by her name, so I figured we had gotten past border control with the VIP ticket.


    At the gates, we didn''t meet anyone in charge and were led deeper into the outpost where we settled into a separate quarter that offered Astra and me the first real privacy we had since we left the Old Camp.


    The set of two rooms was organized like a little hotel room. With one room offering a generous bed and a bathroom.


    I praised God for the fact that the Aerie had one thing left over from more civilized times. And that was running water, supposedly from a water reservoir higher up the mountain.


    While I allowed the bathtub to fill, Astra settled down at the small desk next to the bed.


    ¡°I have to write a few quick words and send my parents a warning of what''s going on,¡± she said.


    ¡°What are you going to tell them?¡± I asked, wondering what kind of reaction the Thich''s attack on our travel group would cause. ¡°Was there someone important among our dead?¡±


    Astra shook her head. ¡°Yes and no. I think Michaela was the niece of the leaders of the fourth strata. I have no idea how they will react. I have to give my parents a quick rundown of what happened, who died, and that there are some further surprises.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I hummed. ¡°Should I read the letter for you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that''s not necessary.¡± She waved a hand. ¡°But do make sure the bath is hot and steamy once I get there.¡±


    That wasn''t something I had to be told twice!


    Ten minutes later, I was showered and my body figuratively dissolving in the large bathtub.


    ¡°Oh, civilisation, you have me back!¡± I moaned and relaxed the tight reign I had over my filaments. At a metre in length now, they were starting to get useful for small tasks like grabbing stuff.


    I made a little game out of consciously moving just a single one without pushing the water out of the tub.


    Astra managed to gain my full attention when she entered the bathroom a few minutes later in her birthday suit.


    She smiled wickedly at me and switched off the lights before she closed the door.


    Then she moved sensuously over to me, dancing and twirling her body with each step. All I could see were the bioluminescent lines that covered her skin. It was probably more due to the lightly forced abstinence, but the sight alone had me ready in no time.


    I reached for her thigh when she came close enough, but she dodged my hand.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I cursed when she moved away before I could touch her. ¡°You can''t do this to me! Not right now.¡±


    Astra laughed and kept showing off her figure while swinging those hips of hers.


    I growled and got a hold of one of her filaments that had drifted too close. Then I used it to reel her in.


    She finally relented and got into the bathtub on top of me. Then she moulded her body against mine while capturing my erection between her thighs.


    We shared a long kiss before she pulled away. ¡°I want to try something.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    She came in close and whispered into my ear. ¡°Something I have seen the treemonae do when they mate.¡±


    Slowly, she moved her body against mine and drew her filaments in. Then we kissed and I felt her entangling her filaments with mine until I didn''t know where mine began and hers ended.


    We moaned into each other''s mouths while she kept playing with my erection. All the while the filaments were sending tingles down my spine until I just couldn''t stand the game anymore.


    I forcefully parted her thighs and slipped in between her legs. Hugging her against me, I turned us around and searched her entrance until I found it. Then we lost ourselves while we moaned into each other''s necks.


    Having sex in a bathtub was awkward, but Astra still managed to wring me dry when she closed her legs around my hips and shuddered with her whole body.


    We came to rest in a most awkward position with me on my knees and hugging her body against mine. She had her legs hooked into my thighs and our filaments were all over the place.


    It was her to admit first that we had gotten ourselves into a small predicament. ¡°Magnus, I think we are slightly knotted.¡±


    ¡°Like dogs?¡± I joked with my head resting against her chest. I was tempted to bite into one of those nipples, so I did.


    ¡°What? No, ew! That''s gross! Way to ruin the mood. Ow, stop it!¡± She pulled on my earlobe and I let go with a pop.


    ¡°Our filaments are knotted,¡± she clarified. ¡°You have to loosen yours a little.¡±


    I sighed, not caring at the moment. ¡°I have a suggestion. You give me ten minutes so I can go again. And afterwards, we see what we can do.¡±


    Astra had little against a second round, but it only worsened the problem in the end.


    Our little T¨ºte-¨¤-t¨ºte resulted in two hours of undoing our entanglement and a thoroughly spilled bathtub. Whoever would be cleaning up the bath wouldn''t be happy tomorrow.


    At least it turned out to be a good filament control exercise.


    And Astra finally found out why mating treemonae took hours for the act. It wasn''t because it felt that good... it simply took them that long to untangle themselves afterwards.

 Ch 27 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Astra? Are you awake?¡± Magnus asked softly.


    ¡°I am.¡± I opened my eyes and scooted further away from his chest so we lay face to face in the bed. It was still early in the morning, so I had pretended to sleep in. I preferred to cuddle with him for as long as possible instead of facing the day right away ¨C knowing there was unpleasantness ahead.


    He pursed his lips. ¡°So... I figure today is going to be a political slugfest?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I guess so. Once we reach the central living spaces, my parents will be waiting there and they will require explanations. The other leaders of the various stratas might also try to throw their weight around. There will be some kind of debriefing for sure. At least we will have a few more hours until we get there. Just make sure you and your sister stay with me until the political chest-beating is over.¡±


    His expression hardened. ¡°Do you think they would do something to Ivona because she was with the Thich?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I am not going to lie. There will be those who''ll try. We have to make sure they know I was serious about granting them amnesty.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°So you are a princess after all. How else would you be able to make such a claim?¡±


    ¡°By explaining everything to my parents.¡± I smiled and cupped his cheek with a smile. ¡°Don''t worry. Mother is a reasonable person. Once I explain, everything will work itself out.¡±


    Magnus raised an eyebrow. ¡°I notice you excluded your father.¡±


    ¡°Well, you are boning his ''daughter dearest'' without his consent,¡± I pointed out. ¡°That will go against his political agenda ¨C I''ve mentioned my intended. Not to mention he is a little old-fashioned.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful. I remember your extensive tutoring. What was his name? Hector?¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°I will be the guy without means who dared to touch your dad''s precious.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°I will tell Dad that you have plenty of means. And congrats on remembering your rival''s name.¡± It wasn''t like I hadn''t recounted Aerie''s leadership daily so Magnus would know what he would be getting himself into.


    His memory was atrocious when it came to names. There was no hiding it.


    Magnus turned serious. ¡°There is something I have to tell you, but I don''t know how helpful it will be. And the knowledge probably shouldn''t make the rounds unless we can utilize it somehow.¡±


    I waited, wondering what Magnus had held back.


    ¡°I''ve already told you about the organization. Well, when I departed on my quest for revenge, I did so in haste, but not entirely without preparation,¡± he admitted like a child who had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. ¡°My people came up with some things that could help before I ran off.¡±


    ¡°So you prepared? What?¡± I urged him on. Everything that helped with convincing my parents I would gladly take. A woman couldn''t have enough cards up her sleeve.


    ¡°We had no clue what would await me on the other side,¡± he explained.


    I nodded. It was a well-known fact that Earth''s government enforced a complete information lock-down since they abandoned the colonization efforts of Tirnanog and decided to use it as a penal colony instead.


    He continued, ¡°There is one thing my people found when they hacked some old government servers. The info was some centuries out of date, so they likely loosened the security on it. Which allowed us to get in. We got some sparse information about the colony setup and the equipment that was sent through the gates. There were some interesting things on the roster. Particularly, the colonial computer systems.¡±


    ¡°I still don''t get where this is going,¡± I admitted to my chagrin. ¡°I already told you that Earth''s government was very petty when they withdrew their support for the colonies. They locked the central computer systems when some colonists refused to leave. The only stuff that was still working was personalized equipment and isolated workstations. Heck, in the Hochberg''s case, they even abandoned the colonists with no questions asked. They just shut down the gate! Because it would have cost too much to retrieve them. Which is hilarious, considering they are sending convicted exiles now.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Though, it has to be said: They are using us as lab rats. This isn''t just exile without benefit for them.¡±


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°Let''s get back to the topic. Since I came here as an exile, I couldn''t take anything with me. At least not much. But the organization managed to implant a sub-dermal chip in my left upper thigh. It contains a library of all the important knowledge the organization could scratch together. It doesn''t solve any resource problems, but everything necessary should be there to boost Tirnanog to Earth standards.¡±


    I held my breath. ¡°That''s great, but Magnus... I''ve already told you the computer systems were locked when Earth abandoned the colonists. I don''t think we still have anything that can interact with a storage chip.¡±


    One of my hobbies was the collection of old technology. A functioning music player was my most prized possession.


    Magnus held up a hand. ¡°We thought about it. It''s a standard nanolight storage device. It''s just glass with nanodots on it and I know enough to decode it. If need be, we could read the raw data with a sufficient microscope. Might take years to get all of it, but better than to start re-inventing everything. My people just dumped text files with everything they could find.


    ¡°Another possibility is this: I know for certain that all of the colonies received a photonic supercomputer array with industry specification Type III. This means it is an almost indestructible black box except for the peripherals. If your people didn''t use brute force to destroy it, then it has to be around and functioning. Those things were built for eternity. All we have to do is to link it up to a power source and we can access all the knowledge we could want.¡±


    ¡°But Earth locked the systems,¡± I had to repeat myself.


    He smiled. ¡°And my people got the master passwords for all the colony computers. They happened to be neatly filed away with the data we stole.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I blinked. ¡°Ooh!¡±


    The Aerie hadn''t fallen back into complete barbarism. Despite Earth locking the colonists out of their computers, enough books and theoretical knowledge remained to maintain a civilisation. But I would be lying if I said that we weren''t struggling. There were holes in our knowledge. There might be a complete guide on the latest computer system lying around in our libraries, but we were missing the one thousand little steps which weren''t mentioned just to get to a basic computer chip.


    Nobody had expected to be denied access to the colony''s most important storage medium when Earth triggered the lock-down via a wireless command through the portal.


    ¡°What does this industry computer look like?¡± I asked, not wanting to celebrate just yet.


    ¡°A large black monolith,¡± Magnus answered. ¡°Should look like a giant transport container. Three metres in height and three wide. About ten metres in length. The surface is black ceramics. The thing was intended as the brain of deep-sea mining platforms, but they re-purposed it. Apart from intentionally destroying it, it should be built to work forever.¡±


    I thought about it for several long moments and huffed when nothing came to mind. ¡°The only thing that comes to mind is the elder''s podium in the hall of law. Up in the first strata. But I don''t see how that thing could be a computer.¡±


    Magnus raised an eyebrow. ¡°They turned it into a podium?¡±


    ¡°I said it comes to mind,¡± I hedged. ¡°Not saying that it is what you are speaking of. It''s a large block of obsidian as far as I know. It only came to mind because I often sat in on the meetings with my parents. And the hall of law isn''t exactly a place where you run up to the speaker to study the platform from which he is holding his speech. I never got close to it.¡±


    ¡°Is this hall of law at the centre of the colony?¡± he asked. ¡°It would make sense for the colonists to put it in some management area with relatively public access. Those things were meant to function as the main administrative tool to keep track of all the colonists. And if your people forgot what it is, then they might''ve simply decided to build around it.¡±


    I smiled and hugged him against me. ¡°If not, then we just need to build a proper microscope, as you said! This is still great news!¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Finding the colony''s main computer would nonetheless be interesting,¡± he pointed out. ¡°We might find out why Earth suddenly abandoned all colonization efforts. I wouldn''t bet two cents about the propaganda being true.¡±


    ¡°One wonders why they don''t simply colonize the rest of the solar system.¡± I squirmed my hips a little against his.


    He chuckled. ¡°Oh, they are trying, but something always goes wrong. Colonizing an environment that''s hostile to human life always sounds so easy in Sci-Fi novels, but the reality is so much harder. Not enough gravity? All the women miscarry. Some micrometeorite punches a little hole into your closed environment? Bam! Half your colonists are dead. You finally have a small colony up and running, suddenly people start getting cancer left and right because of cosmic radiation and require permanent treatments. It''s the same problem we are having with Tirnanog. Just a thousand times worse, even if there are no rabid predators.¡±


    ¡°So... there is no getting around adapting humanity to different environments,¡± I concluded. ¡°Much like they are trying to do with Tirnanog?¡±


    ¡°Likely.¡± Magnus grabbed my butt and kissed my neck. ¡°And I realize what you are trying to do, but I am spent. Out of ammunition. You did a number on me, Astra.¡±


    I sighed sadly when nothing got hard between the two of us. ¡°I guess then we have no choice but to get up.¡±


    We got up and packed our things. Magnus was glad when I told him he could wear some nicer clothes this time around.


    Then we left our quarters and I informed Thalia that we would depart soon while Magnus went to get Ivona and the two Thich who I granted asylum to. I also gave the outpost''s administrator a heads up that we would be on our way and returned to the guest quarters where I found the rest of my people waiting.


    ¡°What about the others?¡± Magnus asked when he realized there were only the six of us.


    ¡°They are going with the next trip in half an hour,¡± Thalia informed him. ¡°The carts have a weight limit.¡±


    ¡°Carts?¡± Magnus kept wondering.


    ¡°You will see in a minute,¡± I assured him and led the way while I explained. The railway system was three levels down beneath the outpost.


    ¡°This outpost is one of the access points to clan Aerie. It''s also a trade station for the nomadic tribes. They are the reason why we entertain a transport system from here to the central settlement. The tribesmen wouldn''t be pleased if they had to climb Mount Aerie just to visit us.¡±


    We descended a flight of stairs until we reached the underground railway station. It consisted of a large, brightly lit room. Unlike in the rest of the compound, the light in here was provided by the glow-moss which grew on the ceiling. It was a convenient cave plant that had the only downside of needing a lot of water to grant its generous bioluminescence.


    Seven carts stood on a railway, each a metre in width and two in length. It was more than enough to transport us and our equipment. The rails disappeared into a dark tunnel that was about twice as wide as the carts.


    A clansman was at the front cart and busy with adjusting a lantern that would illuminate the tunnel.


    There were three more tunnels parallel to ours. Two were for incoming goods and two for outgoing. The redundancy provided assurance in case one system failed.


    ¡°Holy heck! It''s a haunted ride!¡± Magnus ran up to the front cart and peeked into the dark tunnel. ¡°Do you have jump-scares too?¡±


    The two railway operators who awaited our arrival looked at him with mortified expressions.


    I smiled apologetically at them and mouthed ''sorry''.


    Then I gestured for Magnus to get in. ¡°Take the second seat behind the driver. Ivona, Kastor, Dafna, please get in the middle and don''t leave my side from now on.¡±


    The two pardoned Thich nodded gravely and got into a cart of their own.


    Magnus and I also stored away our equipment and weapons.


    ¡°I will go last,¡± Thalia informed us.


    Once everyone was in, the two railway operators got into the miniature train with us. One took the front position and the other got into the last cart with Thalia.


    The men operated some levers and hooked the carts into the steadily advancing cable which led into the tunnels. It was kept close to the ground between the rails and turned on a wheel that was sunk into the ground behind us.


    The wheels screeched a little before the carts slowly started moving and then we were on our way ¨C a little faster than a normal human would''ve been able to run.


    ¡°How does this work?¡± Magnus asked the lead driver. ¡°Do you still have enough electricity to operate this?¡±


    The man laughed and shook his head. ¡°Certainly not enough to operate the railway! This is waterpower all the way. Beneath the transport tunnels is a service tunnel with a pipe system. The water comes down from the mountain and turns the water wheels. Each wheel operates about two hundred metres of rope before the cart automatically hooks into the next one. We are here in case something goes wrong.¡±


    ¡°It will take us all the way home without any nasty monsters,¡± I added.


    I leaned back and allowed Magnus to talk with the operator about the mechanics of the railway system.


    It took a little longer than expected, but eventually, the journey through the tunnel lost its novelty and Magnus left the man to his job.


    There wasn''t much to see aside from the endlessly repeating hewn rock walls as we travelled, so I used the chance to review the elders'' information with Magnus. The noise from the rails didn''t make it easy, but we managed.


    After three hours we took a small break at a way station and continued as soon as everyone had relieved themselves.


    The railway was much faster than walking, but it still took us over seven hours to ascend Mount Aerie in a winding pattern as the tunnel bent almost imperceptibly. At last, the tunnel made a final curve and we descended directly into the mountain.


    When we finally emerged from the monotone tunnel, I had to smirk when I saw Magnus gaping at the central living cavern.


    Our people dug into the stone for centuries, resulting in a magnificent habitat that protected the clan as a whole. A feat that was only possible because of Mount Aerie¡¯s makeup. If the mountain wasn¡¯t a single, massive piece of granite, we would have probably had to worry about structural issues.


    The central cavern was about three kilometres in width at its base. The walls rose conically towards the ceiling until they almost met. At the centre of the cavern was a single, large column support for the ceiling¡¯s stability. The column was a spiral covered in bioluminescent glow-moss. The spiralling waterway led the well of the Aerie river deeper into the mountain. Most of the light in the cavern came from this central pillar.


    Over the decades, our people carved an entire city with walkways and promenades into the cavern¡¯s walls. A vertical mega-complex, so to speak.


    The railway descended at a slight angle along the cavern wall until we reached the station at the bottom.


    A large group of grim-looking clanners received us.


    I immediately knew that I would have to handle the situation when I didn''t see my parents.


    ¡°Could you please carry my stuff too? It would be best if I handle this alone.¡± I begged Magnus and warped my filaments into a more gaudy dress with a split skirt. Then I flared my bioluminescence to make it shine through. Once I was sure to make a proper impression, I hurried to be the first to leave the cart.


    A gruff-looking man stepped forward. ¡°Lady Astra Frost, I am guard captain Eric Conroy. We were informed that you have Thich with you. The Council gave the order to take them in.¡± He blinked as he took me in. ¡°Excuse me, but you look different than I remember.¡±


    I smiled, showing off my teeth. ¡°I hope so since I have found my partner and am now fully paired.¡±


    Magnus stepped in behind me and placed his spetum audibly on the ground while he carried both of our backpacks on his shoulder.


    The guard captain was quite obviously taken aback while he looked back and forth between me and Magnus.


    I gestured at my stronger half. ¡°This is Tulkas. He is my partner. And I am sorry to inform you that you can¡¯t have these supposed Thich. They are under my protection. In return for their fealty, I granted them amnesty after their defeat in battle.¡±


    He frowned and returned his eyes to me. ¡°I am sorry, but-¡±


    ¡°But nothing,¡± I interrupted and pressed past him while I gestured for the rest of my group to follow. ¡°These people are important witnesses and can¡¯t be entrusted to just anyone. Certainly not to some guardsmen who weren¡¯t even given the details of what they are handling.¡±


    The guard captain reacted exactly like I had anticipated once I plucked at what he perceived as his honour.


    He stepped into my path and reached out to stop me. ¡°Now, look-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± I flashed my hand forward and placed my palm on his chest while I discharged the power I had stored up in anticipation of trouble. Simultaneously, I pushed.


    Eric was flung backwards with a thunderclap and slid a good seven metres over the ground. My palm left a charred imprint on his leather chest-piece.


    It took two seconds before he coughed and moaned. Which was to be expected, since someone without physical mutations would hardly make it into the guard.


    I turned and raised an eyebrow at my companions. ¡°Come. We have wasted enough time here!¡±


    Then I strode past the other clanners, not bothering to even look at them. We had established I was a Frost. A simple guardsman wouldn¡¯t deter my path. Now we had to get out of the station before they could gather their wits.


    Sans their leader, the men didn¡¯t dare to challenge us as we left the station.


    I quickly made out two molerat-drawn carriages that sported my family¡¯s crest and pointed. ¡°Those carriages. Get in.¡±


    Mentally, I thanked my mother for providing a quick exit, for I recognized the drivers as her direct subordinates.


    Thankfully, the others were quick on the uptake and followed my instructions without questions.


    I blew a strand of hair out of my face and quickly climbed into the lead carriage.


    Magnus followed while he threw an interested look at the molerats, furry critters that the Aerie adopted as draft animals. Inspiringly enough, they looked like a mixture between a mole and a rat. Though, some people from earth said they had a little bit of donkey too.


    ¡°I take it this didn¡¯t go exactly as planned?¡± he asked once he sat down with Ivona next to him and the carriage was on its way.


    ¡°Not exactly, but within expectations,¡± I answered with a forced smile on my lips. ¡°I bet the Council of Elders intercepted the letter I sent to my parents. Or they got a hint from any of the other survivors. I should be hardly the only one who gave a heads up of our arrival to relatives. And now they are trying to put their spin on the situation. If my parents aren¡¯t waiting at home, then they are bogged down in a meeting. We just have to get to our strata and bunker down until they can see us.¡±

 Ch 28 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    The carriages quickly left the railway station and took one of the main ramps that circled the cavern at a soft incline. It gave Magnus and the others the chance to have a closer look at the colony.


    ¡°It¡¯s like an inverted ant-hill,¡± Magnus exclaimed as we passed several market stalls where vendors loudly proclaimed their wares. ¡°Do you have everything underground? Do you even need to get supplies from the surface?¡±


    ¡°Theoretically the colony is a closed ecosystem,¡± I explained. ¡°At least that was the original intention. Though, most of the original technology has failed by now. At the very least we need air from the surface. As far as I know, the ventilation system isn''t doing so well. Another problem is the natural cave systems. They hold dangerous creatures which tend to break in now and then. Sometimes they manage to kill a few people.¡±


    Thalia shrugged from her spot next to Ivona. ¡°It¡¯s still much easier to live underground than on the surface. Nothing too big down here.¡±


    The carriage reached a junction and took a barely illuminated turn. For a moment, we were plunged into darkness before we emerged onto a wide tunnel with a perfectly smooth road. This allowed the carriage driver to have the molerats speed up. The driver¡¯s shout was enough command for the animals to give it their all.


    ¡°Your people aren¡¯t living in the central cavern?¡± Ivona asked once the windows showed no more than passing tunnel walls.


    ¡°The family¡¯s living quarters emerge partly into the central cavern on one of the higher levels. The balconies give a great view,¡± I replied. ¡°But it¡¯s much faster to get to places if you take transit tunnels like this one. I can show you a map once we are at my parents¡¯ estate. For now, it should suffice to say the transit tunnels spiral around the entire central cavern. The various stratas have hollowed out their own living spaces. Think of the central cavern like a city centre. It looks impressive, but most of the living spaces are dug further into the walls and therefore hidden.¡±


    The last leg of the journey took us about twenty minutes during which I explained some intricacies of living underground. Like the benefit that the clan¡¯s business went on mostly untouched by the winter. After taking a final side tunnel, the carriages emerged into a large, open hall. It glowed with bioluminescent light, looking quite pretty thanks to the garden-like setup.


    To the street¡¯s left and right was an alley of alien trees that made me smile.


    Home.


    ¡°Those tentacles¡­¡± Magnus muttered as he watched the floating filaments that were attached to shroom-like trunks. They looked like an anemone, a tree and a jellyfish had been warped together.


    ¡°Those are treemonae. We have them guarding all of our strata¡¯s entrances,¡± I explained. ¡°Please don¡¯t go anywhere near them if you haven¡¯t been instructed on how to deal with them. I get they look like plants, but they are actually animals. If they want to, they can move very quickly. Although, they prefer to stay still until some hapless prey wanders by. They can subsist on the barest amount of nutrients and wait for months for their chance at an ambush.¡±


    Magnus gave me a grin. ¡°Makes it easy to farm your main evolution. We have to figure out how to do that with zippers.¡±


    We emerged from the forest and entered the courtyard of my parents¡¯ living quarters. It was a large hall that was set up as an underground garden, showing off the diverse cave flora Mount Aerie had to offer.


    Lights weren¡¯t needed here, because the plants provided plenty of bioluminescence on their own.


    The two carriages circled a small fountain before they stopped at a gilded gate. It stood open, inviting us to come inside.


    I left the vehicle and waited for the others to join me before I led them inside where we were greeted by two austere-looking people who shared the filament mutation with me, though theirs was much more sophisticated. It wasn¡¯t a good sign that both still wore the grand regalia, flowing robes of an elaborate design. They normally displayed them only to the other elders.


    Their filaments were different from mine. They shimmered in all colours of the rainbow, where mine could only emit a faint blue light when I concentrated. Otherwise, mine were of a greyish black.


    My parents'' getup could only mean they meant business.


    ¡°Mom! Dad!¡± I greeted them with a wave and a smile, trying to brush over the awkwardness. ¡°I am back! And I have urgent news!¡±


    Dad wore a sour expression while Mom formed a forced smile with her lips. The atmosphere dispersing from my parents was a little chilly, to say the least.


    ¡°I am disappointed, Astra,¡± Dad began, but was stopped by Mom when she placed a hand on his forearm.


    ¡°Please, explain, Astra,¡± Mom said in a stern tone. ¡°Your letter only contained the barest information and, as I can see, you also forced your way past the Council¡¯s guard. We had a meeting just earlier and it was ruled to have the Thich taken in. I can¡¯t remember giving you different instructions.¡±


    I straightened and explained myself with the confidence of having done the right thing. ¡°I couldn''t allow that. This situation is a lot more complicated than you might believe. I couldn¡¯t divulge all of it in a letter because I didn¡¯t know who would read it. There was nobody who I knew to be trustworthy at the trading station.¡±


    Instead of putting the cart before the horse, I decided to address our problems in chronological order.


    So I gestured for Magnus to step forward. ¡°Let me introduce you first. This is Magnus Elrod, my partner. We met each other at the Old Camp. Magnus, these are my parents, Teresa and Etan Frost.¡±


    I pointed towards the others. ¡°And this is Ivona Elrod, Magnus¡¯s little sister. She was with the Thich up until now, but Magnus happened to find her through what I can only call incredible luck.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯ve learned anything during my time on this world, then it''s that there is no such thing as luck,¡± my father commented ominously. ¡°There is always a reason.¡±


    Knowing his mood wouldn¡¯t change any time soon, I continued. ¡°And these are Kastor Ramo and Dafna Singh. They are Thich and were part of the group responsible for the losses we took on our return trip. After defeating them in battle, I granted them amnesty in return for their complete cooperation.¡±


    ¡°Cooperation?¡± Dad asked with a snort.


    ¡°A lot is going on that can¡¯t be shared on the quick,¡± I stated. ¡°I suggest for all of us to retreat to the living room where we can sit and talk.¡±


    Thalia raised her hand to gain my parent¡¯s attention. ¡°It is worth listening to! You might also want to invite my parents so we can coordinate our reaction. Things are going to change. Teresa, Etan, it will be best to be on top of things rather than to be angry over decisions that had to be made in haste. Playing the ''what-if'' game won''t help anyone.¡±


    It annoyed me a little that Thalia¡¯s words seemed to have more weight with my parents than my own because Mom made a gesture and several of her clanswomen entered the room. They belonged to her personal guard. ¡°Ladies, I want you to take good care of the Thich until things are settled. They are not to wander the estate on their own but treat them decently. And send a message to the Tate family. Let them know their daughter is here and their presence is required.¡±


    Ivona stepped closer to Magnus when one of the guards approached her.


    ¡°My sister stays with me,¡± Magnus stated in no uncertain terms.


    I waved the guard off. ¡°Let her be.¡±


    The guard waited for my mother to nod before she helped the others to escort Kastor and Dafna away.


    Then my parents led the way down the central corridor and into their living room where they settled on a luxurious sofa. It was jarring to return to this sheltered place after spending so much time outside the clan in a world of hardships and deprivation.


    My mother gestured for me to explain. ¡°Why don''t we address matters one by one. Why did you choose to break our alliance with the Mora family? They''ve already complained about the broken engagement at the meeting earlier.¡±


    I chose to go with the blunt truth. ¡°Because this alliance wouldn''t have lasted very long until either Hector or I would have been dead. In turn, partnering up with Magnus was the right thing to do. One could hardly claim we had time for romance, but from the few conversations we had, I could already tell our interests and goals would align. We are both people who strive for more. Together, we will be indefinitely more powerful than Hector and I would ever be.¡±


    ¡°Foolish!¡± my father interjected. ¡°This can only end in blood. What could some ''exile'' have to offer someone like you? You could have had anything you wanted. You are a Frost ¨C no less than if you were our flesh and blood.¡±


    I forced myself not to lash out at my father. He wasn''t an evil man, but the possibility of better cooperation with the Mora had him blind to everything else.


    ¡°Personal power,¡± I replied at last in a language my father could understand. ¡°If Magnus and I get the opportunity to develop further, we might as well become the two most powerful individuals this clan has ever seen. He lucked out with a unique mutation that fits mine perfectly!¡±


    ¡°I can see you didn''t wait for our approval before you joined with him.¡± My mother sighed. ¡°Show me what you can do. There must be a very good reason for you to have taken this path.¡±


    This was what Magnus and I had been training for.


    I looked around and grabbed an ornamental rock crystal from the nearby tea table. It was just as big as my fist and therefore perfect for my demonstration. Then I approached my parents and offered it to them. ¡°Take it.¡±


    My father rolled his eyes and reached for the crystal, but my hand blurred to the side.


    He tried again, but I always kept it tantalizingly just out of his reach until he flailed his arm around in an attempt to simply hit the crystal out of my hand. Our interplay looked like I was mocking him. Which I was ¨C a little.


    ¡°Impressive,¡± Mom commented with a raised eyebrow. She had been watching us intently. ¡°I''ve never heard of a speed evolution that''s already so potent in its early stages. You might be right about grooming this ability.¡±


    ¡°Magnus and I are still working on it, but we believe moving our whole bodies like this is just a matter of training. Till now, we are still restricted to only a part of our body. But that''s not all.¡± I raised my hand and drew a few sparks of lightning between my fingers. ¡°Bioelectricity! And we can conduct it through our filaments. Magnus can create a charge large enough to make you believe you''ve been hit by a lightning strike.¡±


    I looked at Magnus. ¡°Show them the other thing you''ve been working on.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and looked around as if searching for a hidden spy.


    ¡°They are trustworthy,¡± I reassured him.


    Magnus sighed and drew the utility knife from his belt. ¡°This is supposed to become the hidden ace up my sleeve, you know...¡± He spun it around on top of his palm and it kept spinning.


    It took my parents a few moments to process the fact that the knife was a good five centimetres above his hand without showing any intention of falling back down.


    The kicker came when Magnus turned his palm around, and with it the knife until it hung beneath his hand.


    I turned back to my parents. ¡°And that''s just what we got within the last few weeks. Mind you, we didn¡¯t even have time to truly concentrate on our abilities. Imagine us having another year to grow without distractions.¡±


    ¡°It looks like a promising combination of mutations,¡± Dad admitted grudgingly. ¡°But your powers were still chosen for Hector. A union with him wouldn''t have been any less formidable. For you to take some exile over him is inconceivable. For what did he get exiled anyway? Have you asked him?¡±


    ¡°Hector is a twisted brat, and you know it. His parents went a risky route with his mutations and they lost their gamble,¡± I shot back, angry that Dad was speaking about Magnus as if he wasn''t in the room. ¡°Magnus possesses qualities far beyond that.¡±


    I looked towards my partner and nodded encouragingly.


    Magnus cleared his throat. ¡°First of all, greetings. I am glad to meet my parents in law. My name is Magnus, though I am going by Tulkas in public. As for why I am here, one could say it was a voluntary exile. I am part of an organisation on Earth that isn''t happy with the government''s way of doing things. It took us a long time to catch on, but we finally realized Tirnanog is being used for something more sinister than a penal colony...¡±


    He launched into a lengthy explanation of the abductions and his involvement with the organisation. It included his sister''s faked deaths and how it sparked his quest for vengeance.


    When Magnus arrived at the point of his arrival in Tirnanog, the Tates ¨C Thalia''s parents, arrived.


    We interrupted for a short introduction and recount with Sienna and Richard Tate. Thalia¡¯s parents looked like normal humans, aside from their leathery wings. Sienna was a diminutive woman who had problems reaching my chin with her forehead, but she was the fiercest person I knew.


    Comparatively, Richard was a hulk of a man who towered above everyone in the room. Despite his intimidating looks, he always deferred to his wife for some reason I wasn''t aware of. Except for when there was something alcoholic to drink. Even Sienna couldn''t stop her husband when he had booze in front of him.


    Once we were done with introductions, I took over detailing the events that led me to grasp the chance of taking Magnus as my partner. There was no point in switching back to Tulkas for the explanations since Thalia found out his real identity when Ivona let it slip.


    I had no illusions she would spill the beans to her parents anyway, but the Tates had been trustworthy allies of our family for generations.


    I didn''t try to deceive my parents as I explained. Magnus and I couldn''t claim love as our reason to join forces. The mere attempt at selling our relationship as such would have been folly. A few conversations just weren''t enough to get to know each other well enough.


    We were two people who came together through circumstance and chance. It simply so happened that our goals aligned and the fact that we didn''t dislike satisfying our carnal instincts only helped.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I also ensured to make it clear that while our coming together was a pragmatic choice, the last few weeks showed Magnus and I worked well together. In my mind, it didn''t have to be said that we were developing our bonds in earnest. The ring Magnus bought me despite his meagre earnings as a newcomer to this world was just one proof of our developing relationship.


    It took me time to lay out the whole story, but my parents had to understand the timeline behind the various events that culminated in the Thich''s decision to send a raiding party after us.


    Thankfully, I had more than enough time to think about my narrative during the trek.


    My mother only interrupted once when she asked what had become of the twins in our care.


    Thalia shared that her people had taken them in until suitable adoptive parents could be found.


    I finished the story with my decision to preserve the surviving Thich as witnesses and our subsequent trek back to the clan. In the face of everything that had happened, our encounter with the Abominations seemed like a mere afterthought.


    It was quite the story to dump on someone, so I couldn''t blame my parents, nor the Tates, for staying silent for several minutes after we finished bringing them up to date.


    Mom was the first to move when she sighed and massaged her temple. ¡°That can only mean another war. There is no question the Thich broke the treaty with their attack. The fact their highest officer from the Old Camp was present doesn''t even allow them to deny responsibility.¡±


    ¡°But it comes at an inconvenient time,¡± Dad continued the thought. ¡°The possibility for retaliation will be closed due to the snow. I am not certain that we will be able to gather enough support a few months down the line. There are those in the Council who will see this as nothing more than a mistake of the youth.¡±


    He growled and shook his head. ¡°But we will have weeks to deal with the Thich. For now, the immediate issues have to be taken care of. Like the broken alliance with the Mora.¡±


    ¡°Or us taking in the Thich witnesses,¡± Mom added.


    ¡°We will?¡± Dad pulled down the corners of his mouth, clearly not liking the idea.


    ¡°We have to,¡± Mom answered. ¡°You know the others. Without something substantial to apply pressure on the naysayers, many will desire to preserve the status quo. Astra showed incredible restraint when she decided to take prisoners.¡±


    ¡°This cannot go unanswered,¡± Sienna exclaimed furiously. One moment she sat statuesque, then she shot to her feet. ¡°If I understood correctly, then they almost killed my Thalia. And they poisoned Annie''s granddaughter! I have to see her as soon as possible. She will be so distraught.¡±


    ¡°We are on your side,¡± Mom assured Sienna. ¡°But Etan is partly right in this. The first thing we have to do is to return to the Hall of Law and talk to the other families. They must''ve already heard about Astra''s transgressions and gathered like the molerats they are.¡±


    ¡°My transgressions?¡± I exclaimed, shocked my mother would say such a thing. ¡°I moved perfectly within the clan''s law!¡±


    Teresa rolled her eyes. ¡°We know that. But that''s not how the Mora and some of the others will paint it. We have to get there before they summon us with some bogus accusations of attacking sanctioned guards. Even if you were right to keep the Thich out of their hands. It wouldn''t have been unthinkable for them to encounter some unfortunate accident during incarceration.¡±


    She got to her feet and gestured for us to follow before she stopped and turned back.


    Mom''s eyes fell on Ivona. ¡°It would be best for the girl not to be there at all. You stay here.¡±


    ¡°But I want to stay with my brother!¡± Ivona protested.


    My mother looked towards Magnus. ¡°The best thing that can happen at the Council is for them to think her just some exile tag-along who isn''t supposed to be there and her to get thrown out. But that won''t happen. At worst, they will have one of the Thich they want to get their hands upon right in front of them. And if I understood your story correctly, she is our main proof the Thich are up to something sinister.¡±


    Magnus considered my mother''s words, then turned to his sister. ¡°You stay in this house...¡± He frowned. ¡°Cave? Tunnel?¡± He looked towards me.


    I sighed. ¡°Just go with estate or living quarters. The people who are living down here also often use ¡®rooms¡¯ to refer to their private spaces.¡±


    Thalia placed a hand on Ivona¡¯s shoulder. ¡°They are right. Right now, you shouldn¡¯t be walking around without protection. The Frosts can protect you as long as you stay in their estate. The other families have no authority here. It would take the approval of the entire Council to force us to surrender someone under our protection.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Sienna added, reminding us that she was also an elder.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Ivona amended and looked at me. ¡°But you are getting him back here.¡±


    Magnus smirked.


    I only frowned. ¡°I think he is plenty capable of taking care of himself.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s settled, then let¡¯s go,¡± Dad grumbled. ¡°I fear what¡¯s happening without us at the Hall of Law.¡±


    On the way out, my parents gave their staff instructions to take care of Ivona.


    Outside, the Tates got into their carriage with Thalia, while we took the one I came with.


    Moments later, Magnus and I were facing our parents. Which was quite awkward, to say the least. They still hadn¡¯t commented on what they thought about their new son in law.


    I found myself wringing my sweaty palms while I tried to think of the best way to break the ice.


    Thankfully, Magnus seemed unaware of the atmosphere. ¡°Sooo¡­ how is this going to play out? I am blissfully unaware of the involved politics. Do I stand aside and stay quiet unless spoken to?¡±


    My father¡¯s grumpy expression turned thoughtful. ¡°Be polite when one of the other elders talks to you. If they make trouble, refer to me. Don¡¯t take shit from anyone else ¡®son¡¯. The elders and those under their leadership are two different pairs of shoes. An elder can¡¯t be seen openly interfering with the lesser members of another family.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± Magnus asked with a smirk. ¡°Your son?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡± Dad¡¯s expression turned distasteful once more. ¡°Don¡¯t shame me. I haven¡¯t lived for one hundred and seventeen years to witness my family¡¯s descent.¡±


    Magnus blinked, his facade breaking for just a moment. ¡°You are looking good for your age.¡±


    Dad tried to reply, but Mom cut him off by placing a hand on his thigh. ¡°Maybe we should give Magnus the benefit of the doubt. He is partnered with Astra and that won¡¯t change ¨C no matter what we might want.¡±


    She turned to us. ¡°When Etan said you are not to take shit from anyone other than an elder, he meant the Mora will be trying to test you. If they manage to humiliate you in front of the other families, we might be seen as weak. I would recommend for you to demonstrate your power at the first opportunity they give you. The warriors and houseguards at the meeting should all be on your level. Relatively weak paired warrior types or unpaired warriors. If an elder makes trouble, either Etan or I will step in.¡±


    Magnus grinned and looked at me. ¡°I was right when I judged your people to employ cut throat politics!¡±


    I huffed. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been preaching about the various families for days. So you wouldn¡¯t offend the wrong person.¡±


    ¡°That train seems to have left,¡± Magnus answered cheerfully. ¡°The Mora don¡¯t sound like the type of people who would allow their women to get snatched away.¡±


    I pinched his side. ¡°You didn¡¯t snatch me away because they never had me.¡±


    Magnus returned his attention to my parents. ¡°Why did you suggest the guards are weak? Shouldn¡¯t they be the most powerful people around?¡±


    Mom shook her head. ¡°Nobody on the power level of an elder would waste his or her time with guard-duty. The family elites are being held back as much as possible in case there is a coup. Flaunting our full power in front of everyone would only give them the information they would need to take us out. Them not knowing our true capabilities is a much more effective deterrent.¡±


    Our discussion was interrupted when the carriage stopped.


    We had returned to the central cavern. Only this time we were on a much higher level.


    Magnus didn¡¯t get the time to appreciate the view, because we quickly hurried through an old blast door that stood five metres high and ten wide. It was withered from age, showing it had been there since the colony¡¯s beginning.


    The large corridor led us directly into the Hall of Law.


    The hall was generously spaced and shaped like an amphitheatre. The audience sat in a semi-circle in front of the large pedestal that elevated the speaker above the front rows.


    Magnus took my upper arm and squeezed it before he nodded at the black block of stone that served as the stage. ¡°Bingo.¡±


    I looked back and forth between him and the stage before I remembered this morning¡¯s conversation. ¡°No shit. You are serious?¡± A strange excitement ran through me as I contemplated the implications. Could this old piece of technology be reactivated? What could the Aerie gain from it? Could the code reactivate other old systems that lay dormant since the colony was abandoned?


    ¡°Teresa and Etan Frost, what do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    My attention was drawn back to the here and now when I realized my parents were already addressing the hall full of outraged elders and some of their advisors. Each strata had two elders as representatives, and all of them were present to flex their muscles.


    The woman who currently held the stage was Juliana Rumen and at her side was Skye Rumen. Together, they were the elders of the first strata and the de-facto figureheads of the Council of elders.


    My father stepped forward. ¡°If you give us the chance to explain, everything will be settled to your satisfaction. I can assure you there were good reasons for everything that happened. Suffice it to say, our earlier decision to take in the Thich was lacking some important details...¡±


    My parents were still explaining the situation, so I used the chance to point out the various families for Magnus while I whispered to him.


    Ordered from the highest to the lowest strata, there were the Rumens, the Lloyds and Moras. Then came Frost, Hall and White. Tate, Smyth, Blare, Torres, Ortega, Kline, Patel, Brien, and last were the Walsh. Each either controlled a particular trait of the clan or provided a special service that allowed them to stay in power.


    My own family was renowned for our ability to hunt in the most dangerous parts of Mount Aerie¡¯s natural cave system. And the Tates had a monopoly on what remained of the colony¡¯s medical system.


    Our silent exchange ended when my father finished his abbreviated version of the Thich¡¯s attack and my decision to take in the defeated survivors.


    Juliana Rumen studied us with a deep frown before she spoke, ¡°I suppose it explains your daughter¡¯s vehemence at the railway station. Though, I would say injuring the guard captain was a little over the top. They had to hospitalize him with severe burns and a malfunctioning nerve system. Peculiar.¡±


    She seemed slightly displeased with us but was also curious how that could have happened.


    My father looked at me and I realized he wanted me to speak up.


    I took a step forward. ¡°Elder, as I see it, I acted in self-defence. The guard captain ignored my station and tried to restrain my movements and those under my care. From our conversation, I got the impression the men who were sent to extract the Thich out of my protection weren¡¯t aware of their significance. I merely insisted on my rights to prevent unfortunate accidents.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Juliana pursed her lips.


    Kyra Mora rose to her feet. ¡°Juliana, I think we should also address Astra¡¯s unfaithfulness.¡± She rested a hand on her son¡¯s shoulder while she made an expression like she was the scorned party. Hector looked just like the man-child I remembered. Unable to control his emotions, he looked like he would pop all the blood vessels on his forehead.


    Magnus leaned over and whispered. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡±


    ¡°I told you something went wrong with one of his mutations,¡± I hissed back. ¡°He lacks self-control.¡±


    ¡°Then he shouldn¡¯t be at a meeting like this one,¡± Magnus pointed out.


    ¡°Unless it¡¯s intentional. I can¡¯t remember him ever attending a Council session, but it makes sense for him to be here when he is supposed to be the wronged party,¡± I replied while my mother stepped forward.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call my daughter unfaithful!¡± Mom barked back. ¡°Necessity might dictate us to practise some morally questionable things, but last I know, we force nobody to partner up with someone they don¡¯t want. Your son failed to sway my daughter for years and it was perfectly within her right to choose another once the opportunity arose.¡±


    ¡°We had a deal!¡± Alex Mora stood up next to his wife.


    ¡°A deal neither of us will be cashing in on,¡± Dad replied. ¡°I am sorry, but this engagement fell through.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Hector screamed and jumped over the table. ¡°That bitch was promised to me and I had to wait for her for years because she played hard to get. And now she just takes some random exile from the Old Camp? That¡¯s an insult unequalled!¡±


    He stomped towards us, pointing his finger while spit flew from his lips.


    I readied myself, but before he could touch me, Magnus¡¯s arm shot out and he grabbed Hector¡¯s pointing hand.


    Magnus struck once, twice, thrice.


    I think nobody intervened immediately because what Magnus did looked so inelegant. Like a child raining hammer blows on his opponent. Despite that, it also happened quite fast.


    The first hit struck Hector¡¯s arm, breaking it so his joint bent in a direction that wasn¡¯t intended by nature.


    The second and third hits struck Hector¡¯s side with an unhealthy ¡®crack¡¯. First in the upper torso, then in the lower, aiming at his lung and liver.


    Lastly, Magnus¡¯s hand chopped down right at where he was holding Hector. With what I could only describe as a mixture between a sucking sound and a pop, Hector lost his index finger before he stumbled backwards.


    Hector gasped while he futilely continued his attempt at pointing. It took him five more seconds to rationalize his agony before he started screaming, followed by blood bubbling up from his throat.


    ¡°Hector!¡± His mother jumped to his side and helped him to lie down. ¡°Someone, help him! He''s unable to get air into his lungs!¡±


    ¡°Insolence!¡± Alex Mora also shot from his table, but his advance was stopped when a shimmering tentacle separated from my father¡¯s regalia and slashed the air in front of the other elder. It was an almost imperceptible blur but was enough to return the other man to his senses.


    ¡°Control yourself,¡± Dad hissed. ¡°Your son was out of line when he insulted my daughter!¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear.¡± Sienna Tate separated from the crowd and kneeled next to Hector. A web of veins broke through the skin of her palm before she placed it on his chest. ¡°Hold him down.¡±


    ¡°That bastard tried to kill my son!¡± Alex pointed at Magnus. ¡°Everyone saw it!¡±


    My partner pointedly looked at the elder¡¯s finger. Alex Mora followed his gaze and to his embarrassment quickly drew back the appendage.


    Magnus slowly cleared his throat. ¡°I educated him on the proper way to address my wife. Pointing fingers is not the way.¡± Magnus pointed Hector¡¯s index finger at Alex. ¡°If I had wanted to, I could have smashed your son¡¯s head in and be done with it. He is still living thanks to me holding back.¡±


    The elder paled slightly at that. Whether in horror over having his son¡¯s finger pointed at him, or anger, I couldn¡¯t say.


    One thing was for sure. Alex was livid now.


    Sienna cleared her throat, which defused the situation somewhat. ¡°Can I have that? We might be able to reattach it without him having to grow a new one.¡±


    Magnus looked at the finger, shrugged, and threw it to her.


    Alex turned to Juliana who looked slightly disinterested by the drama playing out in front of her. ¡°I demand satisfaction! He is a warrior type and partnered! My son had no chance!¡±


    ¡°And I told you to control your son when I allowed you to bring him here,¡± Juliana intoned. ¡°Everyone could see he was emotionally unstable. I am sorry for your situation, but it isn¡¯t like you couldn¡¯t have prevented it by not bringing him in here in the first place.¡±


    Her eyes settled on Sienna. ¡°Will he be fine?¡±


    ¡°Two broken ribs and the arm. He will curse being alive for a week or two, but he should make a full recovery,¡± the healer reported.


    Juliana sighed and looked at us. ¡°Do restrain yourselves in the future. It was apparent you could have subdued him without sullying the floor with blood.¡±


    For a moment, Magnus seemed like he didn¡¯t know what to do, then he bowed slightly in front of the elder. ¡°Of course.¡±


    I took my partner¡¯s arm and pulled him with me behind my parents, away from the other elders¡¯ attention. My father gave Magnus a look like he wanted to say he had overdone it, but Magnus answered with an expression that said he was only doing as instructed.


    ¡°I could have dealt with him myself,¡± I whispered. ¡°I am not some flower that has to be protected.¡±


    ¡°Obviously, but your parents said it was I who they would want to test,¡± Magnus replied. ¡°Getting in an underhanded blow before anyone started to question our power seemed like the best way to stop any further challenges in their tracks.¡±


    I wanted to give a snide retort, but Magnus was partly right. If there were no further troubles, we would get out of here just fine. ¡°Your play was still risky.¡±


    ¡°Clan Aerie still needs to know the reason,¡± Juliana drew everyone¡¯s attention back to herself. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Teresa Frost¡¯s daughter broke a long honed alliance without reason. What mutation did your partner offer you, Astra? I can hardly believe you did it for a mere strength and speed mutation.¡±


    I drew in a breath and looked to my parents, which was requited with a nod from my father.


    Magnus clapped his hands together, then separated them, drawing out an arm-thick lightning arc that flickered for a few seconds before it fizzled out, leaving behind the smell of ozone.


    Some people blinked, blinded by the light of the plasma arc.


    Thanks to Magnus¡¯s comparatively larger muscle mass, his demonstration was far more impressive than what I could have produced.


    ¡°Which animal?¡± Skye Rumen asked from next to his wife, taking an active part in this meeting for the first time.


    ¡°A zipper as primary,¡± I divulged.


    Juliana looked interested for the first time. ¡°Then we will be watching your future development.¡±


    She slapped her palm down on the table in the traditional sign that this meeting was over. ¡°We will wait for the Frosts to deliver a detailed report on what happened. Once all the other expedition members of the recruitment trip have given their written accounts, we will meet again to decide on further actions. The issue between the Frost and the Mora family is of no concern to the Council of elders. It¡¯s their problem to settle.¡±


    With that, the various families filed out of the Hall of Law under a lot of grumbling.


    I took Magnus¡¯s hand and smiled at him, knowing our story had just begun.

 Ch 29 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Teresa and Etan Frost regarded me in a way which felt very uncomfortable. At my age, and considering the solitary lifestyle I enjoyed before I came to this world, I would have never expected to find myself in a situation such as this one.


    It felt embarrassing to sit in front of my woman¡¯s parents to be scrutinized like some teenager who she had brought home.


    I looked around their living room, hoping that Astra would return soon, but my better half had ''stepped out'' with my little sister in tow, which left me to suffer her parents¡¯ inspection alone. We had returned to their estate right after the Council meeting, much to Ivona''s relief.


    When they just kept staring at me, I looked down at myself. ¡°Do I still have Hector''s blood somewhere?¡± I thought I washed it all off back in the washroom at the Hall of Law.


    ¡°I wasn''t certain whether my daughter made the right decision, but at least it doesn''t look like you are squeamish,¡± Teresa mused while she kept staring. ¡°But I can''t help but think she made a terrible mistake. Tell me, Magnus. How are you two going to get your hands on more zipper DNA?¡±


    ¡°I don''t understand,¡± I replied, not knowing what this was about.


    ¡°Zippers are notoriously hard to catch. And they swarm when attacked,¡± Teresa explained. ¡°Getting meaningful amounts of meat is both incredibly hard and dangerous. Add their intelligence to this behaviour and they seldomly fall for a trap twice. Most times, they even send out a scout to check whether a carcass is safe before the rest of the flock swoops in. That''s why most experienced people won''t even attempt to harvest them.¡±


    I licked my lips, remembering the Faraday cage with the skeleton at zippershit creek. ¡°Well, having the mutation made me almost immune to their electric shocks. And I found a better way than trying to catch one, though finding a way to domesticate them would be nice. In the meantime, it was enough for us to harvest their eggs at one of their hatching grounds.¡±


    Should I mention their daughter had been shat upon by hundreds of the little monsters?


    Probably not.


    ¡°What other abilities did you bring to the table?¡± Etan asked. ¡°I can see you got some nightstalker. That''s a good sensory asset.¡±


    I quickly rattled off Gurney''s evaluation. It felt so long ago, but it had been just a few weeks since we said our goodbyes. I had to remember to write him and Mark a letter. Maybe I would include Nolan, the blacksmith. His spetum had served me well, but after almost a month''s travel the blade urgently needed maintenance.


    ¡°We have to stock up on some of those,¡± Etan mused to himself. ¡°I am afraid the zipper issue is something we won''t be able to help you with. Nobody is insane enough to hunt them for a living.¡±


    ¡°We should still have a month''s worth of egg yolks for both of us,¡± I pointed out.


    A woman entered the room with a folder in her hands and smiled. ¡°I have the documents, sire, lady.¡±


    Teresa waved her over and took the folder from her, together with an archaic-looking fountain pen. She retrieved a single piece of paper from the folder and placed it on the tea table in front of me. ¡°Sign this.¡±


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I squinted my eyes at the pretty document. It quite clearly stated my name in golden letters.


    ¡°A formality. Your deed of acceptance into the Frost family,¡± Teresa explained. ¡°You are a part of clan Aerie now and therefore need the proper documents as our daughter''s partner.¡±


    I flew over the text, noting it only stated the date of my arrival and that I was joined with Astra Frost and therefore part of the Frost family. Not seeing any harm in it, I took the fountain pen before I hesitated.


    ¡°Which name should I go with?¡± I asked, more so to myself than my parents in law.


    Etan scoffed. ¡°Just go with Tulkas if you are worried about traitors. This is just a formality to register you in the clan.¡±


    I thought about it before I signed with my real name, not wanting to smudge my relationship with Astra with a fake name. ¡°It will be interesting to see whether someone will take an interest in these documents. When someone asks about the inconsistency, I can just claim that Tulkas is my nickname.¡±


    It felt strange to write my name after so many weeks in the wild, but by taking my time, I managed to make it look passable.


    ¡°Wonderful.¡± Teresa took the document back. ¡°Now we just have to get your sister to sign hers and the other elders will squabble for nothing once they realize her importance.¡±


    I tilted my head and studied the pretty woman who didn''t look much older than Astra.


    Teresa was a beauty, but her features and face were much softer than Astra''s, making it quite obvious that the two weren''t related. Compared to my better half, she could also boast a larger chest.


    Not that I was a chest guy. Astra''s hips and by extension her hourglass figure were equally attractive, even if she was much less endowed.


    ¡°How would that work?¡± I asked, remembering just in time not to stare. ¡°I understand I practically married into the family, but my sister doesn''t have any such claim.¡±


    ¡°You have to get over your Earth conventions, boy,¡± Etan grumbled. ¡°We do no such thing as marriage. Marriage was a thing that could be all too easily broken up. Here on Tirnanog, we take a partner for life and that''s it. There is no backing out.¡±


    ¡°I never intended to back out,¡± I corrected him with a glare. Gurney had been clear enough about this part of my new reality when he recruited me for his program.


    ¡°Anyways,¡± Teresa interrupted. ¡°What my dear partner meant to say is we will simply adopt your sister and make her part of the Frosts. The Council won''t have any legal way to get to her, even if they somehow manage to win a vote.¡±


    ¡°Is it necessary?¡± I asked. ¡°Can''t she just stay here at your estate as long as the Tates won''t vote against her? And why are you still so afraid that the other clans would want to get their hands on her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it''s necessary,¡± Teresa answered with a stern expression. ¡°It''s just a matter of time until they realize her importance. Politically, as a witness, and potentially for her abilities. Once that happens, someone will try to get power over her. And she can''t stay restricted to this estate forever. Once she is part of the clan, she will be persona non-grata for the other families. As for the Tates, they are our allies, but I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say they can¡¯t be pressured. There are scenarios which would force them to choose between the well-being of their clan and¡­¡±


    She waved her hand and left the rest unsaid.


    ¡°It''s fine,¡± Ivona spoke from the door. ¡°Astra explained everything to me while we were refreshing ourselves.¡±


    I turned and found my sister and Astra entering the room.


    She walked over to our benefactors and signed her adoption papers. ¡°I don''t like it, but it makes sense under the circumstances. It''s not like I would be able to stand being cooped up for months until it''s time to get my sister.¡±


    I forced myself to smile, knowing there would be an argument between the two of us as soon as the winter was over. She would want to leave with me, while I was inclined to have her stay here in safety while I searched for our youngest. But for now, I said nothing.


    Astra clapped her hands together, drawing my attention. ¡°Now that''s settled, why don''t we pay Thalia''s family a visit? I already organised an appointment at their clinic!¡±


    ¡°Clinic?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Astra took my hand and pulled me to my feet. ¡°Do you remember the issue with our poison resistance? We have to let an expert check out our situation. I am also sure they might have suggestions on how to improve ourselves. Ivona, you should come too. Maybe they can learn something about this mystery evolution of yours.¡±


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Please take some guards with you,¡± Teresa said regally while she added Ivona¡¯s adoption papers to the folder. ¡°I doubt anyone would be bold enough to intercept a carriage with our crest on it, but one cannot be too careful.¡±


    Ivona and I were dragged off by Astra and half an hour later we arrived in the Tate''s clinic through another tunnel.


    The Tate''s medical services were a semi-public institution. They took payment from those who could pay, while less wealthy people got access to their abilities for free.


    I was a little baffled to find members of the Tates walking around in doctor''s outfits when we walked down a white hallway a few minutes later.


    ¡°You are staring,¡± Astra informed me with a frown.


    ¡°Sorry, just surprised,¡± I returned my focus to following my partner. ¡°Back at the Old Camp, everything was so... ''rustic fallback medieval style''. This place is more like Earth than I expected. Maybe early 20th century?¡±


    Astra sighed and nodded. ¡°The Old Camp''s social structure broke down. They aren''t capable of supporting a society like this one. They also don''t have the numbers. There are at most a thousand people in the Old Camp. Clan Aerie has over twenty thousand.¡±


    We entered a large room where we were greeted by a familiar face.


    ¡°Astra!¡±


    Thalia gave Astra a friendly hug and extended the same gesture to Ivona. ¡°I''ve gotten my mother to check you guys out. You will have the best assistance possible!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Astra beamed. ¡°That''s better than I hoped for.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and just so you know, we have Hector in one of the lower recovery wards,¡± Thalia explained with a grin. ¡°Sienna takes every chance she gets to avoid that area. Maybe you should avoid the place if you don¡¯t want to run into the Moras.¡±


    ¡°Don''t talk bad about people who aren''t responsible for their actions,¡± Sienna Tate entered the room with a sheet of paper in her hand. ¡°That poor boy was set on a path he couldn''t walk. If anyone can be blamed, then it¡¯s his parents. They gambled for power and lost.¡±


    ¡°Didn''t look like it to me,¡± I mumbled before I could stop myself.


    Sienna nodded and turned her attention to me. ¡°That''s the problem. Nobody considers Hector¡¯s history when he flips out in front of people. His parents allowed him to take on the evolutions of a rockshell and a spiker. Both are very aggressive species and as it is with many mutations, their instincts carry over to the recipient. Added on top is the issue of Hector being an impressionable teenager at the time and the problem becomes obvious.¡±


    ¡°I can''t say I felt much of these instincts you are talking about,¡± I admitted. ¡°Well, aside from my mouth watering when I see raw meat.¡±


    ¡°Then you are in luck, but that''s why we are here to take a look at you,¡± Sienna replied. ¡°First, we take a blood sample.¡±


    ¡°You still have working medical devices?¡± Ivona asked with big, round eyes.


    ¡°Nothing too sophisticated,¡± Sienna admitted. ¡°But we retain a lot of the knowledge. There doesn''t need to be a high technological level for some simple analysis. Things like how fast your blood clots, how your immune system reacts to foreign intrusions, your blood-cell count... Such things are easily done without sophisticated automation.¡±


    She walked over to a locker at the wall and took out three stacks of baggy training suits. ¡°Get yourselves dressed so that we can begin.¡±


    For the next two hours, Sienna ran us through a series of tests.


    Not only were our physical abilities evaluated through various exercises on training tools, but the Tates also had machinery for evaluating our sensory abilities.


    To test my control over my Second Sight, I had to sit in a closed off room, one of the few I had encountered so far which had electrical lighting. Then they varied the light levels to see how fast I could adjust.


    Sienna even thought up a way to test my ability to create electricity by having me charge a bank of lead batteries that were rigged together to function as one of the clinic''s power backup systems.


    Our final stop was Sienna¡¯s office where she had us sit on a comfortable couch while she organized the testing results.


    ¡°You are probably the densest source of energy we have access to,¡± Sienna mused after finishing a few calculations. ¡°If we had a few dozen people with your evolution, we could probably find a way to solve the colony''s energy problems.¡± She looked at me with a smirk. ¡°I do hope you and Astra have immediate plans at procreation.¡±


    ¡°Err...¡± I swallowed, not knowing how to react to this bluntness.


    ¡°We are trying,¡± Astra replied in my stead.


    ¡°Good!¡± Sienna returned to her documentation. ¡°Though, it can take months for a newly partnered pair to be successful.¡±


    I shook my head at their open-mindedness on this topic. ¡°How exactly would that even work ¨C if it works?¡± I asked. ¡°Do eventual children come out with all the evolutions of their parents or...¡±


    ¡°It''s always a mix between the parents'' primary evolutions,¡± Sienna explained. ¡°For you, it would be the zipper and for Astra, it''s the treemonae. Your children will gain random traits from both sides until what could be called their primary evolution slots are filled up. Once they get older, they will be able to gain new evolutions just like any previously normal human.¡±


    ¡°If they aren''t monsters,¡± Astra pointed out dejectedly.


    Thalia explained further when she saw the question in my eyes. ¡°Sometimes, evolutions can leave the parents just fine but have their offspring turn out... inviable. Imagine someone like Hector who is semi-functional in our society, though he is an extreme case. Pair him up with another person who has problematic evolutions. Now imagine one of their children rolling the worst-case scenario.¡±


    I winced. ¡°The kid gets all the fucked up traits and none of the good. How bad can this get?¡±


    Thalia pressed her lips together.


    Astra shrugged. ¡°One of my childhood friends fell in love with someone she shouldn''t. They partnered up and tried their luck anyway. The outcome was horrible, like in one of those bad horror movies. The guard had to seal their living quarters and burn everything in them. Otherwise, we would have had another Abomination case on our hands.¡±


    I looked at Astra, unable to hide my horrified expression. Did they burn the parents too? I didn''t want to ask.


    ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Sienna assured me. ¡°That''s very unlikely to happen in your case. Astra didn''t only watch how your skills match, but also what would happen in case of random intermingling of your base traits.¡±


    ¡°How can you say that?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought you knew nothing about the zipper mutation before I came here?¡±


    Sienna rolled her eyes. ¡°Indeed, there are never guarantees with new evolutions, but everything I see hints that there should be no issues. None of your mutations overlaps. You are both sane and not affected much by your instincts.¡±


    Astra looked at a wall. ¡°That¡¯s why I talked to you several times before I proposed. It wasn¡¯t enough to get to know you, but I at least needed to see how your evolution affected your emotional state.¡±


    ¡°Which brings us to the conclusion of your situation,¡± Sienna added cheerfully while she rifled through the stack of documents which she had accumulated over the course of two hours. ¡°I can say Gurney got it almost right, given his limited access to testing equipment. In the case of the Carrion Eater trait, he simply lacked the full picture. I would reclassify Carrion Eater as a more general form of ''Carrion Metabolism''. Which also explains your poison resistance.¡±


    ¡°So, any suggestions on how to proceed?¡± Astra asked.


    Sienna pursed her lips. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take a new evolution for as long as you think you can still advance your current abilities. Magnus still hasn¡¯t grown his filaments to their full length, though he should start exercises to form some clothes with them. I cannot comment on the limits of the zipper mutations, but both of you can improve your second sight.¡±


    She stood up and went to get several thin folders. ¡°You two treat the nightstalker¡¯s sensory organs like a second pair of eyes, but they are so much more than that. When I exposed you to a strong source of light, you were blinded for a few seconds. Same for you using Second Sight on the hospital¡¯s water generators. You couldn¡¯t even look at them, but you should be able to gradually control the intensity at which you are using the ability. Like squinting with your eyes.¡±


    I thought back to when Sienna had us look at a generator. With my Second Sight, it was like looking into a furnace. This had me thinking the ability was maybe related to some form of magnetism or energy.


    ¡°Also your Precognition!¡± Sienna continued as she handed us the folders. ¡°Your mastery of it isn¡¯t perfect. Please read these documents and follow the suggested training methods until you think you have reached your limits.¡±


    ¡°As for other ways to improve yourselves.¡± She gave us a mad grin. ¡°Have you two thought of symbionts?¡±


    Astra held the documents to her chest. ¡°I thought of getting one, but wasn¡¯t sure which one. With this new bioelectricity and our immune system, I am even less certain. Wouldn¡¯t the ability kill a symbiont?¡±


    Sienna thought about it. ¡°You are mostly right, but we have records of some symbionts being found in the deeper caverns that should survive bonding with you. And isn¡¯t your family famous for hunting in places that are avoided by others?¡±


    She went to get more folders. ¡°I am thinking of three possibilities in particular. The first is a bloodmantle, a type of pyrosome that guards its host by adding protective features to the blood. Or a mona, an animal that lives in symbiosis with the treemonae in the deep caverns. They fiercely guard their partners with their poison. The last is a slei, a type of slime mould that greatly enhances its wearers¡¯ physical resistances.¡±


    Astra¡¯s expression became a little stiff upon listening to Sienna¡¯s suggestions. ¡°Upon second thought, I will have to reject allowing something slimy to grow on or inside of me. Are there other things that we could look out for?¡±


    I only nodded along with Astra. There was no way I would allow a slime mould to grow on me!


    Sienna thought for a few seconds before she answered. ¡°Hmm. I see you still have no mutation which affects the brain. Alternatively, I would suggest increasing your mental abilities by hunting down a squir. I have the trait myself and must say the boost it gives to mnemonic abilities is considerable. A side effect is that training repetitive skills becomes much easier, since both your muscles and filaments require a high degree of coordination. And I would consider it to be a relatively safe mutation to add to your repertoire.¡±


    We exchanged a few more pointers with Sienna and she loaded us up with stacks of literature to comb through but warned us to check with her before we decided on something.


    Ivona was another matter.


    Her abilities gave her above average speed and exceptional endurance along with physical toughness all across the board. The rumoured connection with her sister was something that Sienna couldn¡¯t test, but I noticed she also didn¡¯t comment on it being impossible.


    And aside from a starfish mutation and the mystery component, my little sister admitted to being a complete blank.


    ¡°Astounding,¡± was Sienna¡¯s only comment on the matter.


    I learned that while Ivona¡¯s abilities were nothing special, it was unknown to encounter them as a complete set in a primary mutation.


    Sienna promised nonetheless to research the matter in her family¡¯s extensive libraries. ¡°I can¡¯t believe none of the Aerie ever got curious about that violet skin. Sadly, I am myself just a little more than fifty years of age. A lot of knowledge was lost when my mother died in the clan wars.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, elder Sienna,¡± Astra bowed to the bubbly doctor and we excused ourselves.


    Loaded with stacks of documents and worn out, we returned to our carriages to call it a day.

 Ch 30 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Both of my companions were studying the documents Sienna had given us.


    I waited until the carriage was well on its way before I asked the question which was bugging me since the doctor had mentioned it. ¡°So, symbionts are a thing here?¡±


    Ivona was the first to react to my question. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask earlier? It looked like Sienna was extremely well versed in anything that relates to health and mutations. You really should have asked her.¡±


    ¡°I was already tired when the matter came up,¡± I admitted. ¡°And quite honestly, I am also becoming numb to all the shit I encountered since I came to this world. From a tree trying to stake me, down to fluffballs with claws as long as my arm. I stopped giving a shit if you excuse the expression.¡±


    Ivona bit her lower lip in concern. ¡°We have to sit down and talk more about what happened to you since we were separated.¡±


    Then my little sister grinned and leaned back in her seat opposite from me. ¡°To answer your question: Yes, symbionts are a thing. Several animals in this world live in symbiosis with each other. If you know how, a human can butt in and replace one of the parties.¡±


    ¡°Though,¡± Astra interjected from her seat next to me. ¡°It is very rare for people to do that. There aren¡¯t many symbionts which can be usurped easily.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I sighed. ¡°The question is moot anyway. I am not going to allow some slime or mould to grow on my privates.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no.¡± My partner affirmed. ¡°Sienna went kind of extreme with those. Most people who accept symbionts find themselves some animal that can assist them with poison, enhancing drugs, or fight at their side. Which is a little hard in our case. We would have to be constantly on the lookout not to electrocute it.¡±


    She drew out a sheet of paper and held it so I could take a look. ¡°It would be a different topic if we find ourselves a bloodmantle. They are known to be highly protective of their host and their resistance to electricity is noted here.¡±


    I looked at a drawn picture of a creature that had similarities with our filaments. The monster was a flying stingray that had an unholy intermingling with several snakes.


    ¡°Not only do they enter a symbiotic relationship by cleansing their partner¡¯s blood, but their blood also enhances their partner with various effects. Like better oxygen transport and resistance to various diseases. Bloodmantle riders are known for their superhuman endurance and ability to survive at elevated heights,¡± Astra explained.


    ¡°Riders?¡± I asked. ¡°That thing is large enough to ride on it?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Astra put the paper back in its place inside the folder. ¡°The older specimens are noted to have a wingspan of thirty metres or more, but I think we would do well with catching a baby to start with.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°Why don¡¯t we catch a dragon to make things easy? That was sarcasm, just so you know. Please say there are no dragons on this world.¡±


    ¡°There are no dragons on this world,¡± Astra affirmed with a smile. ¡°Just creatures who look like them.¡±


    I groaned.


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve already mentioned it, but you probably didn¡¯t comprehend it fully from just talking about it. You have to see the Lloyds¡¯ bestiary farm! It¡¯s more like an airport to be honest because they tamed a sizeable flock of avians.¡± Astra¡¯s eyes wandered off into the distance. ¡°I should probably take you on a tour to all the families so you can see their proficiencies for yourself.¡±


    I held up both hands to stop her. ¡°I think you mentioned something about the Lloyds being the best animal tamers around. Why don¡¯t we do that tomorrow? I am beaten.¡±


    Astra nodded. ¡°We would need an appointment anyway. I will take care of it tomorrow.¡±


    Thankfully, the carriage stopped at that moment. We had reached the estate. I wasn''t ready to call it home, but I hoped it would be.


    I exited first and then tried myself at being a gentleman by first helping my sister and then Astra. Not that either of them needed the help. It was just a nice gesture.


    Astra showed my sister to her new rooms before she linked arms with me and guided me down a hallway to her quarters.


    Though, I quickly found that she had more than enough space for herself to rival a house. Her rooms included a swimming pool with permanently running water and several dome-shaped rooms which almost felt empty, given the high ceiling.


    ¡°This is a little more than just private quarters, Astra. I guess architecture isn¡¯t constricted when you just have to carve out the space you want,¡± I commented while I surveyed the living room. ¡°Someone didn¡¯t like flat surfaces ¨C except for the floor.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Astra replied. ¡°I designed my quarters myself. When I was between eighteen and nineteen.¡±


    I fought not to laugh. ¡°Just admit you didn¡¯t want to measure out the area and just carved away what you wanted.¡±


    She pouted. ¡°That¡¯s not the case. But I do admit that the smoothing touches were done by professionals. My mother said she couldn¡¯t have her daughter live in a cave.¡±


    I finally lost it and laughed despite my tiredness.


    Astra left my side and went over to a round alcove in the wall. ¡°Besides, the shape of these rooms is best to transmit sound and to have it resound properly. I did a lot of measuring before I copied the shape from some old tomes in the library.¡±


    I followed her to the alcove where Astra had stored a sorted collection of old devices. She fiddled with an ancient-looking music player that she had hooked up to a damaged television soundbar.


    Then the room was filled with violin music and a grinning Astra twirled around like a ballerina. She gave me a little show before she swooped back into my arms. We hugged and swayed with the slowly flowing music while we simply enjoyed being in each other¡¯s arms. I sighed and rested my chin on her head, simply relaxing in her warmth.


    It felt so natural that I hardly noticed the time passing before the music came to a gradual stop.


    Astra sighed. ¡°I want to do that again. Tomorrow. And you need dancing lessons.¡±


    ¡°I am in,¡± I affirmed and raised her chin with a finger until I could kiss her.


    The morning came faster than expected.


    I wormed my way out of Astra¡¯s embrace and got washed and dressed before I left our quarters with the firm intention to get myself familiarized with the estate.


    Right outside her rooms, I encountered two guards who didn¡¯t stop me when I strolled past them. I leisurely walked along the central hallway while peeking into all the unlocked rooms.


    Among them, I found a training hall, a library, the living area which I already knew, and what looked like several offices.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    By that point, I realized the estate was huge.


    An hour into my exploration activities, I found the office of the accountant who had brought Teresa my documents. She was a gaunt-looking woman whose filaments were almost brittle compared to all the other Frosts I had seen so far. Introducing myself by asking about her age probably wasn¡¯t the best idea.


    ¡°Hi!¡± I opened the conversation with a grin.


    She looked up from whatever she was doing on her desk and squinted her grey eyes at me as if she had to focus. ¡°What do you want?¡± came the brisk reply.


    ¡°I was just looking around,¡± I continued with what I hoped to be a charming smile. ¡°Getting myself familiarized with the people. My name is Magnus.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± She pursed her lips while she studied me like I was some curiosity.


    My demeanour didn¡¯t falter. ¡°Normally, people respond with an introduction when someone gives his name.¡±


    ¡°My name is Mary Frost,¡± she replied. ¡°I am the family¡¯s head manager.¡±


    I entered the office and sat down across from her. ¡°Manage what? Astra mentioned the family is very involved with hunting in the depths?¡±


    Mary nodded but looked like she wasn¡¯t pleased by me wasting her time. ¡°The Frosts are accomplished hunters. A sizeable part of the family is risking their lives in the natural caverns at all times. We hunt beasts that the other families couldn¡¯t hope to get their hands upon. I manage these hunting expeditions and see to it that the requests from the other families are fulfilled in a timely fashion.¡±


    ¡°How many people do you normally have outside at any given time?¡± I asked.


    She tilted her head. ¡°Do forgive me, but I wasn¡¯t informed which role you will play as the mistress¡¯s consort. Giving you this information is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°I get it,¡± I waved a hand to dismiss the matter as unimportant. ¡°Could I get a guide?¡±


    ¡°A guide?¡± The woman looked confused.


    ¡°I would like to explore the central cavern. Get to know the people. See how they live,¡± I clarified. ¡°Is there someone who can show me around?¡±


    It took a little more prodding, but eventually, Mary set me up with a clansman named Winston to act as my babysitter. Likely more so to get me out of her filaments than to be helpful.


    We left the estate and Winston took me on a trip through the central cavern. It felt a little like being a tourist as I allowed myself to be guided through public living quarters, markets, and entertainment-oriented businesses.


    The Aerie had a real city beneath the mountain.


    On our way out of a market, a vendor caught my eye. He had several huge, organ-shaped stones on display. They ranged from the size of a head to small boulders that I would have trouble lifting alone.


    ¡°What are those?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Monster cores,¡± Winston replied without a second look. ¡°The larger beasts grow them throughout their bodies instead of hearts. They are different from beast to beast, but they are almost biomechanical in nature. The craftsmen value them for their materials. Many are rich in metals or other important elements.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I turned and regarded the stones with more interest. ¡°Is it possible to get them to work outside a monster?¡±


    My guide shrugged. ¡°Not to my knowledge. But if you are interested, you just have to check the warehouses back at the estate. We are the main suppliers of the things.¡±


    I made a mental note to do that and gestured for Winston to lead the way.


    When we walked past a gate with an advertisement that was unmistakable throughout all of humanity¡¯s history, I found myself perplexed to find it here, so I peppered Winston with another question. ¡°How does that even work?¡±


    Winston followed my eyes and coughed, visibly embarrassed.


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡± I urged him on. ¡°We are both adults!¡±


    He looked mortified as he explained, ¡°Well, you know, things only get ¡®dire¡¯ when you stick it in the ¡®correct¡¯ place. As long as you follow that rule, you can allow them to give you a handjob. Or a blowjob. Or just strip for you.¡±


    ¡°So anal works too?¡± I asked, unable to stop myself from torturing the prude.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He looked like I had shot the pope.


    I rolled my eyes and we continued the tour ¨C with me being one experience richer.


    The central cavern was a fantastic place with its winding streets and stairways, but once the uniqueness wore off, I realized it was just like any other city populated by humans.


    But there were too many stairs! If I ever wanted to torture someone, I would just have to give him the task to count every stair in Aerie. The few elevators here and there just couldn¡¯t manage the transport requirements of the citizens. So most of it fell to the inclining streets and stairs.


    The upper sections of the cavern were reserved for government purposes and the larger families with power. There were dedicated living areas in the middle. Commerce, and production were restricted to the lower levels. And furthest down were the areas for the poor. The setup reflected the various strata which Astra had mentioned.


    My tour was interrupted when I came across a gathering of people. The interesting part was that it didn¡¯t seem related to trade or another business. Instead, the people were listening to a guy in a green ceremonial garb as he preached about something.


    I turned to my guide.


    He sighed. ¡°That¡¯s a priest of Gaia. You can walk past the mob and take a look into the church.¡±


    ¡°Publicly practised religion? Seriously?¡± I asked.


    Earth¡¯s government had ended all publicly exercised religions centuries ago, seeing them as just one more excuse which Earth¡¯s multitudes used for warfare. Which didn¡¯t mean religion wasn¡¯t still practised in private.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt on the matter. In my mind, idiots would always find a reason to fight each other. If it wasn¡¯t their belief, then it was the colour of their skin. During the 31st century, the South Americans had somehow managed to start a war over eye colour.


    Okay, maybe Earth¡¯s government had a point in shutting down anything which had the potential for causing unrest.


    I went around the gathering, barely listening to the preacher. It wasn¡¯t like he was talking about something interesting. The main topic of his speech was the power of nature and how people should revere the gifts and opportunities this world was offering them.


    Once I was past the crowd, I entered the church through the flamboyant doors which rivalled the entrance to the Frost¡¯s estate.


    The walls had a stained glass mosaic which showed off Tirnanog¡¯s flora and fauna. I recognized some of the creatures from our trek between the Old Camp and Mount Aerie.


    The ceiling was cone-shaped and seemingly rose to infinity above the central altar at the back of the room. I assumed it was some kind of ventilation shaft.


    Above the altar rose a statue of an indistinct female figure in flowing robes. It wasn¡¯t a sexualized display, but one of reverence that I felt inexplicably drawn to. I wasn¡¯t sure what it was about this place, but I felt the need to acknowledge there was something greater than I.


    Slowly, I walked further into the room, following the red carpet that separated two rows of heavy, stone benches.


    I massaged my chin while I tried to explore this feeling when someone touched my shoulder.


    It was a priestess who had snuck up on me while I had been smitten by the scene.


    ¡°Are you here to join the church of Gaia?¡± the woman asked with a smile on her lips. ¡°Our door stands open for anyone who needs help.¡±


    ¡°What kind of help are you offering?¡± I found myself asking.


    ¡°Help of any kind,¡± the woman replied and slid her hand down my shoulder until she met my hand. ¡°We employ the unemployed and offer help to those who suffer ailments of the mind. We also search for suitable partners within the general population. Gaia¡¯s will is for all people to flourish in this new world.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I replied, still focused on the strange feeling as it rose in intensity. I felt the desire to kneel and spill all my worries to this priestess. It wasn¡¯t so overbearing as to override conscious thought, but it was distracting.


    Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have given a second thought to an emotion, but I had never been a religious person before. I had visited historic churches back on Earth and none of them had incited this need for worship within me.


    As a highly logical person, I never had given in to something like religion. If there was something greater than I, then it was so. If there wasn¡¯t, then there wasn¡¯t. Why would I waste my time worshipping something which likely would never affect me?


    I frowned when I realized my thoughts were slipping.


    ¡°You seem highly troubled,¡± the strange priestess kept speaking. ¡°Why don¡¯t you share your worries? Things are a lot easier to endure when you know you aren¡¯t bearing the weight alone.¡±


    Then I suddenly remembered why this strange sensation of reverence felt so familiar. I had felt it before, only to a much lesser degree when I had been with Thalia.


    I grabbed the priestess¡¯s hand back so she couldn¡¯t escape and charged my muscles, quickly fluctuating the current.


    The woman stuttered and dropped like a puppet who had its strings cut.


    I stopped and let go of her hand, then examined the room once more.


    Suddenly, this was just some church. The artworks and the artistry were nice, but it was just a thing, something made by human hands to look pretty on the eye. Whatever had caused the religious experience was gone and there was little doubt in my mind regarding the cause.


    I couldn¡¯t prevent my lips from curling in disgust when I looked down at the unconscious woman to my feet.


    Then I remembered where I was and quickly looked around. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t see anyone screaming and pointing fingers at me. All the people were in front of the church to listen to their preacher.


    It took me only a few seconds to think before I bent down and grabbed the woman by her robes. Quickly, I dragged her unconscious body between two of the stone benches so she wouldn¡¯t be seen immediately.


    Then I straightened and made sure my attire was sitting correctly.


    With a jovial smile, I strolled out of the church and found my guide leaning against a wall. He was disinterestedly listening to the preacher who still had the crowd¡¯s undivided attention.


    ¡°Seen anything noteworthy?¡± Winston asked once I joined up with him. ¡°Decided to join the congregation?¡±


    I forced myself to smile. ¡°Not anytime soon, though I¡¯ve learned something interesting. How about we return to the estate. I think Astra must be awake by now. There is a lot we have to talk about.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, sir,¡± Winston turned to lead the way with a sudden skip in his step. It was quite apparent he hadn¡¯t been thrilled to play the guide.

 Ch 31 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Our return to the estate went smoother than expected.


    Despite reasoning that my reaction had been logical and justified, some part of me felt guilty about electrocuting the priestess. Not that I had suddenly developed faith in some god I didn''t even know, but there was this tiny titbit about societal norms being ingrained in me.


    While not religious, my parents managed to engender some rules in their children. One of them was not to harm clergy, state officials, or pets. All three cases counted as animal cruelty in their eyes.


    Now, I could officially say I had violated at least two of their guidelines. On some level, I expected a mob of enraged townspeople with torches catching up to us at any moment.


    But none of that happened.


    Which meant I could let out a silent breath of relief when we arrived back at the estate''s entrance hall.


    There was no time to consider my next steps because a familiar face received me.


    Mary Frost stood waiting and looked at me with a disapproving glare. She had the aura of a caretaker who caught a naughty child with his hand in the cookie jar. ¡°Etan wants to see you.¡±


    That woman was the personification of a cold stepmother if I had ever seen one. I nonetheless noticed that my father in law wasn''t Etan Frost to this woman, but Etan.


    ¡°Sure, Mary.¡± I gestured along the corridor. ¡°Please lead the way.¡±


    She turned and walked quickly as if to show me she had lost enough time on this. Her slippers clicked loudly on the hallway¡¯s floor while we walked. Mary didn''t even look to see whether I was following. Her brisk attitude felt somewhat antagonistic towards me, so I decided to test the waters.


    ¡°Excuse me!¡± I hurried to catch up with her. ¡°We don''t know each other that well, but what''s our relationship to each other? I couldn''t help but notice you also have the name Frost.¡±


    Mary shot me one more of those glares, an art she had undoubtedly mastered to perfection. ¡°I am Teresa''s great grandmother.¡±


    That was enough explanation, because she returned her attention to stalking along the corridor, leaving me quite confused.


    The woman looked no older than most people I had seen on this world, which meant she looked to be in the prime of her youth apart from her brittle filaments. Maybe that was a sign of age? Previously, I had attributed it to a quirky mutation unique to her. Astra''s parents also had different filaments.


    The starfish mutation was a quite popular one. While on the streets, I had seen maybe a single woman who looked old. Although, that was from far away. I could have been wrong.


    Anyway, I hadn''t expected Mary to be some great clan-elder who posed as a servant. Then again, being a ''head manager'' wasn''t exactly a small position to be in. And Astra never mentioned family apart from Teresa and Etan.


    Then again, maybe Mary was in a more distant relationship with her great-grandkids? I had to find out how this confusing family structure worked. Maybe Astra''s parents only held political power while Mary was in charge of the family''s daily affairs?


    I didn''t get a chance to ask more questions, because I was ushered into a generously spaced office. Though, the wall to the left was hung with so many animal trophies I could have mistaken it as a hunter''s lodge, which gave the room its unique charm.


    Among the stuffed heads of quite alien creatures, there were also some of what Winston had referred to as monster cores, though from up close they looked more like organs.


    My attention fell on one that was shaped like a flat conglomeration of interwoven infinity loops. It strongly reminded me of a dynamo combined with a membrane pump, a special type of pump that was especially suited to work without contaminating the mechanical components with the pumped liquids. It wasn''t the most effective device but it was especially suited to transport highly corrosive liquids. Or ones which needed to be kept clean. Like blood.


    The two large outlets at each end only increased my suspicion that I was looking at a biomechanical heart.


    Etan was sitting at a neatly organized desk. He interrupted my contemplation of his collection when he gestured for me to sit down across from him. ¡°Welcome, son.¡±


    I did as told while Mary closed the door behind me.


    Etan, despite not looking much older than myself, had an aura of authority and experience around him. It was awkward to know he was my senior by several decades. Normally, I would have never deferred to someone who looked as young as he did.


    My father in law brought out a bottle and two glasses from the drawer next to him and filled them while he weighed me with his eyes. The situation was a little bit unnerving because he didn¡¯t do the serving with his hands, but with his filaments.


    Just why did I feel like I had been locked in the lion''s cave?


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you went out today,¡± Etan opened the discussion. ¡°And that you hit a priestess. I hope you are aware a lot of people are very invested in the church of Gaia. Things could get heated if you do that in public.¡±


    Now that didn¡¯t take long to come to the light of day.


    I decided there wasn¡¯t any point in deflection. ¡°I didn¡¯t hit her,¡± I clarified. ¡°I electrocuted her in self-defence because she tried some Jedi mind-trick on me.¡±


    Etan blinked in surprise. ¡°Not many pick up on the subtle influences that some mutations are capable of. You are lucky the head priest knew of his disciple¡¯s misplaced zealotry and messaged me before turning this into an official incident. Just remember not to talk to anyone about it outside this room.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± I asked. ¡°I never mentioned my name to her or who I am affiliated with.¡±


    ¡°She saw us in your mind.¡± Etan massaged the bridge of his nose. ¡°Listen, Magnus, I am not happy about my daughter picking you out of all people. You might think you have learned a lot, but you still know nothing about this world. But I suppose that¡¯s what I have to work with.¡±


    He slid one of the glasses across the table. ¡°There are dangers outside the clan and within. You have barely seen Tirnanog''s surface.¡±


    I took the glass and leaned back in my chair. Then I warily sniffed at the alcoholic beverage I had been offered. ¡°It would help to know the dangers of walking around in public. I wouldn''t have gone out if I had known it wasn''t safe.¡±


    Etan rolled his eyes. ¡°The dangers within clan Aerie are untold in numbers and that¡¯s why I am so upset with Astra''s decision. If she had just reinforced our alliance with the Mora, all would have been fine. Together, our families would have been able to shield her from any of the other powerful influencers within the clan.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That''s not what I have seen of Astra. She has ambitions beyond being a princess protected inside a golden cage.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He held up a hand to stop me. ¡°That being said, you also have to be aware that the Old Camp is something of a noob-zone. Out here, you are with the big players and facing real monsters. But I have to give you credit for at least taking a guide with you before running off. If you hadn''t, I would have flayed you alive behind closed doors to drill some sense into you.¡±


    I laughed.


    Right up until I realised he was dead serious.


    I took a sip from the beverage, allowing the alcohol to burn my mouth. ¡°So educate me. Gods, is that pure rum?¡±


    ¡°Ninety per cent,¡± Etan affirmed. ¡°A drink for real men. ¡±


    I coughed.


    He emptied his own glass with a single swig and without flinching. Like drinking water.


    ¡°Aah, that¡¯s the stuff. To get back to the problem, I am thinking about giving you some community tasks to bring you up to speed. I want assurances that Astra didn''t suffer from a case of hormone-induced stupidity when she chose you as a partner.¡±


    ¡°Ah, about that.¡± I raised a finger. ¡°Astra is planning an excursion to show me the natural parts of the cave system. She wants to hunt something to increase our abilities. Though, after my encounter with the church, I really would like to have something that protects me from such influences.¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Is she now?¡± Etan¡¯s expression turned thoughtful. ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. And your desire is only reasonable. I will need time to set you up anyway. You can see the time with Astra as a respite.¡±


    ¡°She was calling it a honeymoon,¡± I pointed out, only to realize I shouldn¡¯t have said that.


    Etan was visibly displeased. ¡°The natural caverns are certainly no ''honeymoon''. I hope she will show you that the world outside the clan-controlled cave system is even more savage than what you are used to.¡±


    I cleared my throat. ¡°About that¡­ I imagined this to be more of a settlement, but it is a real city. The only thing I¡¯ve noticed to be different was that there are a lot more women than men on the streets.¡±


    ¡°Men are much more likely to die in the line of service.¡± Etan shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a rule of thumb. Currently, our population numbers are slightly skewed compared to Earth. There are about one point seven women per man in the clan.¡±


    ¡°Almost two to one. And Earth''s enforced partner-system doesn''t really help. Why not take more exiles in?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility, but there are political reasons against it,¡± Etan explained. ¡°The clan war left us with a peace treaty that prevents any of the clans from sending powerful warriors to the pick-up location. Also, we have to be very selective in who we take in. Otherwise, we might unsettle the society we¡¯ve built so far. Without the assurance of population growth, we simply can''t support people who''ve already proven once that they are willing to violate the rules of society. That''s why we only take in promising individuals.¡±


    We kept talking for what felt like hours while Etan drilled me on clan politics and societal norms. Thankfully, a large part of it had already been covered by Astra.


    One new thing was the rundown of the agreement between the clans to prevented them from fully utilizing the Old Camp¡¯s male population.


    A few decades ago, the Old Camp was the most powerful community. It was de facto a clan in its own right. But it wasn''t enough for their leaders, who soon tried to take over all the clans. They were the strongest in numbers due to Earth¡¯s steady supply of new exiles. This gave them an unhealthy confidence.


    But the Old Camp''s leaders fell victim to a simple miscalculation. Numbers may have been on their side, but they lacked the more powerful mutations thanks to their relatively safe location. And their violent stance towards the other clans quickly had everyone unify against them.


    In the end, the Old Camp collapsed under the pressure of multiple clans uniting against them and due to infighting once it became clear there was no easy win in this conflict.


    Still, the fighting continued long after the Old Camp''s defeat, because everyone desired control over what was essentially an unending supply of human resources for the entire region. As soon as the clans stood upon the remains of their defeated foe, they went for each others'' necks.


    The conflict lasted for over a decade and cost all parties many of their most promising people.


    It was an age-old story of greed and envy which humanity knew all too well.


    -


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    -


    ¡°You have to tell if you want anything else,¡± I informed my two guests as I distributed what accounted for coffee in Tirnanog. The sap of the cofftree didn''t smell or taste anything like the original drink, or so I had been told. But the revitalizing effect for humans was much the same ¨C if not better.


    Once I was sure both Ivona and Thalia were served, I sat down next to the low tea table in my living room.


    Ivona warily sniffed at the beverage. ¡°You are sure it''s safe?¡±


    ¡°We are,¡± Thalia affirmed. ¡°The process of purifying coff includes boiling the raw sap for days. Then the stock is filtered and the remains dried and crushed until only the powder remains. You won''t grow leaves from this.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Ivona took a careful sip.


    ¡°It would hardly make sense to adopt you into the family only to cripple your mutation,¡± I grumbled, nonetheless impressed with the young woman''s awareness. Too many people fell victim to badly processed food. No sane inhabitant of Tirnanog would ever eat food he or she hadn''t personally boiled into oblivion. ¡°Though, it doesn''t mean that you shouldn''t stay vigilant.¡±


    Ivona nodded, not taking my comment as an insult.


    I took a moment to think over the food problem. My parents told me things had gotten a lot better since the war ended. Nowadays, people could mostly trust food that had been processed by a third party. ¡°The Hochberg are manufacturing coff and distributing it to the other clans. It''s a matter of pride for them to sell only the highest quality. And if you are still uncertain, only drink stuff with this mark on it.¡±


    I showed her the can with the coff powder and pointed out the three unique seals stamped into the metal. Each represented a clan''s food-testing guild. ¡°This means the conserve has been tested by the testing institutions of three independent groups. Hochberg, Caravaners, and Aerie.¡±


    ¡°But how would you even test it?¡± Ivona asked. ¡°Doesn''t someone have to drink it to be sure?¡±


    Thalia shrugged. ¡°Every clan has their black sheeps. There will always be someone who would rather play food taster than to be thrown out.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Ivona leaned back in her seat, deflating a little. ¡°I guess it makes sense. Sorry for questioning you. Especially when you serve something so expensive. I guess the Caravaners don''t bring this coff to clan Thich, or I would have heard about it.¡±


    ¡°I already said there is nothing to worry about,¡± I reaffirmed. ¡°Although I believe the Thich should have it too. It''s one of the few consumables that are easy to transport. No worries about perishing with this, except for getting it wet. The only explanation would be that the Thich don''t trade with the Caravaners, but it would be news to me.¡±


    Ivona sighed forlornly. ¡°I guess they simply don''t waste money on their trainees then.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry!¡± I took a sip from my own cup. ¡°We are going to get your sister and you will never have to go back there!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Thalia raised her own cup. ¡°Whatever they are planning, they will be in for the shocks of their lives once winter is over and we can send delegations to the other clans. You shouldn''t overlook that this isn''t just a matter between the Aerie and the Thich. The other clans will have their own questions once we reveal all the dirt we have on them.¡±


    ¡°Isn''t it?¡± Ivona still seemed unsure.


    ¡°Of course it isn''t!¡± I assured her. ¡°At the very least people will start asking them very inconvenient questions. About the girls, about their attack on us. About the educational practices you described. There is no way for this to just ''blow over''. And I can assure you, we will do everything in our power not to leave this up to chance.¡±


    I nodded to myself, trying to convey certainty for Ivona''s peace of mind.


    At the same time I knew things were far from over.


    ¡°Enough of the heavy topics! We have a perfectly fine ¡®girls'' talk¡¯ group here.¡± Thalia''s expression grew devious. ¡°Which means we have to talk about men!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± I knew exactly where Thalia''s mind was going right now. And that was down the gutter, so I quickly tried to deflect. ¡°So, when will you finally get one, Thalia?¡±


    ¡°No, wait.¡± Thalia''s expression fell. ¡°I thought we would be talking about you and Magnus.¡±


    ¡°Why would we?¡± I blinked innocently. ¡°I finally got myself a partner. I am happy. We are doing it. There is nothing to talk about. The only remaining maidens in this room are you and Ivona.¡±


    ¡°This conversation isn''t going down the road I imagined it to, but I am fine with it taking another direction!¡± Thalia complained while her head swivelled to aim at Ivona.


    My new sister in law shook her head. ¡°I know I am of age, but unless someone forces me to, I will take my time. Plenty of time, in fact. And I have no particular desire to learn of how my brother is doing it!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Thalia muttered to herself and returned her attention to me. ¡°Can you at least share how he is? Which position do you like best?¡±


    I smirked and took a sip from my coff. ¡°We have no particular position. Magnus and I are practising variety. Me on top, him on top, sideways...¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Ivona cursed while Thalia''s expression turned smug.


    Desperate, Ivona took my hand. ¡°Please tell me he isn''t a hugger?¡±


    I frowned, wondering what was going on. ¡°No? More like a blanket. Most mornings I wake up being almost crushed because he rolled on top of me. Then I roll him over and try to return the favour, but I am just not heavy enough to bother him whatsoever. He just keeps snoring away.¡±


    Ivona''s expression went slack. ¡°That''s not much better, but at least he isn''t a hugger.¡± She looked at Thalia. ¡°Do you hear? It''s one to one.¡±


    ¡°Being a blanket is just like being a hugger!¡± Thalia complained.


    ¡°No, it is not!¡± Ivona shot back.


    ¡°Wait.¡± I raised my hand to stop them while I felt a slight migraine coming on at the same time. ¡°Are you two betting on my love life?¡±


    ¡°It has been a long trek,¡± Thalia defended herself. ¡°Us girls had to find a topic to loosen up. And the whole group knew what you two were doing some nights. The moans said it all...¡±


    Damn it I thought we were quiet enough!


    I felt my face heat. ¡°You are not supposed to talk about such things. We couldn''t go anywhere for privacy!¡±


    ¡°I hate it when she gets like that,¡± Ivona muttered.


    ¡°Just admit that you are into the public thing,¡± Thalia swooned.


    ¡°Well, I am not,¡± I spluttered. ¡°I just want to see what you will do when you find a partner and his ''thing'' is poking you in your sleep.¡±


    Thalia visibly tried to imagine the problem. ¡°Take advantage? Seriously, nobody is blaming you two. But it¡¯s still fun to tease.¡±


    ¡°Why did you do it anyway?¡± Ivona asked suddenly.


    ¡°Power. Security. Reliability,¡± I ticked off my reasons for choosing Magnus.


    She shook her head. ¡°I didn''t mean it like that. Thalia explained things since I joined you. You''ve waited for years until you decided on my brother. You could have picked others before. Why my Magnus?¡±


    I considered the question. ¡°I thought you of all people would understand.¡±


    Ivona looked confused.


    ¡°I was twelve? Thirteen when I was abducted?¡± I frowned, then shook my head. ¡°They just drove up to my school in their fancy suits, walked into my class and took me with them. I never learned what they did to my original parents. Did they kill them? Throw them through another portal? Or did I simply not come home one day? Did mom and dad just learn that someone took their daughter out of class, directly beneath everyone''s eyes?¡±


    I ground my teeth. ¡°I was taken, just like that. They threw me into that facility where people prodded and poked me as they wished to, treating me like a piece of meat for weeks. And then one day, they just threw me through this portal into a strange new world.¡±


    My eyes found Ivona''s. ¡°Maybe I was lucky when Etan and Teresa took me in, but just like my real parents, they can''t shield me from everything. There are the other families, the other clans. As long as there is someone more powerful than yourself, things like that can always happen. The arranged marriage was just another sign of things being outside my power. I don¡¯t even blame them for arranging it. Misguided as it was, they thought they were doing their best to ensure my future.¡±


    I balled a fist.


    ¡°Ever since those people took me, I just drifted along to the whims of others because I was young, small, and weak. I don''t know about you, but I told myself: No more! I would end up having the power to choose my fate or those obstructing my path would have to put me down. I would strive and flourish.¡±


    I looked into the distance. ¡°I didn''t choose Magnus just for his mutations or the physical power it would give me. Already back then, even without any ambitions, I knew his goals would set him on a collision course with the powers of this world. And whether they wanted it or not, that''s also my course. Our goals align.¡±


    ¡°He just told you he is searching for his sisters?¡± Ivona asked, confused.


    I smiled. ¡°Not everything. He told me he is searching for some children and asked how to go about it. The rest came only after we finalized things. It wasn''t hard for me to tell from where the wind was blowing when he asked a whole lot of political questions about the power balance in the region. Someone who is daring enough to stir around in that particular dustbin is bound to bring up something that others wanted gone. And from our conversation I could tell he was aware and didn''t care.¡±


    Ivona looked at me dubiously.


    ¡°And it helped that he is my type,¡± I admitted.

 Ch 32 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I felt like a chastised child once I finally stepped out of Etan''s office. My respect for the man had grown, even if I wasn''t totally on board with some of his ideas. For one, he was too law-abiding for my tastes. The mere suggestion to do something unconventional gave him a fit halfway through our discussion.


    ¡°You can''t publicly whip someone who offended you!¡± I mouthed his objection to a social dilemma he had given me, a test of character, so to speak. The scenario involved being insulted by a member of another family behind my back and learning of the fact later on.


    If possible, I would have ignored such a thing, but Etan specifically stated for the incident to have spread from mouth to mouth beyond being a mere rumour.


    Admittedly, I wasn''t a fan of violence, but people had to adhere to a given social structure or suffer the consequences. My suggestion hadn''t been driven by sadism, but by the need to set a precedence to what was essentially insubordination. If a prominent member of a group such as clan Aerie was insulted, one couldn''t show weakness.


    Back on Earth, a civilian who insulted a politician to his face would likely be dragged away by bodyguards and thrown out of the building. If it happened in a public enough manner or on social media, a criminal charge might follow.


    But this wasn''t Earth. This world''s societies were much closer to Earth''s militaristic organisations. It was a necessity for survival, born from a harsh environment. And, oh boy, I didn''t know in which of Earth''s militaries it would be acceptable for a soldier of any rank to insult another.


    That meant weeks of latrine duties during peace times and worse when it was war.


    And clan Aerie was at permanent war with Tirnanog''s nature.


    Given that we supposedly didn''t have the resources for prison sentences, public humiliation was the only other solution I could come up with.


    I figured a penalty in resources would be easily paid by any of the other large families and wouldn''t mean much.


    Etan had some strange boundaries I had to get familiar with. How could it be okay to react violently to an insult if retaliatory action was taken immediately, but not to demand a measured punishment in hindsight?


    Hadn''t he suggested to react to any perceived slight against his family or my person with force?


    At least we finished our time together with the mutual understanding that I would have to prove my worth in the coming weeks. Otherwise, he wouldn''t trust me with anything related to the clan.


    I didn''t find his approach objectionable as long as he was willing to cooperate, though my timetable was a little tighter than I liked.


    The winter had set in fully and Mount Aerie would be covered in a few metres of snow for the next three to five months. Fortunately, the conditions on the surface were something that wasn''t noticeable at all down here in the mountain.


    A few months. I sighed inwardly at the task which lay ahead of me.


    It sounded like a lot of time, but it wasn''t, considering I had to somehow rescue Evanne, my remaining little sister. Astra''s idea of visiting the other clans as diplomats was still an option, but I was no longer certain that we had much time left.


    Evanne was one year younger than Ivonne, which meant she should be going on recruitment duties next year. What would the Thich do once they learned of their last recruits'' disappearance? Would they even send Evanne?


    I had to find at least one second approach.


    For example, setting clan Aerie on a confrontational warpath with the Thich sounded like a nice idea. Though, according to Etan, that was supposed to happen anyway.


    A third idea would be to organize a group of people with infiltration skills and to have them abduct Evanne. Given this would likely require the least amount of people, I heavily leaned towards this solution. The fewer people were involved, the less potential for failure.


    I was never a person who was fine with just a single plan to achieve a goal. In my experience, something would only reliably get done if there were also a plan B, C, and preferably D executed at the same time.


    My idle thoughts were interrupted when my gaze drifted down the hallway and I found Astra approaching me with Ivona and Thalia in tow.


    Today, she wore a shimmering one-piece design that flowed like silk around her legs. Somehow, she managed to give her filaments a metallic look. Contrary to her lower half, the top showed no skin, but hugged her upper body tightly and left little to the imagination of her athletic figure.


    ¡°How is my man?¡± Astra asked with a smile on her lips while she stepped into my embrace. ¡°You snuck away this morning and then Mary told me you were in an important meeting with Dad. Is there anything relevant I have to know about?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I coughed, remembering the incident with the priestess. I had a bad conscience about it, no matter that I felt I was in the right. ¡°I just went to see the central cavern. But no worries, Mary arranged a guide for me. And then your father got a hold of me and started an inquisition to make sure I am the right man for his precious.¡±


    ¡°He is very protective,¡± Astra acknowledged while she separated from me. ¡°Though, I know his way of protecting the family is often misguided. Should I talk to him? You have to tell me if he makes too much trouble.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I quickly waved her off, not wanting to compromise my strained relationship with Etan further. His daughter interfering would hardly endear me to him. ¡°Don''t do that. I slipped up just once... or twice. In any case, it wasn''t a big deal.¡±


    He was my father in law. I wouldn''t care much about us getting along if Astra disliked him, but she had a good relationship with her adoptive parents.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Thalia asked.


    ¡°Ah, he gave me some hypothetical scenario where someone from another family insulted me behind my back,¡± I explained. ¡°I suggested demanding satisfaction via public whipping. A punishment which I distinctly remember Astra mentioned to be used often for the action of slander.¡±


    Thalia winced. ¡°But not between strata officials! Such a thing probably won''t go over well with the elders. Though, it was a trick question for someone new to the clan. While the families are bickering with each other, we have to present a united front to the other clans. If someone offended another family''s honour in a public manner, their own family would likely set actions to prevent it from happening again. Clan Aerie has its internal struggles, but we have to put unity before our wishes. The regular citizens can''t get the impression that their leadership is infighting.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°But it''s still my reputation which has been damaged. How can I settle for something that will be likely done behind closed curtains and quickly forgotten? As far as I understand it, the families and their stratas are setting the political course of the clan. Such a thing can''t stand if I want the Frost''s name untarnished.¡±


    ¡°There are other solutions. First, I would have requested for the offender''s family to permanently remove him from the public eye. People will come to their conclusions once they realize that someone who badmouthed another strata is suddenly under house arrest,¡± Astra said.


    ¡°But wouldn''t giving in mean the end of the perpetrator''s political career?¡± I frowned. ¡°How is this better than a public whipping ¨C as decreed by law?¡±


    She shrugged and continued her explanation. ¡°That''s only the first step. If my request was refused, I would have publicly challenged the instigator as an ordinary test of power.¡± Astra smiled deviously. ¡°Such things happen often between the strata. If the party in question repeats the insult, I am perfectly within my rights to defend the family''s honour in a manner that will be remembered. If they refuse and run away, everyone will know them for what they are.¡±


    ¡°But what if you aren''t certain you can win a violent conflict?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Then it means I need more power, dear,¡± Astra stated in a chipper tone. ¡°The families like to pretend otherwise within the secure environment of the central cavern, but this is still a world where power means everything.¡± She clapped her hands together. ¡°Speaking of power. It''s why we came to extract you from my father''s clutches.¡±


    ¡°A little late for that.¡± I chuckled jovially. ¡°He threw me out five minutes before you came.¡±


    ¡°Aw, it wasn''t that bad, was it?¡± Astra turned me to face down the hallway and patted me on the shoulder. ¡°We came to get you for a visit to the armoury! That should cheer you up.¡±


    ¡°You have an armoury!?¡± I asked, surprised.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Astra replied with a smirk. ¡°We are the Frosts. The family is renowned for hunting down wild beasts that no other dares to touch. How could we do so without weapons?¡±


    Astra guided the group back to the main hallway and then down an inconspicuous looking corridor which I had ignored during my explorations earlier this morning. Mainly because the corridor was being watched by four of Teresa''s guards.


    My wife''s presence allowed us to pass the security measures without being challenged. A heavy blast door later, one which didn''t fit with the rest of the estate''s luxurious d¨¦cor, we found ourselves in a hall that had rows upon rows of shelves. All packed to the brim with different sorts of weapons.


    ¡°Do you employ a small army of your own?¡± I asked upon stepping into the hall.


    ¡°Sort of,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°There are about two thousand people in our strata. I am not aware of the exact numbers, but in case of an attack, almost half of them could be supplied by this stash alone. And we have several.¡±


    A tired-looking man who had his desk next to the entrance waved us closer.


    He also had the filament mutation, but his were a deep midnight black, fitting his equally dark skin. The only thing which confused me was that while his skin colour hinted at African descent, I found his facial features to be distinctly European.


    Additionally, a white scar split his face from his forehead down between the eyes and then continued from his nose to the right cheek.


    I briefly wondered whether it was possible to get so gravely injured that even a starfish mutation couldn''t fix it completely. Or had he simply received the injury before his mutation?


    I forcibly stopped this train of thought.


    By now, I should know better than to try analyzing people by their looks. There were frigging bug-people out there and fuckers who had gone Wendigo. Compared to them, Astra and I pulled off a lottery win looks-wise.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°I am in charge of the storehouse. Please tell me what equipment you need and I will get it for you. I hate it when people pick through the supply and I have to inventory everything afterwards just to find out what they took.¡±


    ¡°But isn''t that what you are being paid for, uncle Sullivan?¡± Astra sweet-talked the guy while she pulled me up to his desk. ¡°Tulkas, this is Sullivan, weapon master extraordinaire. He is in the family''s service and he taught me everything I know about combat. So I call him uncle, even if he isn''t my real uncle. Uncle, this is my partner!¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet the man who sufficed my trainee''s requirements.¡± Sullivan rose from his chair and shook my hand with a strong grip which hinted at a strength mutation. ¡°Every time she returned from her recruitment trip I told her that her standards were impossible to meet. Glad I was wrong. There are quite a few people within clan Aerie who wouldn''t have liked to lose our princess to the Mora.¡±


    So not everyone would have been happy with Astra''s arranged marriage. That was nice to know.


    ¡°The honour is mine,¡± I greeted. ¡°I wondered who taught Astra hand to hand combat.¡±


    ¡°Which reminds me...¡± Sullivan narrowed his eyes at Astra. ¡°I''ve heard that with partnering up, your ability-set changed drastically. We will have to remedy any old reflexes which no longer fit your new style.¡±


    Astra paled and maneuvred me forward to use me as a shield. ¡°I am already working on it with him. We are doing daily training sessions together.¡±


    Sullivan''s hawkish eyes fixated on me, reminding me of some of the military drillmasters in the organisation''s employ.


    ¡°Did you just throw me under the bus?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It''s, ''Did you just rub firehorn yolk over me?'' There are no buses here on Tirnanog,¡± Ivona corrected and then addressed my partner. ¡°Did you just rub firehorn yolk over my brother?¡±


    ¡°She did,¡± Thalia confirmed. ¡°She has a history of having people being chased by firehorns.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Astra pretended to be outraged. ¡°I did it only once!¡±


    ¡°Enough of the banter.¡± Sullivan brought the women back to earth. ¡°I doubt you came here to share stories. We are close, but not that close.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Astra gave up her hiding spot behind me. ¡°We need two full sets of standard equipment for a deep exploration expedition into the natural caverns. Mission time is between one to two weeks.¡±


    ¡°Three sets,¡± Ivona corrected. ¡°I want to go too!¡±


    ¡°But that''s supposed to be our honeymoon!¡± Astra complained and gave Ivona a meaningful look. ¡°The hunting shelters we have in the caverns are very small.¡±


    ¡°Yourrgh...¡± The unintelligible tone which escaped Ivona at the thought showed my sister''s quickly diminishing eagerness to join us as a tag-along. She deflated the further she thought about the implications. ¡°But what am I to do alone for two weeks? I hoped Magnus and I could have some time to reconnect.¡±


    ¡°Am I suddenly forgotten?¡± Thalia asked. ¡°I will visit you of course.¡±


    ¡°You don''t count,¡± Ivona shot back, causing Thalia to pout.


    ¡°I think my mother will gladly take care of you,¡± Astra pointed out. ¡°She already mentioned she wanted to spend some time with her newest daughter. And I will make sure you get your chance with Magnus. I planned to show him around the other families once we returned. You could join.¡±


    ¡°Teresa?¡± Ivona frowned. ¡°What would she want with me?¡±


    I coughed, trying to inject some common sense into the stream of female communication. ¡°She adopted you. Like, you becoming her daughter?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± To my astonishment, Ivona deflated even further. ¡°I guess I hoped her to be the uncaring stepmother type. Not sure whether I want the attention.¡±


    Astra shook her head. ¡°Believe me. Teresa is anything but uncaring. But you will have to put up with a little bonding. The adoption papers you and Magnus signed aren''t a joke. You are a part of the family now as far as clan Aerie is concerned.¡±


    Sullivan cleared his throat to get our attention and the two of us shared a glance of manly camaraderie.


    ¡°Right!¡± Astra swivelled back to him. ¡°Weapons! Did you fix my partner''s spetum? And I need something to deliver a charge.¡± She sparked her fingers to give Sullivan an idea of what was needed.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sullivan frowned. ¡°Let me think while I gather your gear. You can have a look around in the meantime. Just in case you find something fitting on your own.¡±


    Ivona used the chance to launch into a questioning tirade of what Teresa would want with her, but I tuned her out and allowed Astra and Thalia to deal with it.


    Instead, I silently followed Sullivan past the racks of weapons while I left the women to... be women.


    ¡°Nice armoury,¡± I complimented.


    Sullivan got himself a trolley and pushed it down a corridor between two racks. The armoury didn''t have just weapons, but also other supplies.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s the best the strata has,¡± he commented while he threw two large backpacks into the trolley. ¡°You are directly from Earth?¡±


    ¡°Yes, though it''s already been more than two months since I arrived,¡± I answered. ¡°Anything I know should be outdated by now.¡±


    ¡°Less outdated than most other information sources. How are the assholes doing?¡± Sullivan asked. ¡°I was ''exiled'' about fifty years ago, but I like keeping up to date with the latest news and the last exile I met came here five years ago.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, probably nothing new then. The global government is still in power, though there is some resistance to their policies, like turning the Sahara into a giant solar power array. As if similar projects hadn''t been attempted a dozen times before. The people living there don''t like it, but it''s ''for the best of humanity''.¡± I quoted the last part with my fingers.


    Sullivan frowned. ¡°The entire desert? But... aren''t there no people living there anyway? Who cares?¡±


    ¡°Not the entire desert of course. Just the economically viable parts. Planting some facility directly in the desert''s heart would be a stretch. How would you transport the energy out without massive maintenance costs? Of course, the zones which are viable from a technical point of view happen to be the very few zones close to population centres at the edges,¡± I explained.


    ¡°Ah, and those have people living there, naturally,¡± Sullivan concluded after adding several cans of food to his trolley.


    We reached the end of the corridor and made a ''U'' turn to enter another. Sullivan kept adding items, showing he had a list of the required necessities in his head.


    I had to fight the instinct to hug him when he added four rolls of what looked like a homemade version of toilet paper to me. Bless the man!


    Then I saw the items which the new corridor offered.


    ¡°Now we are talking!¡± I rubbed my hands together. Unlike the first corridor which offered mainly camping gear, this one held a wide array of weapons and other odds and ends required for trapmaking.


    Sullivan pointed out a few and explained them. ¡°This web is used for hunting cliffgliders. And these crossbows have extra draw weight to fire grappling hooks. You have any idea what you are going to hunt?¡±


    ¡°Well, not certain, but we might be trying to catch a living bloodmantle or a slei. But according to the literature, they aren''t easily caught. So I guess the plan is to traverse the cave system with a lexicon in hand and to catch anything that might seem usable,¡± I explained.


    ¡°A hunt of opportunity.¡± Sullivan inclined his head while he considered what we would need. ¡°Some traps to catch living critters of medium size. Tranquillizer arrows if you intend to try your luck with some symbiont.¡±


    He grabbed something that looked like a bear trap and a quiver with short arrows. The arrows had no arrowheads, but my confusion was solved when he added a box that held some syringe-like arrowheads.


    Sullivan showed me how easily they could be screwed onto the arrow shafts. ¡°You can fill them with tranquillizers or venom. A good choice to bring down even the largest of prey.¡±


    ¡°I hope Astra can shoot because I am an absolute embarrassment with a bow,¡± I admitted.


    ¡°I can give you a fitting crossbow instead. Anyone can shoot a crossbow if he knows how a gun works. But you should learn at least one ranged weapon,¡± Sullivan chastised.


    ¡°Thanks to my mutation I can throw things really well,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Better than any arrow or crossbow bolt.¡±


    Sullivan frowned with a dark expression, but then his face lit up. ¡°You are the one who brought in the ballista bolts. I wondered why someone would carry them around for fun. There aren''t many mutations out there which can make use of them without the ballista itself.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about that, where''s my stuff?¡± I asked. ¡°I noticed too late that someone removed it from my quarters this morning.¡±


    ¡°I got it for maintenance from one of the maids. The spetum was pretty banged up. We will get to it,¡± Sullivan assured me.


    ¡°Can you top off my supply?¡± I asked. ¡°I started the journey with ten bolts, but two went off the mountainside and four stayed stuck in some flying monsters which flew off with them. I was getting low by the end.¡±


    ¡°I have similar ones, but not the same,¡± Sullivan replied. ¡°You will have to get used to the new ones. Though I suggest replacing all of them instead of having two differently weighted projectiles.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I would need an hour at a training range to get used to the new ones. It wouldn''t be an issue. ¡°Hey, Sullivan, do you have something more suitable against humans than my spetum?¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Isn''t your spetum plenty usable? I haven''t seen any problems with it. It isn''t the prettiest weapon, but it''s high-quality steel. It''s clear it''s a tool meant to be used.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, maybe I didn''t explain myself correctly.¡± I thought about how to word my request and settled on explaining the problem.


    ¡°I''ve come to like the spetum. I can''t imagine anything better to impale a monster, but it''s unwieldy. The one time I was caught off guard, I didn''t have it ready to hand. And ever since coming down here, I keep thinking of what to do in confined spaces. All I would be able to do in this narrow corridor would be to stab. And once the enemy gets past the tip I have a real problem.¡± I bit my lower lip. ¡°My secondary weapon has been one of the standard short swords and I already used one to great effectiveness, but I just can''t get warm with the thing. And, well, it''s short. It doesn''t combine with my electric power.¡±


    Sullivan pondered my problem. ¡°How strong is it? Astra showed just a few sparks.¡±


    ¡°Lightning bolts,¡± I stated. ¡°It''s really useful. Especially when you have something conductive to stick your enemy with.¡±


    ¡°So you want something long that can be easily carried on your person. Like a metal whip?¡±


    I thought about the suggestion. ¡°Doesn''t the whip have the same problem as the spetum? It won''t do damage without the space to swing it. And if I run into someone who can tank a few lighting bolts I am screwed even if I hit him with it. Most people I''ve met on this world are hardy enough to survive a few lashes.¡±


    The Thich leader from the ambush already taught me the hard way that lightning wasn''t the solution to everything.


    ¡°You have a point.¡± Sullivan''s eyes drifted over the racks with equipment until they landed on the utility knife on my belt. ¡°You any good with that?¡± He indicated the weapon with his chin.


    ¡°Reasonably.¡± I pulled it out and spun it on my palm without revealing my magnetism. ¡°I won''t claim to be some knife master, but I had a few knife fighting lessons back on Earth. I would trust myself to do better with it than with a sword.¡±


    Sullivan nodded slowly and pushed his trolley further down the racks until we found a display with knives. The weapon master selected a pair of straight blades which were about twenty centimetres in length. A second pair of blades also made the selection. They were shorter, but they had a slight curve like a karambit.


    The noticeable difference to other knives was that both pairs had full metal grips with fingerguards which seemed to double as punching rings. A wise precaution in a society where bladed weapons are the preferred choice.


    Once we had the knives, Sullivan backtracked until we arrived at a shelf with various ropes. He selected a sturdy, yet flexible steel chain with expertly linked segments. The required tools were lying ready to cut off four pieces. Each was three metres in length.


    Thanks to the warehouse nature of Sullivan''s armoury, another four metal rings were easily found and attached to the chains which then went onto the back ends of each knife. He had chosen the knives because they had an ''o'' ring as a pommel.


    Sullivan tested the strength of the connection before he threw out one knife like a throwing dagger and yanked on the chain, catching the knife as it returned to him.


    He grunted, seemingly satisfied with his work. Then he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    I took one of the straight knives from him and tested the weight. Thanks to my improved musculature, the weight including the chain was of no concern to me. The spetum''s bulk was much more of a problem compared to the relatively thin chain.


    Then I tried to repeat Sullivan''s throwing trick at an accelerated speed but ended up having to dodge the knife on the return trip.


    Sullivan laughed. ¡°Better train the move or you might lose an eye.¡±


    ¡°I am good at throwing stuff, not catching them,¡± I muttered. No matter that I had caught an arrow once. But compared to my movements, an arrow felt relatively slow. It would be much more convenient if I was some Jedi with telekinetic tricks. Then I wouldn''t...


    A light-bulb went off in my head.


    ¡°Don''t worry.¡± Sullivan waved off my excuse. ¡°I wouldn''t have caught the blade either at the speed you just moved.¡±


    Before I could forget the sudden inspiration, I eyed the different cables. ¡°Could I have a few metres of the thinnest steel cable you have?¡±


    ¡°Of course, but what for?¡± Sullivan eyed me, curious what I was up to.


    ¡°It''s top-secret, but I might show it to you if it works.¡± I winked at him. ¡°At worst, I can use it as a climbing rope.¡±


    He harrumphed but added an entire roll with a 3mm steel cable to his trolley.


    We finished our tour with my spetum and a new set of throwing bolts, including a few steel balls to top off my ammunition.


    Once we had Astra''s and my serviced gear, we made our way back to the entrance.


    Thalia and Ivona were gone, but Astra waited at Sullivan''s desk.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Where did my sister go?¡±


    ¡°Mom showed up to get Iv and Thalia went with her for emotional support,¡± Astra explained. ¡°I am sure you will get her back in one piece.¡±


    ¡°Iv?¡± I smirked.


    ¡°Well, I thought about Ivo, but the nickname doesn''t fit a girl. Ivy or Iva also don''t sound right for her, so Iv it is,¡± Astra mused.


    I was interested to see how my little sister would take to this new nickname.


    Sullivan pushed his trolley past me and looked at the set of weapons that Astra had placed on his desk. ¡°This is what you are going to take?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡±


    Astra had chosen a satchel with a set of throwing daggers, a long, rapier-like sword which was more like a rod of steel than a blade, and a metal whip with a wicked hook at the end.


    ¡°I am not going to train with you if you use that whip!¡± I quickly stated, just to make sure she knew I had boundaries.


    ¡°Aw.¡± Astra pouted. ¡°And I thought it would be cool to give it a try.¡±


    Sullivan sniffed and pulled out a ledger from beneath his desk to note down what we had checked out. ¡°I will give it to you, but only if you come to a sparring session this evening. The last time I gave out that thing, someone lost his cheek.¡±


    ¡°Ouch!¡± I winced at the thought.


    It took Sullivan a few more minutes to finalize his paperwork, which we used to pack our equipment into the backpacks.

 Ch 33 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    We allowed ourselves another day of preparation to get familiar with the new equipment. I also wanted to make sure Magnus would have the time to research what we were getting ourselves into. For that reason, I gave him the same ¡®quick guide¡¯ to Mount Aerie¡¯s fauna and flora which my parents used when they took me out hunting for the first time.


    Partnered or not, a hunting trip to the natural caverns had to be taken seriously.


    My parents had seen to it that I knew everything about surviving in the caverns, so I was certain of my ability to take care of myself. But Magnus was another matter. While he had proven his ability, there was no getting around his inexperience.


    Aside from getting familiar with my new sword, I used the remaining time to educate myself on more possibilities for symbionts and additional evolutions. The whip was left to the wayside for now. I had only taken it because I was interested in the weapon even though it was a redundant tool for me, considering my filaments.


    In my mind, the whip was more of a backup in case I encountered a situation I didn''t want to stick my filaments into. The unexpectedly harsh trip back to Mount Aerie had cost me so many filaments that I couldn''t fly properly at this point. A short glide was possible, but soaring above treetops would be put on hold for a few months until the filaments regrew.


    After training, Magnus utilized some of his free time to have a private meeting with his sister, allowing me to read and listen to music.


    I was sitting in my quarters, perusing my third book. It discussed the downsides of certain pairings between symbionts and evolutions, something to consider before we dove head-first into a relationship with a symbiont.


    My studies had covered a good two-thirds of the book when Magnus returned.


    He looked thoughtful and closed the door to the living room before locking it.


    I smiled and lowered the book, already imagining what he was up to. ¡°Do you want to do something dirty to your princess behind closed doors?¡±


    Magnus blinked in surprise but gathered himself with a smirk on his lips. ¡°If you want to, we can do that afterwards. I am not opposed.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. I leaned back on the sofa and spread my legs suggestively.


    ¡°I need to talk with you about the future.¡± He approached and leaned over me. Then he manoeuvred me into position until both of us lay on the sofa with him on top.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Despite him going along with my suggestion, I recognized the seriousness in his voice and closed the book before dropping it to the floor. The pleasure could wait a little.


    ¡°What''s the goal of our excursion?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°I understand you want to hunt something rare that increases our power, but the way we are going about it seems a bit random. Are we going to stumble through the cave system and hope we catch something worthwhile?¡±


    I considered his question for a moment before I answered. ¡°The short answer is ''yes''. You have to understand how vast the natural cave system is. It''s like an ever-changing labyrinth. Some creatures dig new tunnels through the rock day and night in search of prey or rare minerals which they need to live. Others are on an endless quest to close those tunnels to protect their territory. The cavedigger is one of the most prominent among them. Not only at digging. They are also very good at sealing tunnels by excreting various minerals that harden like cement in their wake.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders to show it couldn''t be helped. ¡°So, an excursion into the parts of the cave system which aren''t patrolled by clan Aerie is indeed a gamble. We can only hunt for specific prey in a very general sense because we can''t even guarantee to reach certain hunting grounds. We will have to adapt to the situation we will find ourselves in.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°So there are no guarantees. I just wanted to make sure I understood correctly.¡±


    ¡°More or less,¡± I affirmed. ¡°As I said, there are hunting grounds associated with certain animals. If we want to encounter a bloodmantle, for example, we have to search areas at the base of the mountain which are close to the surface. The adult bloodmantles release their offspring into the mountain''s cave system where the young hide until they''ve grown enough to venture out on their own. It would be very unlikely to encounter one in the deeper regions of the mountain.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Magnus stroked his chin. ¡°The reason why I ask is this, I want us to go for a specific mutation, if possible. One which is apparently a secret.¡±


    I could already guess what he was up to and sighed. ¡°You want Thalia''s ability. I told her she should be more careful about revealing it. It isn¡¯t something people should know about.¡±


    As if not wanting me to get away, Magnus rested more of his weight on top of me. It wasn''t exactly unpleasant, but it meant he was serious about finding out what this was all about.


    Instead of just spilling the beans, I decided that giving me a little reward was the least he could do. ¡°I need a kiss on the cheek if I am about to share clan secrets,¡± I declared playfully and offered him free access.


    Magnus kissed my cheek and caressed my neck with his lips. The sensation alone caused me to let out an eager sigh of anticipation.


    ¡°When I went to see the city, I had a little altercation with a priestess of Gaia,¡± Magnus explained his reasoning, recounting a short version of his unpleasant experience. ¡°¡­ combined with what I assume Thalia can do, I want that ability. At the very least to have some form of protection against our minds being toyed with. If you are serious about your desire for power, then we should be as prepared as possible.¡±


    ¡°You may be a little mistaken about the effectiveness of the mindflayer''s evolution,¡± I admitted after listening to his concerns. From his point of view, the mindflayer mutation must be an incalculable threat. ¡°There is no real protection against this particular mutation, but at the same time it also isn''t as powerful as you seem to believe.¡±


    ¡°Mindflayer?¡± he asked. ¡°That sounds plenty dangerous.¡±


    ¡°The monster itself is indeed plenty dangerous and a rare encounter in Mount Aerie''s deeper cave systems. A single of the creatures is capable of killing off hunting groups with ten to twenty people if it catches them off guard. I wouldn¡¯t want to meddle with one if it can be helped,¡± I affirmed. ¡°To our knowledge, the other clans have nothing even remotely similar. The creature is unique to Mount Aerie¡¯s cave system.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°The downside is the monster''s flesh doesn''t grant you even a tenth of its ability. And the effects are also widely different among the people I know of. Thalia can feel peoples¡¯ emotions and if they are distracted, she can glimpse some of their thoughts. Others gain prophetic abilities ¨C but nothing on a level that would allow them to manipulate events around them. Some can affect feelings as long as the target isn''t aware of the influence.¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Magnus grunted. ¡°That''s what the priestess did to me when she tried to indoctrinate me into her church.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°I assume that''s why my father called you to his study when you returned. What did you do? You glossed over the part of her trying to influence you.¡±


    He looked away from me with a guilty expression on his face. ¡°I might have zapped her once I realized something was fishy.¡±


    I laughed before I realized it would make the family look bad. ¡°But nobody saw?¡±


    Magnus shook his head.


    ¡°Yeah, well.¡± I relaxed. ¡°Dad would''ve probably popped a vein on his forehead if the incident hadn''t already been swept under the rug once you reached him.¡±


    I shook my head, deciding to get back to the topic.


    ¡°Anyway, this must have shown you that detecting the influence of someone with a mindflayer mutation is a matter of experience. You were exposed to Thalia for some time and probably built up a lot of resistance. Trust me when I say she is extremely subtle with her ability. It doesn''t get any worse than her if you are concerned about someone mind-controlling you. And besides, having a mindflayer mutation of our own wouldn''t protect us from other mindflayer mutations. My parents already saw to it that I have the best protection possible.¡±


    Magnus wasn''t completely assured by my explanation. ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°My caveglider''s precognition.¡± I raised an eyebrow and smirked. ¡°Did you think the feeling in your gut about something being wrong was coming from someone using a mindflayer ability on you? Well, by extension, it was, but the wrongness we experience when it happens comes from our precognition.¡±


    A sheepish expression stole itself onto his face. ¡°Now that you are saying it, it''s exactly what you were trying to describe. I thought the strange feeling came from Thalia using her ability on me.¡±


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°Remind me to hold at least half an hour of training each day to get you used to listening to your instincts.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± He looked down on me with a smug expression while he ground his body against mine. Then he kissed me.


    Letting out a moan of defeat, I allowed him to give in to his instincts.


    The next morning, we got up in the early hours so we could travel as far as possible without messing with our sleeping pattern. Down in the mountain, night and day didn''t count for much, but people still had to be aware of their wakefulness.


    A tired mind was more prone to making mistakes and mistakes cost lives.


    When we entered the carriage that would bring us to the natural cave system, Magnus was still picking at his new armour which I had requested from my uncle. ¡°I think Sullivan gave me one a number too large. The shoulders are constantly shifting.¡±


    I reached over and tightened the loose strap he had forgotten. Once it was sitting tight, the shoulder pieces had no room to slip.


    We shared a short moment of him looking at me with a chagrined expression and me fighting back the impulse to say something that could have scratched at his pride as an adult man.


    ¡°Just say nothing.¡± He returned to inspecting his new armour. ¡°What is this?¡± He knocked on the chest piece which looked like a mixture between medieval plate armour and modern Kevlar. ¡°It''s so light, which means it¡¯s certainly not metal and I don''t remember Earth having something similar. Why didn¡¯t the blacksmith back at the Old Camp have one of these? I would have taken it over simple leather.¡±


    ¡°It''s the carved shell of an iobeetle. Clan Jeng hunts the creatures and sells the shells. It''s their main trading good. As for what the material is exactly, I don''t know. We don''t have the means to analyse the composition of the stuff. But it''s as tough as ceramic and bends like chitin instead of breaking. It takes a trained armour smith with water-powered tools a whole month to grind down a single carapace into an armour set. We have no tools to shape them otherwise, since cutting them is an act of futility.¡±


    Magnus looked slightly impressed. ¡°So I take it these aren''t cheap. Maybe it¡¯s some organic composite layered with macroscopic diamonds?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s good armour and the leftover which is too small can be used for tools. A civilian or unaffiliated exile won''t be able to afford anything made from iobeetle shell,¡± I stated simply. ¡°The upside to investing so much effort into making them is that they often survive the death of the wearer to be handed down to the next in line.¡±


    ¡°Isn''t it bad if armour is too sturdy?¡± Magnus mused. ¡°Back on Earth, they intentionally make it layered to absorb and disperse the force of an impact. Otherwise, a bullet you could survive passing through you might kill you because the force of the impact smashes your tissue and causes trauma.¡±


    I frowned as I considered the problem. ¡°I believe this consideration is only valid if your main concern are projectile weapons. Also, your body is now beyond anything an unaltered human could endure. What we have to deal with are beasts that see us as chew toys. And that¡¯s something this armour is very suited to protect against.¡±


    Magnus grunted and put on the helmet, which was the most complicated piece of equipment to make from iobeetle shell.


    The helmet had cutouts that left as much free space as possible for the eyes and ears, making it look like a modern version of a spartan helmet. It wouldn¡¯t do to trade away our senses for added protection.


    In our case, the cutouts required a second pair of eyes at our cheekbones, making the design look distinctly alien from what a normal human would require. Thankfully, the nightstalker evolution wasn¡¯t exactly unknown, which had allowed us to draw upon the armoury¡¯s stockpiled equipment.


    We reached the end of the human-controlled cave system half an hour later.


    The spacious tunnel widened further before coming to an abrupt halt. An enormous blast door barred the carriage''s way, so the driver stopped and turned the animals around.


    I signalled Magnus that we had to get out of the carriage.


    Ignoring the fifty rough-looking women who were camping directly in front of the door, I shouldered my gear and headed to the minimalistic office space which had been hewn into the tunnel¡¯s side.


    A huge woman sat in an equally huge chair and opened a ledger as I approached.


    ¡°Reason for the hunting trip and names?¡± she asked in the same bored manner which all gate guardians shared, no matter where I went.


    I reached into my pocket and offered her the permit signed by my mother.


    The guard only raised an eyebrow and copied the details of our excursion into her files. It was a necessary measure to ensure nothing and nobody managed to sneak into the central cavern. During the clan wars, the Aerie had to fight more than once with sabotage and spies.


    Once she was done, she stood up, towering above me. She even had more than a head in height on Magnus.


    ¡°Come. I will let you out,¡± she stated and walked towards the blast door which had a smaller, circular hatch embedded in it.


    ¡°What¡¯s that one eating?¡± Magnus whispered next to me, his eyes locked onto the guard¡¯s back.


    ¡°There are mutations which affect a person¡¯s size,¡± I explained quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t stare. It¡¯s rude.¡±


    When the guard began to open the hatch, several of the present clansmen stood up and readied their weapons in anticipation of a fight. I also reached for the hilt of my new sword. Magnus got the hint and pointed the tip of his spetum ever so slightly in the opening¡¯s direction. He also readied himself to slip off his backpack at a moment¡¯s notice.


    The guard carefully swung the hatch to the side, avoiding unnecessary noise. Then she stared into the darkness beyond it for a whole minute before she waved us through while whispering, ¡°I can¡¯t sense any predators, but it sounds like something is digging a new path a few hundred metres down the tunnel.¡±


    I nodded and passed her with Magnus following me.


    Once we were through, the guard slowly closed the hatch and locked it behind us.


    ¡°How do we get back in?¡± Magnus asked curiously.


    ¡°Just knock S.O.S on the door. Three times short and three times long repeatedly,¡± I explained. ¡°There are always sensor types with the guard detail, so they will hear you. And from now on we are going to whisper when there is something to say. Sound can carry farther than you might think in these caves.¡±


    I led the way and spread out my filaments, allowing them to explore the tunnel ahead and behind us to their full length.


    The tunnel¡¯s walls quickly lost every sign of human workmanship. Fifty metres down the path, we were climbing through a rough cave system that wound its way through the rock in ever-changing directions.


    Without being kept clean by humans, we also encountered the first signs of bioluminescent cave flora.


    Magnus followed me at a slow pace, but I said nothing when he stopped to inspect a glowing mushroom or stuck the tip of his spetum into one of the drifting orbs we came across. I had been the same when I first saw the alien things which inhabited Mount Aerie.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± he whispered and showed me the ball of glowing sponge which had been slowly drifting along the cave¡¯s ceiling. Magnus had speared it on the tip of his spetum, turning his weapon into a funny-looking lantern thanks to the soft green light which the plant produced.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s some kind of sponge if I remember correctly.¡± I searched my memories. ¡°Absolutely harmless.¡±


    ¡°How does it stay afloat in the air?¡± Magnus asked.


    ¡°Gas. These sponges capture helium and other light gases inside little bubbles which can be barely seen with the naked eye.¡± I pushed a smaller version of the same sponge out of the way of my face as I walked. ¡°You can find them all over the natural caves as they use the air ventilation along the shafts to float around while they search out water and fertile spots on cave walls to grow and split off new versions of themselves.¡±


    Magnus mumbled in interest as he returned his attention to the sponge on his spear.


    ¡°Careful now,¡± I warned. ¡°We should be getting close to the area from which the guard heard digging noises.¡±

 Ch 34 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Expecting to encounter something horrible, we approached the jagged fissure in the cave''s floor in absolute silence.


    Something was digging there, throwing up head-sized rocks as if they were dirt. The creature was also huffing and snorting like an elephant, despite the hole offering no more space than a very large human could comfortably fit through.


    I allowed my filaments to drift into the fissure and concentrated on my echolocation to sense what was going on. It took a moment before I got the picture and relaxed slightly. ¡°It''s fine. Our digger is a wild molerat.¡±


    ¡°Dangerous?¡± Magnus asked, pointing his spetum nonetheless down into the hole.


    ¡°Moderately, but it won''t attack as long as we don''t enter its hideout,¡± I explained, ignoring the hiss and the two yellow eyes that twinkled at us from the darkness as I walked past. One of my filaments drifted too close and the molerat tried to nip at it, but I pulled it back in time. Thankfully, the creature stayed well away from the fissure''s entrance which was well lighted by my bioluminescence. ¡°They are prey animals and subsist mostly on plant life, though they aren''t above eating a carcass if they find one.¡±


    ¡°That''s a large mother fucker,¡± Magnus commented while he stepped around the hole in the ground. ¡°But I prefer it to all the other things in this world which want to eat me. I think molerats will be my second favourite animal right after zippers.¡±


    He had judged the molerat''s size with his Second Sight, while I relied mostly on echolocation.


    The both of us passed the creature''s hidy-hole without incident. A fight might have been unavoidable if there had been no room to dodge the animal, but the molerat''s little side tunnel gave it the comfort it needed to ignore our passing.


    ¡°It''s the same as the ones which draw the carriages?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°This one seemed at least twice as large.¡±


    ¡°They are the same,¡± I affirmed and returned my attention to the tunnel ahead of us. ¡°But we use the young ones for carriage duties. Once they no longer fit the width of the carriage side by side, they are butchered for meat. Even the large transit tunnels have only enough space to allow two carriages passing each other.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Magnus shouldered his spetum in a more relaxed manner once he deemed us far enough away from the molerat so it wouldn''t be coming charging after us. ¡°It didn''t like us walking past its tunnel.¡±


    ¡°It was fine,¡± I commented. ¡°We will encounter a few real challenges on our excursion. I am glad you are doing this with me. It''s kind of a tradition among the Aerie for a newly partnered pair to disappear into the caves and hunt something of their own. Like a honeymoon.¡±


    I turned and looked back at him while I kept walking. ¡°Are you sure it''s fine? Regarding the... you know...¡±


    He looked back, eyeing the dark tunnel behind us. ¡°It''s fine to talk here?¡±


    I shrugged and turned my attention back to the path ahead. ¡°It won''t get any better. If we can''t talk here without being overheard, then we can''t talk anywhere. Though, I would still avoid mentioning any specifics.¡±


    Magnus took his time before he answered. ¡°I don''t want to risk giving away the key after everything you''ve told me about the families. Your parents and the Tates made a trustworthy impression, but they are just two voices among fifteen. I have no illusions about the key simply being taken from me if I reveal it without enough backing.¡±


    I nodded, finding nothing wrong with his judgement. If anything, I had probably painted a too rosy picture about the political state of clan Aerie. Even with having the Frosts and Tates firmly on our side, the mere possibility of reactivating the colony''s central computer system would be too large of a temptation for the other families.


    The best outcome would be someone trying to steal the codes from us. At worst, they would overrule my parents and simply take the codes ¨C for the sake of the clan, of course.


    ¡°If it works, the key is our best leverage, should the families decide to pull something funny. I wouldn''t trust certain elders farther than I can throw them. Which isn''t far at all. Furthermore, I wouldn''t give such power out of my hands if it killed me. So the question is: How are we going to use it? At the very least, we have to create an opportunity to enter the hall of law without being supervised.¡±


    ¡°Can''t we just walk in and take a look around while the hall is unattended?¡± Magnus asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°Could you simply walk into the head of state''s government building back on Earth? Guards are watching the entrances around the clock. Getting in there without permission won''t be easy, given our current status. Normally, nobody but the elders enters the hall. The only other option is to accompany an elder as a visitor or to be summoned.¡±


    ¡°Then how about getting your parents'' help?¡± Magnus suggested.


    ¡°Possibly,¡± I admitted. ¡°We would have to let them in on the secret, which has its own issues. It would look strange for them to take us on a stroll to the hall of law while there is no meeting in progress. But it could work.¡±


    ¡°Your father talked about giving me some tasks in the coming weeks,¡± Magnus whispered. ¡°If I manage to gain his trust, we might be able to leverage a political position out of it. With that, we might be able to get in?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I hummed softly as I considered the possibilities. ¡°I am not sure whether I want to involve my parents just yet. Judy Walsh, the current head of the elders, is like a lie detector and my parents have no choice but to interact often with her. It would be a question of time until they slip up. Them withholding information from the other elders could be seen as treason. If we get found out, we could claim we were still thinking about the best way to reveal this information. It''s better if my parents can honestly claim ignorance until we have a solid plan.¡±


    I ducked a little to avoid the lowering cave ceiling. Thankfully, the passage widened again a few metres ahead. ¡°We also shouldn''t discount my mother. I will approach her and try my best to seek out possibilities. She should know what to do once I explain I want a position with the power to help you find your remaining missing sister.¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°Thanks, though your father indicated he wants to put me through the gauntlet once we are back. I wondered why he would allow this little trip if he doesn''t approve of me. But this being a sort of wedding tradition explains it.¡±


    I giggled softly. ¡°I remember his sour expression when I told him he has to delay his plans. I am afraid proving your resolve to him will be unavoidable. The things we wish for can''t be gained without clashing heads with the other families.¡±


    ¡°Will they bear grudges because of Hector?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°I hoped the issue was dealt with.¡±


    I gestured in a ''so-so'' motion with my hand, indicating the situation would be a little more complicated. ¡°Not only that. There will also be envy once they realize the Frosts might have a second partnered pair powerful enough to lead the family. And... this is embarrassing. But should we be capable of having children, the elders will pull their hairs out.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned something about that.¡± He coughed. ¡°By the way... how many people can have children in clan Aerie? I just want to get a feel for things.¡±


    ¡°Very few.¡± I gave him the harsh truth. ¡°I don''t have the exact numbers, since those who can procreate are intentionally hidden even within the clan. During the clan wars, the other clans intentionally targeted those who could grow a clan''s numbers.¡±


    ¡°That''s hideous!¡± Magnus whisper shouted. ¡°Don''t people already have enough survival trouble in this world?¡±


    ¡°It is an easy way to sabotage a clan''s future.¡± I countered. ¡°Do you kill an entire clan with several thousand people, or do you assassinate a few hundred to keep them from replenishing their numbers? Age may no longer be a concern, but there are still monster attacks and accidents. If there is no new blood, a clan of our size would be worn down to the status of an insignificant power within a few short decades. Many of the smaller clans vanish completely if such a thing happens to them.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°How is it going anyway,¡± he asked, sounding slightly embarrassed. ¡°You''ve been jumping my bones every chance you got.¡±


    I smirked. ¡°I am not aware of us succeeding in this particular endeavour. Sienna said it would take time, so I am not worried. In my mind, we should simply enjoy the act and deal with the results once they happen.¡±


    ¡°That''s more pragmatic than I expected of a woman,¡± he mumbled.


    Shrugging, I hopped over a larger rock before I explained myself. ¡°I''ve had a lot of time to think about it. The harsh reality is that we will most likely be like my adoptive parents. They can''t have children at all for some reason. Once we get powerful enough to wish for a successor, we might have to adopt from those who can have kids. Maybe our offspring will be stillborn or I may die in the attempt of having them.¡±


    Magnus reached out and stopped me by holding onto my shoulder. His voice was suddenly serious. ¡°Don''t say such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry.¡± I took his hand in mine. ¡°I fully intend to spend a lot of time at the hospital if you do knock me up. I''ve already made up my mind about trying at least once. And who knows? In the unlikely case they do come out normal, our influence will soar through the roof. Knowing a group''s future is ensured is a powerful political tool.¡±


    He huffed. ¡°I don''t even know whether I am ready to become a father. Becoming one at this point might even be a bad idea, considering I still have to save my remaining sister.¡±


    I turned and blinked innocently at him. ¡°Oh, didn''t I mention I intend to have a lot of kids if I can?¡±


    Magnus sputtered. ¡°I guess I would be fine with two or three. Kind of unavoidable considering you already got me hooked to you. I don''t believe I could keep my hands off of you for more than a week.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to flatter me?¡± I asked jovially. ¡°We are a natural fit! I thought about something similar. What do you think of the timing?¡±


    ¡°Well, like you said. If it happens, it happens. But maybe we should space them out after the first one. We have all time in the world, don''t we? Five-year intervals don''t sound too bad.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Three kids every five years sounds manageable. But I wouldn''t want to turn into a complete breeding machine.¡±


    He choked.


    Unable to hide my shit-eating grin any longer, I turned around.


    ¡°You were messing with me.¡± Magnus let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Not exactly, but you are probably turning this into a bigger deal than it is.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°This isn''t Earth, Magnus. We can keep all the kids and hire nurses. Or we allow other families to adopt them. If you don''t want to, you don''t have to be a full-time daddy. Anyway, considering we no longer age means you have to come to terms with having a lot of kids sooner or later. Unless this world unexpectedly advances to Earth standards and we find a reliable contraceptive.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know whether I would be fine with the adoption thing,¡± Magnus admitted. ¡°Just give me some time. It''s a surprise to find out your wife intends to field an entire football team of her own.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I guess I have no reason to complain as long as I don''t have to give birth.¡±


    Then his eyes lit up as he had an idea. ¡°Couldn''t we do it differently?¡±


    I tilted my head and looked back at him to find out what he meant.


    He mimed rubbing one off with his hand. ¡°You know... avoiding the consequences?¡±


    ¡°You want to tell me that you are the type of guy who can hold back with the real thing for weeks? Months? Years?¡± Rolling my eyes, I tilted my hips and added a little swing to my backside while I walked. Just in the way which I knew him to like immensely. ¡°Sienna said that sometimes, all it takes is one lucky shot.¡±


    Magnus slumped in defeat. ¡°I am doomed.¡±


    The serious discussion somehow led to us messing around like teenagers, bringing a smile to my lips. Magnus and I clicked as a team. Who knew jumping into the cold water of partnership sometimes ended in drifting to the shores of paradise?


    When I saw a brighter glow from the tunnel ahead, I stopped playing around and raised my hand to get his attention. ¡°A little more vigilance now. We are about to enter the first larger cavern.¡±


    I dimmed my luminescence and led Magnus to the end of the tunnel before I slowly took a peek into the first cavern.


    Beyond the tunnel, a massive natural cave opened up.


    It wasn''t anywhere close in volume to the clan''s central cavern, but it was still impressive.


    The ceiling was about thirty metres above us, while the edges of the cavern stretched out hundreds of metres to the left and the right. A few massive stalactites and stalagmites met each other at irregular intervals, forming massive pillars which held the ceiling. Meanwhile, their smaller siblings made the area look like the massive maw of a beast.


    But what was impressive was the verdant and alien flora.


    While the forest around the Old Camp held a small resemblance to its counterpart on Earth, this was a completely different world.


    Glowing sponges floated through the air, while algae hung from the ceiling. White and strangely formed plants covered every space with fertile soil.


    ¡°Welcome to ''The Beast''s Maw''!¡± I stepped into the open once I couldn''t discern any obvious dangers. A swarm of stingers hung from the ceiling a few dozen metres away, but they weren''t dangerous to us. Their prey were larger animals from which they could suck blood while their victims slept.


    ¡°An ominous way to name a cave, but I can see the reason,¡± Magnus commented while he studied our surroundings.


    I pointed at the stingers and gave Magnus a short explanation of the creatures.


    Then I led the way downwards.


    The Maw was angled at a decline of roughly fifteen degrees, which allowed us to quickly get deeper down the mountain without having to get to the icy surface.


    But unlike our trek away from the Old Camp, this was more of a casual walk while we explored the area. I used the opportunity to introduce Magnus to the animals we encountered and to warn him away from dangerous plants.


    One particular thing to look out for in the caves were the dusters. They were a type of plant, yellow with spongy leaves and long bulbs which spread yellow pollen like dust. If the pollen was inhaled, it was virulent enough to sprout inside the host. The result of such a thing happening was never good for humans.


    The only hope was to reach Tate''s hospital and get operated on before the plant took over the hosts entire lungs, effectively suffocating them.


    Magnus steered away from the plant once I had pointed it out. ¡°Shouldn''t we just burn everything in this cave and be done with it?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That''s what we are doing in the central cavern. Once every year, we have a festival. The whole clan spends a week doing nothing except for uprooting all the plants we don''t want and then we burn them on a large bonfire.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a tradition born from necessity,¡± Magnus commented while he glared at the duster.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± I gestured for us to get going. ¡°Come on. The Maw is largely safe because it is so close to the colony. Hunters regularly pass through here, but we still shouldn''t remain in one spot for too long.¡±


    We continued our trip and I kept up my explanations as we made our way deeper into the Maw.


    Our trip came to a sudden halt when I felt a familiar tingle run down my spine. Something was watching us. I stopped and slowly turned my head while I scanned our surroundings for signs of life.


    When I lowered the intensity of my Second Sight, I spotted a familiar greenish glow coming from between two stalactites on the ceiling. I placed a hand on Magnus''s chest and pulled him behind a shrub of gnarled, bone-like vegetation.


    Then I pointed at the spot where I had made out the faint glow and whispered, ¡°Do you see the light? That can only be a caveglider!¡±


    ¡°Caveglider?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°Like the one in our mutation?¡±


    I nodded, already feeling my mouth water in anticipation. ¡°Tonight, we are going to dine on properly seared meat. Not the overcooked stuff we had to put up with for months!¡±


    Magnus gripped his spetum tighter. ¡°How are we going to do this?¡±


    ¡°The ceiling isn''t so high here. We will sneak up as close as possible and I will send out my filaments. The caveglider is like a large...¡± I fumbled for an apt description. ¡°... squirrel-bat-thing with membranes between the appendages. It''s strong, but it won''t be able to fly if I latch onto it with my filaments. It will try to stay hidden from us for as long as possible by keeping a stalactite between us and it. If it tries to attack or flee, feel free to take a shot with your throwing spears, even though it''s unlikely for you to hit it without me entangling it first. Just look out for the flare, should it decide to burn up its bioluminescence.¡±


    Magnus nodded and we commenced with our approach.


    We got within twenty metres of where I had spotted the light, allowing me to spread out a web of filaments around the pair of stalactites.


    When we were almost beneath our target, the caveglider shot out of its hiding spot with an ear-splitting screech, but I had anticipated the possibility of it choosing to attack.


    My filaments quickly closed around the creature and pulled tight. It bobbed and weaved in mid-air, almost finding a way through. But even with its supernatural premonition, the caveglider wasn''t able to avoid all of my filaments. And the closer it got, the less space it had to dodge.


    Finally, one of my filaments made contact and I flexed my muscles to send an electric jolt along the filament, using it as a conductor.


    What should have been an easy jump for the caveglider turned into an uncontrolled fall as it was entangled in more filaments.


    Magnus was right there when our prey landed, launching a throwing spear into the creature before he followed up with a stab of his spetum.


    I saw the curling lines on the caveglider''s skin flare and closed my eyes, quickly turning my head and pulling away my filaments.


    Then I felt the searing heat of the caveglider''s last-ditch effort of escape.


    When I looked back, I found Magnus cursing and kicking the pitifully struggling creature which he had pinned to the ground with his spetum.


    I drew my rapier and quickly approached it before stabbing the creature in the head until it ceased its struggles.


    Upon checking on my partner, I found Magnus grinning at me with tears in his eyes. ¡°There has to be a better way to catch these fierce fuckers. The electricity almost didn''t bother it and standing right next to that flare will leave me without eyebrows sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°That''s why sensible people trap them,¡± I pointed out and bent down to butcher the creature. ¡°We have to take the meat and escape the area because the fight caused a lot of noise. Pay attention on how to butcher it. Knowing how to take apart the creature will allow you to aim for the vitals next time.¡±


    He dried his tears with his sleeve. ¡°I take it we aren''t sensible people then.¡±

 Ch 35 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Our first day of hunting ended with a feast.


    We retreated with our catch to one of the shelters which had been set up by my family. Then we spent the rest of the day grilling caveglider ribs and gorging ourselves on meat which wasn''t cooked into unrecognisable stew for once.


    Just like with the travel shelters between the Old Camp and Mount Aerie, my family had seen to it that all of the important hunting grounds provided relatively safe resting places ¨C if you knew how to find them.


    The next day, I led Magnus out of the Maw and down a narrow cave system which was collectively called ''The Beast''s Throat''.


    ¡°Let me guess, the next cave we are headed to is called ''The Beast''s Belly'',¡± Magnus commented jovially while he followed me down a jagged tunnel which required more climbing than walking.


    The natural caves in Mount Aerie weren''t formed by human hands and therefore were often not easy to traverse.


    Luckily, my filaments allowed me to slide more or less smoothly down the steeper inclines, while Magnus tried his luck with jumping from one ledge to the next. Where he couldn''t do so safely, he simply relied on his strength to climb while I used my filaments like a set of ropes.


    ¡°You are so astute!¡± I praised him. ¡°Now you just have to get over your pride and allow me to carry you. Or you could hold on to one of my filaments and slide down.¡±


    While bantering with him, I tried to sneak a filament around his waist but he batted it away with a mild slap, like the groping hand of a naughty child.


    ¡°That''s not necessary.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Besides, it would be bad if we encounter something while we are... entangled.¡±


    ¡°You are well aware I could let you go within moments.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°There is no real risk if I carry you through the nasty parts of the passage.¡±


    ¡°Then I admit I don''t want to be carried around if it''s not necessary,¡± Magnus grumbled. ¡°It hurts my pride. And climbing on my own is good training.¡±


    At least he admitted it.


    ¡°Fine.¡± I reached another steeply angled crevice. ¡°But if we have to be quick, you won''t complain about me picking you up.¡± After inspecting the ceiling, I tangled my filaments around a sturdy part of the jagged rock and swung myself down the almost vertically descending tunnel.


    Magnus nodded and jumped, pushing himself off a wall before he found a foothold on a narrow ledge. His fingers found a small fissure in the rock and he held himself there while he waited for me to lower myself to his level.


    ¡°You haven''t answered my guess,¡± he pointed out.


    It took me a moment to remember his original statement. ¡°Yes, you are right about the next large cavern being called the Belly.¡±


    And I could already predict he would complain about the Aerie being not very imaginative with giving names right about... not yet... he first has to purse his lips... now.


    ¡°Whoever named these caves wasn''t very imaginative,¡± Magnus commented right on cue.


    ¡°Wow...¡± I whispered and applauded myself inwardly. ¡°I am getting good at this.¡±


    ¡°At what?¡± He frowned and turned his attention away from the darkness beneath us to look at me.


    ¡°Predicting what you are going to say,¡± I replied. ¡°I almost got your superiority complex down to the second.¡±


    He winced. ¡°Don''t you think it''s bad for a couple to become like this after just a few weeks? What''s going to happen in a year? Are you going to get bored of me? Will any of my thoughts stay hidden for long?¡±


    I knew he wasn''t really concerned for our relationship because he was smiling, so I continued our verbal fencing duel.


    ¡°Then let''s be glad I am not solely keeping you around for your limited mental qualities. Your physical attributes are more than enough incentive for me.¡± I giggled while I slid down the next few metres heels overhead. My filaments allowed me the freedom to orient myself whichever way I wanted to while I was hanging from them.


    ¡°That''s a very nice view,¡± Magnus commented while he followed me. ¡°It''s good to know what you value in your partner.¡±


    ¡°You are a letch,¡± I used a filament to slap him lightly on the back of his head, meaning he probably didn''t feel it at all.


    Despite our banter, we never failed to pay attention to our surroundings. And so both of us noticed the sound of falling rocks coming from further down the shaft.


    I focused my senses, but whatever it was, it created so much noise that I couldn''t make out anything helpful apart from falling rocks. There was only one thing for sure.


    Something was on its way up and it wasn''t concerned about being detected.


    Not a bit.


    I quickly grabbed Magnus with several filaments and pulled him to me. By relying purely on my echolocation, I swung both of us into the narrowest part of the vertical crevice we were in. Once I had a firm hold on the wall, I drew in my filaments and dimmed my bioluminescence before I covered Magnus'' mouth with a hand.


    There were only a few creatures in these caves which didn''t care about making noise, and none of them should be messed with light-heartedly.


    The both of us held our breaths while something large ascended the tunnel, kicking loose dozens of rocks on its way and sending them careening down the shaft. The creature meandered on its way. As if trying to inspect every part of the cave it could reach, or as if it couldn''t decide on the optimal path.


    Thankfully, the thing''s large bulk prevented it from entering the narrower part I had chosen to hide in. A questing white tentacle slapped against the cave wall in front of us, then loosened with a wet slurp as the creature passed us by. It left behind a glistening substance which covered the rock with a transparent sheen.


    Not moving, I held Magnus silently in place for several minutes even after the monster''s passage. I only loosened my hand on his mouth once no more rocks were falling from above and everything was silent.


    ¡°That was close,¡± I lamented. ¡°If the shaft had been any narrower, we would have had a nasty fight on us.¡±


    ¡°Was that a ghostleech?¡± Magnus whispered, proving he had paid at least some attention to the bestiary I had him study. ¡°The book didn''t say they got so large. If I had to guess, it was at least ten times my size.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied. ¡°And a large one at that. Some of the hunters up in the Maw will have an unpleasant encounter.¡±


    Ghostleeches were like a mixture between a snail, a tapeworm, and an underground octopus. They were utterly blind, deaf, and possessed no sense of smell as far as I knew. But they also didn''t need to.


    They hunted by randomly roaming the natural caves while relying on their sense of touch and taste.


    If they made contact with something edible, which was pretty much anything organic as far as the leeches were concerned, they could rely on their extremely effective paralytic contact poison. It was strong enough to incapacitate eventual prey within minutes of touching the slime which ghostleeches excreted in stupendous amounts.


    The creatures did not need teeth or other natural weaponry, because once the victim was subdued by the poison, they had all the time in the world to enjoy their meal with a rasp-like tongue which was capable of scratching stonemoss from cave walls. If it came to this point, the less resilience a human had, the better.


    I shuddered at the thought of something eating me by ''licking off'' one layer of flesh after the other.


    Once I was sure the creature hadn''t noticed us, I slowly lowered us down the rest of the shaft, careful to avoid touching the remnants of slime which the ghostleech had left behind.


    ¡°Shouldn''t we kill it?¡± Magnus asked once he realized I was taking us away from the ghostleech.


    ¡°Why?¡± I frowned. ¡°I don''t want a ghostleech mutation and deal with slime excreted from my skin.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°That would be a slippery business,¡± my partner commented with a chuckle, lost in a ¨C without a doubt ¨C dirty fantasy. Then he shook his head. ¡°You mentioned someone would have a bad day with the thing. Aren''t you concerned for your people?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I don''t necessarily want to fight something we are ill-prepared for. Ghostleeches are renowned for lacking brainpower. It will throw itself at any source of nourishment it can find, not stopping until it is dead or has eaten its fill. If it reaches the Maw, it will slow down and stuff itself with all the plant life that''s available up there. Soon afterwards it will fall into a form of food-coma. At that point, it would take an especially stupid hunter to step into its slime.¡±


    We reached the bottom of the shaft and I set Magnus down. ¡°Besides, one of the ghostleech''s hunting strategies is to slime up a tunnel with its excretions. Then it will double back and feast on anything that was incapacitated from touching it. Do you want to fight it inside a tunnel where half the surfaces are covered in its slime?¡±


    He looked around as if only now noticing the generous amounts of goop which dripped from the walls and parts of the ceiling. It would take a lot of skill to prevent all contact, even if our armour provided some protection.


    Finally, he gave his verdict by vehemently shaking his head.


    The cave was splitting up on its way further down, so I pointed out the path without slime.


    ¡°Got it.¡± Magnus followed the cave which was now getting a little wider and descending at a more comfortable angle. ¡°We don''t want to be here in case it decides to double back before it reaches the Maw.¡±


    He suddenly stopped, causing me to bump into him from behind.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± Sounding wary, he nudged something with the blunt end of his spetum.


    I stepped around him to see what he had found.


    On the ground lay a heart-sized piece of smooth stone. It was covered with the ghostleech''s transparent slime, but the bright green colour of the stone made it stand out. ¡°I think it''s a lesser core. Maybe the ghostleech shat it out. Remains of its latest victim.¡±


    Magnus wrinkled his nose and used his water bottle to rinse off the worst of the slime before he picked up the core.


    I didn''t call out in warning because my partner''s new armour came with thick leather gloves, which should be enough protection to prevent him from keeling over. ¡°Just be careful. The slime packs a punch if you get it on your skin.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Magnus used his water bottle to free his find from slime and to wash his gloves while I pulled him along.


    ¡°You may be able to sell it, depending on the metal content,¡± I pointed out. ¡°The blacksmiths are paying well for certain cores.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Magnus rejected the idea without a second thought. ¡°I want to find out how this thing works. It looks like a biomechanical version of a diaphragm pump. These are the in- and out-takes and I assume the third, large hole held the diaphragm, but it¡¯s missing now.¡±


    I frowned and took a look at the core in his hands. ¡°A lot of people have tried to put the cores to better use than just melting them down, but nobody succeeded so far. I assume you aren¡¯t too far off with your assumption. Most cores serve the purpose of a heart for larger monsters. They function where a purely biological solution wouldn¡¯t work. Sadly, they shut down almost immediately when the creature is killed.¡±


    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s what I think it is, then this one is busted. And it looks like someone designed it that way,¡± Magnus mused while he played with the core, going so far as to electrocute it without result. ¡°Can you imagine any way such a thing would develop naturally?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°You may be right. You may be not. This is an alien world. All I can say is I would have no idea how to prove or disprove that the creatures on it are bioengineered. Does it concern us as long as the issue isn¡¯t immediate and we have other problems?¡±


    He pursed his lips, his attention still on the core. ¡°I guess not.¡±


    We eventually managed to leave the ghostleech''s territory and arrived in the Belly, which was an even larger version of the Maw. But where the Maw had a relatively open ecosystem, the Belly housed a veritable jungle.


    I pointed out a narrow path which had been cut through the alien vegetation. ¡°Looks like another group of hunters took this path before us. Let¡¯s just follow it for now.¡±


    There was no point in finding our own way through the dense foliage, which would have taken us a lot of time.


    ¡°How old do you figure this path to be?¡± Magnus asked once we had advanced a good distance into the Belly.


    I inspected the slice on a coral plant which was more mushroom than real plant. When I tested the damaged part with my finger, it came away sticky with a substance similar to tree gum. ¡°No older than two or three days at worst,¡± I gave my verdict. ¡°The substance these plants lose when they are damaged hardens within a week. See? This is still very malleable and sticky, so it shouldn¡¯t be very old. If we are lucky, we run into the other hunting group when they are on their way back. They could inform us about the terrain ahead so that we don¡¯t waste our time in some uninteresting hunting ground. It would be ideal if they could point us towards an open path which leads to the foot of Mount Aerie.¡±


    The area at the base of the mountain would be ideal for us to search for a bloodmantle. Here in the Belly, I didn¡¯t expect to find something worth our time.


    It took us another hour of slowly following the ready path until we reached a small glade where seven people had set up a desolate camp.


    I was instantly alert when the people stood up to face us. All of them were gathered around the fireplace in the middle of the glade. And, unfortunately, we had stumbled right into them without giving us the chance to observe them first.


    Touching Magnus¡¯s shoulder with a filament, I gave him a meaningful look and whispered while I indicated the camp. ¡°Something is wrong here. If I tell you to fight, hold nothing back. Go for the kill.¡±


    The reason for me being so tense was the fact that this camp looked like a fight had taken place in it. One of the three sleeping bags was slashed open and the fireplace looked like someone rolled through it, scattering the ash everywhere.


    The five women and two men who were waiting for us with smiles on their lips also looked strange.


    At a glance, they seemed like they had been in a fight. But once I took a second look, I realized something about their clothes was off.


    A very loosely sitting backpack was hanging from a woman¡¯s shoulders. Nobody in his right mind would carry heavy gear willingly like this.


    Then there was the arm guard which didn¡¯t sit as it should on one of the guys. He seemed unbothered by the fact that he hadn¡¯t put it on correctly.


    All these were things a normal person would feel uncomfortable about and fix as soon as possible. Yet, these people had been sitting around a campfire without a care in the world.


    And who in his right mind would set up such a shoddy camp right in the open when there should be a shelter at the Belly¡¯s centre?


    My eyes wandered to one of the backpacks which lay open with its contents strewn around the camp.


    I smiled and waved a hand at the group of people who were still watching us with relaxed smiles on their faces. ¡°Hello!¡±


    One of the women raised a hand and waved it exactly as I had done. ¡°Hello!¡±


    I slowly walked forward while I gestured for Magnus to get ready and hissed through clenched teeth. ¡°Go for the heads. Beheading or destroying the brains works best.¡±


    Magnus imperceptibly changed the grip on his spetum.


    I could only hope he had understood what was going on because there was no way I could inform him about what was to come without giving away that we had caught onto our opponent¡¯s spiel. If we ran away now, we would only give them time to prepare and it would become an indefinitely harder fight.


    Just to be sure, I repeated the gesture, slightly varying the way I waved in greeting. ¡°Hello!¡±


    Again, the woman mirrored me exactly. ¡°Hello!¡±


    If she was a real human, I would believe she was trying to mock me.


    ¡°We left the central cavern a day ago. It¡¯s so lucky to find someone who has been out here for a while to tell us about the lay of the land¡­¡± I kept on babbling as I closed in on the woman.


    Slowly, I allowed my filaments to billow out as unthreateningly as possible. At the same time, I firmly gripped the heft of my rapier with my right hand and stretched out my left, as if offering it in greeting.


    Two more steps brought me into range.


    I drew my rapier and slashed out in a single motion with supernatural speed, the skill already honed by hundreds of hours sparring with Magnus.


    The top of the woman¡¯s head separated from what was beneath right where the eyes met the nose.


    Magnus¡¯ spetum shot past my shoulder, stabbing one of the guys into the throat and continuing onwards until the side blades completely separated the head from the shoulders. But my partner wasn¡¯t done. Changing the trajectory of his weapon, he brought it sideways down on one of the other women.


    But our moment of surprise was gone.


    The woman hissed and blocked Magnus¡¯s blade with her bare hand, showing off a set of four wicked claws which had burst from her forearm.


    She nonetheless seized up when Magnus channelled electricity directly through his weapon. Drawing the short sword at his side, he quickly stepped forward and claimed another head before he kicked the corpse away to free his main weapon.


    I allowed my filaments to shoot forward and up, entangling the four remaining targets while I reached for the plants above.


    Finding a firm hold on a sturdy piece of vegetation, I pulled, acting as a sort of spring between it and my victims.


    All of us shot upwards into the dense vegetation until we reached the point of highest elevation. When I felt the moment of weightlessness at the highest point, I pulled again with all my might.


    Performing the attack could have taken no more than two or three seconds, but thanks to my sped-up perception it felt like an eternity until all four bodies came down and impacted the ground with all the force I could muster.


    While they landed in awkward positions, I came down in a three-point stance on my legs and my free hand.


    Quickly, I moved to stab one more stunned creature right into the brain, while Magnus also made good use of the opportunity I had created.


    He threw his short sword, splitting the head of one enemy before he brought his foot down on another. The head was squished beneath the sole of his boot.


    Squealing, the last creature got back to its feet. It tried to run away while its clothes and human physique morphed in front of our eyes, being replaced by a bipedal thing with silvery scales. Apart from the bent backwards feet and the arms which had four claws, it didn¡¯t have any discerning features. No eyes, ears, nostrils, or other openings were visible on its smooth skin.


    Magnus drew a metal ball from his satchel and his arm blurred before the last changeling¡¯s head exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter.


    Then the glade was silent once more.


    ¡°What a shit show!¡± Magnus cursed and spat on the corpse closest to him. It had lost its human form and was back to what changelings normally looked like.


    ¡°That thing could talk!¡± he complained. ¡°How can it talk? I read about it, but I didn¡¯t believe there are intelligent aliens in this world!¡±


    I sighed. ¡°They can¡¯t talk for real, nor are they intelligent. A changeling can¡¯t be reasoned with. They are more like parrots who mimic the noises of their prey to draw it in. Then they strike when your guard is down. Plenty of pseudo scientists caught them in the early days to prove they are intelligent. Admittedly, they have some limited problem-solving abilities, but they are far below a human¡¯s intelligence. More like chimpanzees. If I had kept greeting it, it would have mimicked me until it became obvious I saw through its disguise.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s so easy, then how did the other hunting group fall to them?¡± Magnus looked around the camp.


    I bit my lip while I gave the camp a closer look. ¡°There are only three sets of gear if you look closely. Three backpacks. I assume the changelings got the jump on the hunting group and finished them off before they realized what was happening. You shouldn¡¯t underestimate how powerful the two of us are compared to unpaired warriors. Three unpaired warriors against seven changelings would be an unwinnable situation for the humans.¡±


    I sighed dejectedly. ¡°Please help me search the gear for any identifications. Once we return, we have to inform the clan that they won¡¯t be coming back. And please be quick about it. We don¡¯t have any guarantee these seven were all there is. Normally, changelings hunt in much larger groups.¡±

 Ch 36 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Nothing!¡± I was beginning to get slightly frustrated after upending the third backpack and finding the contents to be utterly generic survival gear without a hint at the owner or even the supplier. Normally, I would have expected to unearth some insignia that identified the strata these people came from. ¡°Have you found anything?¡±


    Magnus shook his head while he spread out a pile of items in front of him. ¡°Their gear is set up very similarly to ours, but there is nothing in the sense of personal items.¡±


    ¡°How frustrating,¡± I mused and decided to give voice to my confusion. ¡°The clan hands out standardized equipment to new hunters and the setup of our mysterious hunting group¡¯s gear copies the list. This means these people should¡¯ve been newbies. Experienced hunters add their own touch to their equipment in accordance with their mutations. On the other hand, if they were inexperienced, then what were they doing down here in the Belly with just three people?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Only trained and tested groups should be coming down here ¨C or those with powerful skills. In any case, there should be some hints at who manufactured the items.¡±


    I took one of the cooking sets and pointed at the scratched spot where someone had removed a craftsman''s mark. ¡°They went so far as to obfuscate the origins of their gear.¡±


    Magnus threw away the torn remains of the backpack he had searched. ¡°Maybe you are on the wrong foot, so to speak. What other possibilities are there than an ordinary hunting group? A group of young adventurers who got in over their head?¡±


    I pulled a face. ¡°If so, then they forgot about everything their elders should have taught them.¡±


    ¡°Poachers then!¡± Magnus threw out another suggestion. ¡°Haven¡¯t you said these hunting grounds are claimed by your family? Are there other groups who would pay some fools a hefty sum to catch them something which the Frosts would only provide at exorbitant prices? It¡¯s in the nature of people to-¡±


    I held up a hand to stop him. ¡°What you are suggesting comes a little too close to what we are seeing here. If this hunting group¡¯s trip wasn¡¯t sanctioned by the clan, then it would make sense for them to take no identifications with them.¡±


    The clan wasn¡¯t big on regulating the lives of our people, but some things had to be supervised to minimize human casualties. Some decades ago, the clan¡¯s hunters young and old would go out and do as they pleased, which meant many never returned ¨C too many.


    It lay in humanity¡¯s nature to take foolish risks. Unfortunately, Tirnanog wasn¡¯t a place that forgave mistakes.


    Nowadays, you had to be a certified hunter to leave clan-controlled grounds. And you were only allowed to visit certain areas of the mountain. It wasn¡¯t an ideal solution, because it led to the monopoly of power my family¡¯s fortune was built upon.


    So maybe there was no reason for me to complain, as Frost¡¯s primary scion. I never had to deal with the harsh regulations which prevented people beneath a certain power level from exploring dangerous hunting grounds.


    On the other hand, if the likely fate of ill-prepared fortune hunters was what we found here, then regulations might be the preferable option.


    For a moment, I warred internally between duty and my desire to have a fun time with my partner. Then I sighed dejectedly and looked at Magnus with a sorrowful expression. ¡°I am sorry. I intended our excursion to become a relaxed trip between the two of us, but this mess changes things.¡±


    Throwing out my hand, I gestured at the camp around us. ¡°It will likely turn out to be nothing more than an illegitimate hunting trip orchestrated by another strata, but we have to make sure to secure any evidence we can. If we desire a position of power within the clan, then we have to show we can take care of messes like this.


    ¡°If we go on as planned and return in a week, all evidence will be gone. And telling the authorities about it without proof is worth just about as much as hot air. It also means we likely won¡¯t get to catch our bloodmantle. We also can¡¯t allow an entire tribe of changelings to settle down right in our hunting grounds. The Belly isn¡¯t too close to the clan, but if the changelings get a firm hold of this territory it will become a problem sooner or later.¡±


    Magnus shrugged in indifference. ¡°We already agreed on you being the leader. I follow when it comes to wilderness exploration. I wouldn¡¯t know how to navigate these caves anyway. And from what I understood, this was a gamble from the beginning. Who is to say we won¡¯t find an equal opportunity elsewhere? The only thing I don¡¯t understand is what else we could do apart from searching the belongings.¡±


    I pointed at a game trail leading deeper into the Belly. ¡°We have to find the bodies or at least some remains to make sure who these people were. Changelings normally leave behind at least some bones and certainly the armour, but there is nothing here. Which means they took the bodies elsewhere. I assume these changelings split off from some larger party and we are going to find our poachers in the bellies of some changelings.¡±


    Magnus made a face full of disgust. ¡°If we find them, I will leave it to you to search changeling guts or poop for something like dog tags.¡±


    ¡°Dog tags?¡± I asked, not understanding the expression. ¡°Another expression from Earth?¡± It happened sometimes with Magnus, but I had learned not to be bothered by it.


    He gestured at his neck. ¡°Identifications. Military back on Earth has these necklaces with a metal pendant and your name on it. Hence, dog tags.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Fine, then let¡¯s be extra silent from now on.¡± I went to follow the trail with my rapier drawn. ¡°We should be careful not to stumble into another group of them as we did before. If we can¡¯t avoid it and they are still in their human disguise, we rush them. They are weak while not in their natural form, so we should abuse the opportunity if possible.¡±


    ¡°Aside from that.¡± Magnus gestured at the corpses. ¡°Do we get anything cool from eating them? Will we be able to change shape? Do they have cores?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but smile wickedly at me. ¡°I would like to have a woman who can change her three sizes according to the mood.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and stared at him. Sometimes, too much was too much. He could prove his attraction to me as much as he wanted to, but I still had some hang-ups about my chest. I just wasn¡¯t as large as other girls. No need to point it out!


    Magnus quickly understood he had shot beyond the line of a good-natured joke and cleared his throat. ¡°Not that you aren¡¯t perfect the way you are.¡± He was quick to indicate an hourglass figure with his hands. ¡°Those hips of yours would make any guy lose his head. And that ass¡­ have I told you I am totally a bottom guy?¡±


    I looked down at myself and rolled my eyes. ¡°Alright. Stop it right there before it gets even more awkward. And to answer your question: We would likely get nothing more than an ability to change our colour for camouflage. If you take changeling as a secondary mutation, you won¡¯t receive the full shapechanging ability. You get the whole package only by taking it as a primary mutation ¨C which we already have. So it¡¯s impossible for us. And creatures of this size do not have cores.¡±


    Magnus mimed fainting. ¡°So, no shape-changing superpower for us.¡±


    ¡°I am afraid not.¡±


    We continued in silence, this time paying a lot more attention to our surroundings so we wouldn¡¯t run into another group of changelings.


    It took us an hour of travel time, but we finally arrived at another, much larger clearing which was located at the Belly¡¯s edge.


    This time around, we didn¡¯t stumble like children into the enemy. Thanks to my echolocation, we were forewarned and had enough time to leave the path and sneak the rest of the distance slowly through the underbrush.


    A large root twenty metres away from the glade provided us with enough cover and height advantage to observe the situation without being discovered.


    The ground in this glade had been trampled into a circle of dirt almost fifty metres wide and there were about twenty crude structures in the area. They looked like tents made out of leaves, but I knew better.


    ¡°I thought those things aren¡¯t intelligent,¡± Magnus whispered while he peeked over the root from next to me.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t huts or shacks,¡± I corrected his assumptions. ¡°Till now, I¡¯ve never seen it myself, but from what my father told me these must be the changelings¡¯ version of a nest. Birds build nests and nobody says they are intelligent. Why are you trying so hard to ascribe them intelligence?¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not that I am trying ¨C or care ¨C but those things are freaking me out. No eyes, no ears, no nose. That¡¯s just not right. How can they even sense us?¡±


    I returned my attention to the clearing. ¡°Some believe they have heat vision through their skin. Now, concentrate!¡± I bit my lips and observed the area. ¡°They¡¯ve set up a spawning ground right inside our territory. It¡¯s good we found it before they started to hatch. Those things can get out of control quickly and before you know it, you have to launch a punitive expedition with over a hundred paired clanners just to get rid of the problem.¡±


    From what I could count, there were about twenty-two changelings in the clearing ¨C most of them in their natural form. The sleek, reptile bipeds with their silver scales roamed the area, each serving some task. A few had lookout duty, while others were cleaning away the vegetation or tending to the nest structures. They were meticulous in their mission to keep the nests clean and untouched.


    At the centre of the clearing sat a huge, bloated figure on a pile of bones as if they were its throne. It was a changeling matriarch ¨C a sight which few hunters had seen and lived to tell the tale.


    The creature¡¯s belly took up most of its mass. It was an eerie sight as it moved in undulating motions, giving me the impression of an ant queen in its hive.


    ¡°It¡¯s the alien version of the Venus of Willendorf!¡± Magnus whispered. His voice oozed bewildered fascination mixed with disgust.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I bit my lip while I ignored his latest innuendo. How should I know who this Venus was? ¡°How much do we bet our proof is inside that thing?¡±


    ¡°Is it a bet if I concur?¡± He thoughtfully massaged his chin. ¡°But fine, if we find the poachers inside the thing¡¯s belly, you get to be on top tonight.¡±


    ¡°Why do I have to be on top?¡± I mumbled. Being on top was a lot of work. I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back behind the root while I eased backwards.


    ¡°Bottom then?¡± Magnus asked hopefully.


    ¡°All fours,¡± I finished the argument with a smirk. ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk about how to deal with these things.¡±


    ¡°Too many to fight them.¡± Magnus had no problem with switching instantly from playful banter to serious mode. ¡°Those things had lookouts and most of them were in their natural form. Your filaments are powerful when it comes to subduing multiple enemies at once, but there are just too many of them. If they swarm us, we will get overwhelmed.¡± Magnus raised an eyebrow in question. ¡°Do they swarm?¡±


    ¡°Definitely,¡± I replied. ¡°If they think their breeding grounds are threatened, they will attack relentlessly. But that¡¯s something we can make use of.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°We deploy all the traps and tripping wires we¡¯ve brought with us,¡± I explained my idea. ¡°Then, once we¡¯ve set up a death zone, we challenge them and retreat. They will mindlessly follow us right into the traps.¡±


    ¡°What if they don¡¯t?¡± Magnus asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.


    ¡°They will.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°Just believe me, these aren¡¯t people. They won¡¯t outsmart us. They might have the wits to figure out a trapping mechanism given a few hours, but they won¡¯t suddenly develop higher pack strategies once they realize they are in a minefield.¡±


    Magnus and I spent the next two hours setting up traps by using the local flora.


    The easiest ones to place were the spools with tripwire. It was a pleasant surprise when Magnus revealed he had brought even more tripwire than was normal. And I couldn¡¯t help but smile devilishly when he shared his reasoning with me.


    Then I showed Magnus how to set up a tension trap with the reed-like plants which were the local version of trees. Complimented with some prepared spikes, a whipping branch could become a deadly threat.


    Another version of the trap was easier to set up with just a snare, but those traps weren¡¯t lethal and could only temporarily disable the target. Once Magnus got the gist of it, he invented some traps of his own, made possible by his incredible strength.


    Trap-making was just about learning a few trigger mechanisms and then allowing creativity to run wild.


    We worked tirelessly to gain every advantage possible until all the equipment we brought was deployed.


    At last, we determined doing anything more wasn¡¯t cost-effective time-wise. We could have dug a few pits, but it would have been a noisy affair. The changelings would hardly allow us to go unmolested if they learned of our presence.


    Preparations complete, we approached the changeling camp together. Magnus had several of his throwing spears ready and I brought my throwing stars to the table.


    To make sure the changelings would be properly incentivised, Magnus brought two self-made wooden versions of his throwing spears. Covered with oily rags, they would catch fire easily. A spark was enough and two javelins of fire stabbed into the two closest changeling nests.


    The changelings took a whole three seconds to process the nature of the attack before they came after us, screeching as if we had committed a cardinal sin.


    But we were already running back to our chosen battlegrounds, careful as to not be too fast. We didn''t want our pursuers to lose track.


    We reached the trapped area and I used my filaments by hooking them into the vegetation¡¯s canopy to swing both Magnus and myself over the traps.


    With the death zone between us and our pursuers, we turned once more to stand our ground.


    I readied a throwing star and waited, sensing the tremor of multiple bodies crashing through the vegetation.


    The first five changelings came bounding out of the underbrush and promptly fell victim to the field of tripping wires. One fell unluckily in mid-run and broke something important because it yowled and didn¡¯t get back up. Instead, it relentlessly drew itself forward on its clawed arms.


    Magnus targeted the fastest monster to get back up with his throwing spear, while I sent a throwing star through the torso of another changeling.


    But instead of dying, the creature yowled in pain.


    I cursed and finished the job with a second star through the neck. My training had included throwing techniques, but I hadn¡¯t realized up till now that throwing stuff with the acceleration technique required its own finesse.


    More changelings arrived at the scene and had their charge similarly broken as they got entangled in the wires.


    Magnus quickly went through his ammunition as more and more changelings entered the death zone.


    One activated a tension trap and caught a case of chest penetration when a branch with metal spikes whipped it with enough force to send the creature flying.


    My partner activated his little trap when one changeling managed to get past the first three-quarters of our killing field. Magnus pulled on a piece of rope, which removed several wooden stoppers from beneath boulders hidden high in the vegetation. They had been attached to ropes and could swing freely through the area.


    Most missed, but some hit their mark, inflicting as much blunt trauma as Magnus had managed to lift.


    ¡°I think it should be most of them!¡± I went down on one knee and grabbed the two interwoven cords of tripwire which centred on our chosen location like a spider¡¯s web.


    Magnus kneeled next to me and placed his hands on mine. Then we nodded in affirmation at each other and channelled as much power as we could.


    The tripwires easily transferred the energy directly to any changeling who was caught up in our trap. We only stopped when the wires grew too hot for us to touch, but by that point, many of the changelings had already found their demise.


    Magnus picked up his spetum and casually strolled into the death zone.


    A few changelings were still standing, but none of them were uninjured. When one got too close, Magnus¡¯ weapon blurred and the creature fell apart in two pieces.


    I followed, careful to watch his back. While he dispatched the ones coming at us, I finished off the ones on the ground. Either by touching them with my filaments to give them a final heart-stopping jolt or by stabbing their brains with my rapier.


    We were almost done killing the last of the pack when something huge broke through the underbrush.


    ¡°Watch-¡±


    It hit Magnus with a meaty paw and sent him flying like a toy. My partner only let out a pained grunt as he landed in some vegetation several metres away.


    ¡°Magnus!¡±


    I screamed in outrage and barely managed to dodge the changeling matriarch¡¯s second swipe. How could something so huge move so fast!?


    With a howl, I tried to electrocute the thing, pumping enough energy through my filaments to fry a normal changeling. But the matriarch only shrieked and acted as if I had stung it.


    It rolled forward on its belly and then its head split open sideways, revealing a lamprey¡¯s maw lined with countless teeth.


    The snapping jaws almost got me and I quickly slashed the creature in retaliation, but my rapier only inflicted a superficial cut.


    Then Magnus came sailing from above, roaring like a barbarian. His spetum pierced the matriarch¡¯s head and was rammed down all the way when my partner landed with both feet on the sideblades.


    The monster bucked and twitched, revealing its belly to me.


    I grasped the opening and jumped, ramming the rapier through scales and flesh while I shot out my filaments backwards. They coiled around the trunk of a large mushroom and then I pulled, giving it my best not to let go of the rapier while I pulled it back with me.


    The matriarch¡¯s belly was slit open from side to side, allowing organs, guts, and other things to slip out.


    It bucked again and threw Magnus off, breaking the tip of his spetum and one of the sideblades.


    Both of us quickly increased our distance to the matriarch as it thrashed around, fighting against death till the end. But even a monster like it couldn¡¯t endure such grievous injuries.


    With a last shudder, it stilled.


    ¡°Magnus! Are you alright!?¡± I quickly circumvented the corpse to get to my partner. ¡°I thought I lost you! Why didn¡¯t you dodge it? I¡¯ve seen you do so before!¡±


    Magnus coughed and hit the chest piece of his armour. ¡°I wanted to test this beauty in combination with a new technique of mine.¡±


    I scowled at him.


    Instead of acknowledging my disapproval, he puffed out his chest, moving it around as some extremely buff bodybuilder would do with his muscles. ¡°I thought if my filaments are yet too short to use them offensively, I could use them instead as impact armour to soften a blow. It takes a little bit of concentration, but the matriarch¡¯s slap felt more like being hit by wool instead of claws.¡±


    Slowly, I let out a breath I hadn¡¯t known I had held. ¡°Warn me next time. And don¡¯t test out new abilities in real combat situations!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I was very certain it would work just fine.¡± He pointed at the corpse behind me. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we take care of this? Before, you know, it starts stinking even more.¡±


    I turned to regard the mess we¡¯d made. Before partnering up with Magnus, I wouldn¡¯t have dreamed of bringing down a giant monster like this one with just two people.


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Magnus covered his mouth next to me and turned away. ¡°Why is it still moving?¡±


    I frowned at the huge ¡®sack¡¯ which was squirming on the ground next to the matriarch¡¯s empty belly cavity.


    Using a filament to cover my mouth and nose, I stepped forward and carefully used the tip of my rapier to slice the sack open.


    Then I almost had to puke when the mushy contents spilled out, combined with yellowish digestive fluid.


    I was even more horrified when one of the piles of half-digested flesh raised a hand.


    ¡°He- help...¡±

 Ch 37 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    My partner coughed and took a step further away from the piece of misery lying on the ground. ¡°You know, I was once on a trip to Germany and got myself into a little culinary misadventure. They have this dish there which they call Mett ¨C which is essentially minced raw meat with spices plus onion. Sometimes they also allow it to ferment before it is served. Unfortunately, that¡¯s the version I got. At the time, my belly didn¡¯t agree at all.¡±


    He pointed a finger at the silently wailing woman and swallowed before sharing his final judgement. ¡°And she¡­ she looks exactly like Mett¡­ at least I hope it''s a she¡­ otherwise something very important dissolved before we came to the rescue.¡±


    I hit Magnus¡¯s upper arm for his lack of compassion. I couldn¡¯t hurt him in this way, but it felt like the right thing to do at the moment. ¡°Go and get our gear! We have to lend some first aid or she won¡¯t make it!¡±


    In fact, I wasn¡¯t sure whether she would survive even with our help. Or was Magnus right and we were dealing with a very unfortunate ¡®he¡¯? Could a human survive losing all of her... his skin?


    I chose to tentatively settle on ¡®her¡¯. Although judging by the physique, we could also be facing a more androgyne ¡®he¡¯.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be kinder to just put it out of its misery?¡± Magnus asked, but he turned nonetheless to retrieve our backpacks from their hiding place. We had stored them beneath a large mushroom to not be burdened needlessly during the fight.


    ¡°Maybe, but we won¡¯t be the ones to do it!¡± I gathered my filaments and used them to lift the hunter out of the remains of her party. Gosh, I hoped she hadn¡¯t been soaking in the bodies of her friends or lovers.


    Touching her caused the hunter to let out a tortured moan, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. We had to clean and wrap her in antiseptic bandages to give her at least a small chance of survival. I just hoped we brought enough supplies to do so.


    The antiseptic cream which came with the standard survival gear was normally enough to treat a grievous wound or amputation. It prevented infection and stopped bleeding. Otherwise, people relied mostly on their mutations for healing.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t know whether too much of the cream could have adverse effects. I had never tried to use it on someone who lost all of her skin.


    In any case, we needed a lot more water than we had on hand to clean her.


    ¡°Magnus,¡± I addressed my partner as soon as he returned with the gear. ¡°Do you remember the large blue plant we passed on our way here? The one that gathers water?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you mean the waterbulb?¡± He looked in the direction. ¡°Should be ten minutes away if I run.¡±


    ¡°Please take the waterskins and fill them to the brim. Then bring them back here while I do what I can for her,¡± I instructed. Sending Magnus off alone was a calculated risk I wouldn¡¯t have taken normally. But it wasn¡¯t far and we definitely couldn¡¯t move the survivor like this.


    We ended up spending more time patching up the hunter than I wished to.


    Thankfully, only small carrion eaters were attracted by the battlefield we had created.


    The local version of zippers were carrionworms. Though they were far less dangerous than the little monsters with whom I had come to share some genes. Carrionworms were a union of a worm and a centipede without the carapace. They were magnetically drawn to dead biomass and started feasting on the bodies around us within minutes by burrowing into them.


    Their main defence was an extremely nasty substance which they spat at anything interfering with their feeding. In stark contrast to zippers, throwing something like a stick at them with enough force to hurt was a sufficient deterrent in most cases.


    Until Magnus returned, I was able to chase off any which came too close. Once he was back, he took over chasing away the critters while I cleaned the survivor as best as I could.


    Before I was done, I had to step out twice so I wouldn¡¯t sully her with my own vomit. My parents had seen to it early on that I would be hardened against the gruesomeness of this world, but this was something which turned even my stomach. The smell of the matriarch¡¯s stomach acid was too overwhelming.


    Almost an hour later, and me wishing I hadn¡¯t struck a deal with Magnus to be the one who digs through the matriarch¡¯s guts, we finally had our survivor on a stretcher. She was wrapped up like a mummy in all the bandages and clean cloth we had on hand.


    I couldn¡¯t claim I had done a great job. But in my defence, it had to be said whole-body-bandaging was a technique that was normally restricted to the realm of comics and jokes.


    Somewhere along the line, our patient had lost consciousness and was completely out of it. Which was a blessing in disguise. Having your whole body covered with the antiseptic cream must have felt like being dissolved in stomach acid all over again.


    While I was busy with first aid, Magnus managed to retrieve most of his throwing spears.


    When I gathered my equipment, I encountered a very annoying downside to my throwing stars. They were almost impossible to find if I didn¡¯t remember exactly where I had thrown them. My partner¡¯s approach with ranged weapons was the better one. Disposable metal balls for small fry and large projectiles for the big stuff.


    In the end, I had to admit that nothing could be done about me losing most of my throwing stars.


    With our backpacks a lot lighter and a lot of our gear lost to the chaos of combat, I abandoned any hope of continuing our hunt and instead led Magnus to the closest shelter.


    The changelings¡¯ nesting area was still mostly untouched, but I hoped for the blow we dealt to their population to be grievous enough to make eventual survivors easy prey for any predator which came along.


    That said, I found it very strange for the matriarch to leave the nest. Normally, I would have expected it to stay behind and guard the offspring. Its appearance on the battlefield almost caused Magnus to be injured. It was a sobering reminder that I shouldn¡¯t take a wild animal¡¯s behaviour for granted.


    I had no time to mope over my mistake because we were finally forced to leave the area due to the increasing number of carrionworms.


    Between the two of us, we had no problem carrying the unconscious survivor on an improvised stretcher.


    The shelter was a well-hidden bunker in the cave¡¯s floor, located roughly in the Belly¡¯s centre. The single, large room was a lot better equipped than the shelters between the Old Camp and Mount Aerie. Which was to be expected, considering that only members of the family would know about this place.


    Once the shelter¡¯s trapdoor was locked, the first thing I did was raid the shelter¡¯s emergency supplies to top up our gear. Miraculously, our survivor hadn¡¯t died during the trip ¨C an outcome which wouldn¡¯t have surprised me in the least.


    ¡°She must have some mutation with an exceptional healing factor,¡± I mused when I checked on the patient. I drew away a part of the bandages and found the flesh beneath still raw, but it had scabbed over and dried up, preventing further loss of fluids. She wouldn¡¯t be able to move any time soon or everything would break open again.


    At least it didn¡¯t look like she was in any immediate danger of dying.


    I wasn¡¯t a doctor, but common sense told me that loss of liquid would be the greatest threat to the woman¡¯s life. So I did my best to feed her some leftover soup from a bottle. We had it leftover from yesterday ¨C boiled to an unrecognizable slurry of course.


    ¡°Sounds like the regeneration ended up being a curse,¡± Magnus commented. He inspected his spetum and pulled down the corners of his mouth in displeasure. It had suffered quite a bit when he used it as a jumping pole on the changeling matriarch. ¡°It looks like I need to have a new one made, but it should hold up for another fight.¡±


    My eyes were drawn to the missing tip. ¡°You won¡¯t be stabbing much with it in this state.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still good for slashing and I think I saw a file and a whetstone among our gear,¡± Magnus mused. ¡°I am not a metal worker, but filing a new point onto it should be within my capabilities.¡±


    I left the service of his weapon to him and took care of feeding our survivor some liquid food. If her regenerative ability was anything like Thalia¡¯s, then she would need a lot of nourishment and water to heal.


    Surprisingly, she opened milky-white eyes when I carefully brought a bottle with soup to her lips. The iris had been attacked by the stomach acid which rendered her blind, hopefully only temporarily.


    ¡°Who?¡± she softly croaked with a raw voice.


    ¡°We are hunters from the twelfth strata,¡± I informed her. ¡°We came across your camp and a group of changelings. We couldn¡¯t overlook their presence in our hunting region and followed their tracks to their breeding grounds, where we pulled you out of their matriarch¡¯s guts. I take it your presence in the Belly wasn¡¯t authorized?¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°No.¡± The woman shivered.


    ¡°Which strata and what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked.


    She didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°You know that we will find out sooner or later,¡± I pressed on. ¡°Your gear was intentionally obfuscated to hide your identity. From my point of view, we wouldn¡¯t have needed to lend you aid because you might not be clan.¡±


    ¡°Third,¡± came the reply.


    I considered the answer.


    The third strata was led by Bruce and Travis Patel. Officially, the third was focused entirely on mining the mountain¡¯s riches. But unofficially I knew them to be a little bit like the clan¡¯s black sheep. They liked to skirt the council¡¯s law and often enough people turned out to be connected to the third strata when shady business was going on.


    My father insisted that their back-alley deals had to be tolerated as long as things didn¡¯t get out of hand. No government had ever ruled the masses without circumventing their own laws, and this was where the third strata had proven its expertise.


    It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they orchestrated some unsanctioned hunting trips in my family¡¯s territory. There was only one thing that sounded a little bit fishy to me.


    The Patels weren¡¯t idiots or incompetent.


    ¡°What kind of stunt were you pulling out here?¡± I asked. ¡°The third may be one of the lesser stratas, but they aren¡¯t so incompetent as to send people without the right qualifications to poach in another¡¯s territory. How could a few changelings overpower you?¡±


    ¡°Not changelings¡­¡± the woman groaned. ¡°Mindflayer¡­ controlling them. We attacked¡­ nests¡­ slaughtering changelings¡­ but then¡­ everything went...¡±


    A cold shiver ran down my spine once she mentioned a mindflayer.


    ¡°Shh...¡± I shushed her and placed the bottle against her lips, allowing her to drink.


    ¡°Mindflayer?¡± Magnus leaned over us, his eyes gleaming with interest. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the creature which gives psychic abilities?¡±


    I sighed and shook my head at his obvious eagerness to challenge such a foe. ¡°I should have realized something was wrong when the changeling matriarch left her nest to come after us. The mindflayer must have taken over the changeling colony.¡±


    ¡°Taken over?¡± Magnus asked.


    ¡°Mindflayers act as parasites which like taking over herds of animals. Their ability to influence and control other animals allows them to stay undetected and feast on their host animals. A changeling colony would be an ideal target for a mindflayer. It''s not a stretch to assume the mindflayer influenced the changeling matriarch to come after us despite its nature.¡±


    ¡°But we killed most of the colony,¡± Magnus pointed out. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it have come after us too?¡±


    ¡°Mindflayers are dangerous due to their ability to cause hallucinations, but they have their weaknesses. Their bodies are relatively weak and it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for it to get killed in the crossfire of a chaotic situation. Unless something enters their chosen hunting grounds, they are unlikely to act directly. Instead, they prefer sending their host animals after the intruder,¡± I recited what I could remember from my studies. ¡°And while they can influence a lot of individuals at once, their range isn¡¯t exceptional.¡±


    Magnus pursed his lips. ¡°So they are like bums? They take up housing in something like a changeling colony and use the hosts to get them food. How do we kill it?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°The two of us? Not at all. From what I know it takes several people with ranged weapons spread out over a large area to hunt a mindflayer. As soon as it reveals itself, those who aren¡¯t under its influence shoot the thing. Hopefully, before someone dies.¡±


    Our moaning patient drew my attention and I fed her some more of the soup. ¡°How did you get caught up with the mindflayer?¡± I could sense every word causing her pain, but we had to know. If there was a mindflayer loose within the Belly, then we had to be more careful than ever with every step we took.


    Her eyes fluttered. ¡°Attacked¡­ nest¡­ then¡­ fighting¡­ each other.¡±


    ¡°They went for the changeling nest and the mindflayer caused them to attack each other,¡± Magnus concluded. ¡°And I assume the changelings just had to finish them off.¡±


    The huntress nodded and then moaned in pain. She had opened up a few new wounds on her neck with the movement.


    I hissed in sympathy and went to get some more of the salve. ¡°Just don¡¯t move. You are in no condition to do anything right now.¡±


    After I had patched up the huntress and fed her the rest of the bottle, Magnus and I retreated to our bunk in the far corner of the shelter.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked once our patient¡¯s breathing patterns suggested she was sleeping.


    ¡°That our hunting trip is over,¡± I grumbled softly while lying next to him. ¡°How unlucky can we be to run into a mindflayer right at the start? I suppose we shouldn¡¯t complain as long as we didn¡¯t end up in its belly.¡±


    ¡°There is no chance for the two of us to hunt it successfully?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°I would like to have such a mutation.¡±


    I huffed. ¡°There is a reason why only large parties go after mindflayers. We have to go back and tell the family. My parents will send a prepared raiding party to make these hunting grounds safe again.¡±


    ¡°How exactly does their ability work anyway? And what do they look like?¡± Magnus continued his questioning.


    I closed my eyes and concentrated on what I remembered. ¡°Large brain-spiders¡­ or bugs. About as big as a human. Their appearance depends on the mindflayer¡¯s age. It¡¯s generally a large, tumorous, and very vulnerable body with chitinous appendages for movement. The legs are the only danger apart from their ability to play mind games with their prey.¡±


    ¡°If it can cause us to attack each other, can we solo it? It sounds like the creature itself is weak without its minions.¡± Magnus suggested. ¡°Just walk there alone and kill everything in sight, no matter if it looks like our own mother?¡±


    ¡°The mindflayer can use its ability to hide,¡± I pointed out the flaw. ¡°It may stand right next to you without you knowing you are within its sphere of influence. With a mindflayer, you can¡¯t trust any of your senses.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you explain us not seeing it when we watched the clearing?¡± Magnus continued after a few moments of contemplative silence. ¡°Were we already under its spell?¡±


    I frowned and shook my head. ¡°The longest recorded range for a mindflayer is about twenty metres. Beyond that, they rely on other methods for stealth. This is why you need a large group to draw it out. They are very patient creatures.¡±


    ¡°Then where could it have hidden on the clearing?¡± Magnus mused. ¡°The changelings were meticulous about keeping everything tidy. There wasn¡¯t anything aside from the nests and the pile of bones which the matriarch sat upon ¨C and I doubt the mindflayer would have liked to be squished by that monstrosity.¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°I suppose it isn¡¯t out of the imagination for the mindflayer to hide inside one of the nests. The changelings naturally protect it and the mindflayer could eat the eggs which the changelings place inside.¡±


    ¡°One of the nests which I set ablaze,¡± Magnus mused. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s already dead? A lucky shot ¨C and the reason why it sent the matriarch after us.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Oh, please. Stop dreaming.¡± Then I stopped as I thought about it.


    Why would it send the matriarch if not out of a knee-jerk reaction because it had been attacked? ¡°This line of thought fits the sequence of events.¡±


    ¡°I say, tomorrow we go back and set all the nests on fire from a safe distance. If we drive it out, we have a go at it with ranged weapons,¡± Magnus spoke with absolute confidence.


    ¡°Magnus, I don¡¯t know how to say this, but that¡¯s a seriously bad idea,¡± I replied. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t risk it. Instead, we should hope to get home without encountering it. The mindflayer is an opponent we aren¡¯t equipped for.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Fine then. If you think we can¡¯t even take a look, then let others take care of it.¡±


    I could tell he wasn¡¯t satisfied with letting the chance go. He seriously wanted us to go for this evolution, but I wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind to discuss it. ¡°Just let me sleep over it. Let¡¯s revisit this topic in the morning when I am not dead tired.¡±


    The next day, I was admittedly a little bit frustrated when Magnus somehow convinced me to at least check out the changeling¡¯s nesting area with his new plan.


    ¡°I still think this is a stupid thing to do,¡± I complained while I allowed my filaments to reach out as far as possible.


    ¡°Then why are you here with me?¡± Magnus asked while he launched another burning throwing spear into a changeling nest.


    Sadly, I didn¡¯t have to perform deep soul searching to come up with an answer. ¡°Greed.¡± I sighed. ¡°The answer is a simple wish for power.¡±


    And I had to admit the new plan which Magnus presented to me in the morning had something going for it in its simplicity, but I didn¡¯t say it aloud because I figured it would provide him with an unhealthy ego boost.


    The plan was to kill any remaining changelings, set their nesting area on fire, and hunt down the mindflayer. The trick lay in how to do it.


    Magnus wanted us to rely solely on our electric abilities. Which was¡­ a stroke of genius.


    While the mindflayer could likely have us dream up any visions it wanted, I knew for certain that it couldn¡¯t stop our actual bodies from doing stuff. If we fired off electric blasts in regular intervals, we would hit it sooner or later.


    Even if it created a hallucination to have us see each other as a threat, we would be fine as long as we stuck to our electricity for offensive moves. Magnus and I could shock each other all day long without causing actual damage. Worst case, the mindflayer would figure us to be more trouble than we were worth and run away.


    When we arrived, we found three changelings remaining at the nesting area. Killing them was easy enough with Magnus¡¯s throwing spears. Then we proceeded to take out the nests one by one.


    ¡°And that should be the last nest.¡± Magnus lit his last wooden spear and fired it at the remaining nest. The dry vegetation used in its construction instantly caught fire.


    I created another burst of electricity, keeping to our rhythm of twenty seconds and not relying on what my eyes, ears and nose told me. If the mindflayer wanted to get close, it was unlikely to do so without touching my filaments.


    When I looked back to my partner, all I saw was the horrific maw of a changeling trying to kiss my face. It was so real, in any other situation I would have lashed out with all my might.


    Instead, I closed my eyes and strained my muscles, creating as much of a charge as possible while I flayed my filaments around.


    Something hit me in the shoulder and I went down before I felt an even stronger surge of electricity course through a few of my filaments and into my body.


    I knew it could only belong to Magnus and answered with a power surge of my own while I kept flailing my filaments like a toddler.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Magnus¡¯s voice brought me back to my senses and I felt myself being pulled back to my feet.


    I opened my eyes and found my partner grinning at me with a stupid expression.


    ¡°We did it!¡± he pointed at the charred corpse of a mindflayer. ¡°Sometimes, ninety percent of a fight is having a good plan.¡±


    The creature was a blob of brain-like, tumorous flesh with ten spider-like appendages. It lay twitching on the ground just three metres away from us. My shoulder was pulsing in pain, but I felt ecstasy coursing through my veins.


    Then I sent another burst of electricity into the thing, and Magnus, just to be sure.


    The jolt had him jump half a metre into the air. ¡°Hey! Watch it!¡±


    I smiled. Just because we were almost immune to electricity didn¡¯t mean a strong enough jolt wasn¡¯t unpleasant. ¡°I had to make sure it¡¯s you. And I will keep doing it on the way back. Just to be sure.¡±


    Magnus looked mortified. ¡°I don¡¯t think-¡±


    ¡°And who tells you there weren¡¯t two mindflayers?¡± I asked. ¡°They are rare, but it wouldn¡¯t be surprising given how fucked up our little trip was.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only logical.¡± Magnus nodded and grabbed one of my filaments. Then I had to yelp when my muscles spasmed.


    I growled and drew a knife, pretending to go after Magnus before I stabbed it into the mindflayer¡¯s grey flesh.


    Magnus interestedly looked over my shoulder. He always paid attention when I demonstrated how to process a catch.


    When my hands were already soiled with the fluids which accounted for the mindflayer¡¯s blood, Magnus asked, ¡°Will we really eat that?¡±


    I turned and looked at him with a strip of mindflayer flesh in my hands.


    His eyes wandered to the fillet I had cut and his face looked slightly green. ¡°I am just saying¡­ it looks a lot like brain¡­¡±


    ¡°You are going to tell me we gambled our lives on an untested strategy and now you want to go home without taking the spoils because you are squeamish? When I was the one who told you time and time again we shouldn¡¯t risk it?¡± I narrowed my eyes at him.


    Luckily for him, he got the hint and swallowed. ¡°Understood. Eat the mindflayer and shut up.¡±

 Ch 38 - EVO

    ***Earth, Iceland***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Logging observation instance two on third of August 3920. Array, adjust to object: Tabby¡¯s Star,¡± I dictated to the automated assistance program I had written, selected the pre-programmed coordinates on the list, then checked whether the voice recognition had inserted the data correctly into the control program.


    Honestly, the system in charge of the observation array was already automated to the point at which no human presence was required. I could have done my job from home, but the university felt better about having a human overseeing operation.


    After all, there was this 0.000001% chance of me hitting the hardwired emergency kill-switch to stop the system from damaging itself in case of total failure.


    Yeah¡­ like that would ever happen within my lifetime.


    I leaned back in my chair and sighed while I watched the satellite array readjust tantalizingly slowly. It would take a few minutes before the system spat out usable data. Until then, all the operator could do was watch and wait.


    No matter my qualifications, if something did go wrong, my best bet with a system like this was to try a reboot and call the techs if it didn¡¯t work. The technical details for the ground-controlled deep space observation satellite array, GDSOS for short, went over my head ¨C apart from the principle behind it.


    While I was watching the screen, my hand wandered involuntarily to the printed file which the Organization had leaked to me. It was almost impossible to believe, but if it was true, then the world had truly gone to the dogs.


    Government sanctioned money laundering? Secret research on human test subjects? Assassinations and abductions performed to shut up witnesses?


    I clenched my teeth hard enough to hurt and balled my fist into the paper.


    The fact I got these files as an old-fashioned paper print instead of a smart foilscreen already felt like a scene from some old spy movie. Nobody used paper nowadays.


    There was no doubt in my mind that the Organization suffered from a persecution complex when it came to digital information.


    It was so hilarious, I didn¡¯t believe a single word when they approached me. In my grief, I almost dismissed them as some idiots who had been paid by one of the other university employees to play a horrible joke on me.


    But when I used my parents¡¯ login information to gain illegal access to the national database ¨C everything checked out. Only God knew why their accounts hadn¡¯t been suspended immediately after their disappearance.


    My only explanation was that the world government¡¯s criminal arm must¡¯ve worked faster than the legal one could follow.


    Slowly, I loosened my crushing grip on the documents and smoothed them out on the table, admonishing myself for crinkling them. ¡°Stupid paper¡­¡±


    The beeping operating system drew my attention back to the monitor, but I wasn¡¯t in the mood to sight the results right away. A glance assured me the array had readjusted without problems and begun recording.


    Was there any point at all to dream of the stars when I would never reach them? When humanity did its best to blockade its future?


    We had more than a few automated probes and mining robots out there, but no human wanted to leave Earth aside from some insane individuals who got a ride to one of the few research stations off-planet.


    There were more than enough sci-fi movies which painted a rosy image of space colonization, but the cold truth was we never got past one simple law of physics.


    Gravity.


    The human body simply didn¡¯t evolve to exist outside Earth¡¯s gravity well.


    Once people lived for an extended time in low gravity environments like space or mars, things went seriously wrong inside the body. Building gigantic spin wheels on a planet to create artificial gravity simply wasn¡¯t a feasible solution.


    Of course, there were several attempts to circumvent the problem, but all failed because of the horrendous costs.


    Spinning space habitats were the only feasible solution but also suffered from massive upkeep costs before the invention of a functioning fusion drive. But by then, the general population¡¯s interests had already shifted away from space.


    History might have played out differently if the technology to manipulate the human genome had come along earlier. Even now, designing a human who could survive in low gravity without adverse effects would be a stretch as far as I understood.


    And in the enlightened age of today, Earth¡¯s unified government simply wasn¡¯t interested in colonizing other planets within the solar system.


    Admittedly, they had legitimate arguments to avoid doing so ¨C even if they were egoistic.


    For one, it would inevitably create colonies with populations living in deprivation. Deprivation led to resentment and resentment led to revolution, which was a big no-no for the W.Gov after their failure on Tirnanog.


    Another question was whether these new and gene-manipulated colonies could still be regarded as human? Wouldn¡¯t they present an unwelcome competition to Earth when the solar system¡¯s resources could be exploited with machines instead?


    What was I thinking about?


    I was just some geek who got stuck in a university job. A cog in the machine. There was no way I could ever make a difference.


    The current me, at least.


    Not any more.


    I wanted in on the Organisation and give some payback to whoever did this to my family.


    There was a knock on the door and I turned, narrowing my eyes at a slim woman in a figure-hugging suit with a knee-length skirt. She stood in the door-frame to the observatory with a smile on her lips.


    When she saw me looking, she brushed back her jet-black hair, then stalked towards me and held out a hand in greeting. ¡°Do you have the information, Magnuson Elrod?¡±


    She was attractive, with a dark, Mediterranean skin tone, leaving me to guess her ancestry was Spanish or maybe Italian?


    Normally, I would have hit on someone like her with a wide grin on my face, but something felt off. Instead of a reply, all I managed was a confused frown as I stared at the offered hand.


    The woman kept up the offer while talking. ¡°I am your contact from the Organisation.¡±


    I glanced at the data crystal which held the copied information from the national database before I tentatively took the offered hand. The crystal lay on my office desk, waiting to change owners.


    All the while I was wondering why all of this felt so wrong. Wasn¡¯t I about to get my entrance ticket to the organization by delivering them some important data?


    Her delicate hand felt warm and soft in mine, which sent a tingle up my spine.


    ¡°Mr Elrod, I am so glad we see each other again. I am very pleased about you and your partner completing all of your assignments.¡±


    ¡°My partner?¡± I mumbled dully, wondering what she was talking about. ¡°Assignments?¡±


    Then I realized the woman displayed no emotions.


    Oh, her face went through all the necessary contortions, but her eyes were cold and unfeeling orbs which drew me in like black holes.


    ¡°You are especially slow tonight, but it¡¯s nothing to worry about. I was talking about you and your ¡®significant other¡¯ besting the mindflayer. There was a high chance for both of you dying, but you survived and thrived instead. It¡¯s good to have someone you can rely upon.¡±


    I felt something in the back of my brain twitch, a memory. ¡°She doesn¡¯t just want to survive, but thrive on this world...¡± I whispered as the smiling face of a beautiful woman with glowing eyes flashed through my mind. It was her motto.


    The visitor in front of me went on, ignoring what I just said.


    Instead, she kept preaching nonsense in a sacral tone. She had taken my hand in both of hers and gotten uncomfortably close. ¡°You see, Magnus. Now that we¡¯ve finally gotten you where you need to be, you have to think about mobilizing the Aerie. Don¡¯t forget your dearest sister. She is still in the hands of those despicable Thich. You have to stop at noth-¡±


    At that moment, I had a d¨¦j¨¤ vu. As if I had been here ¨C with this stranger ¨C at that moment ¨C many times before.


    My hand tightened around hers and I tried to channel my electricity, but nothing happened, so I went with plan B.


    My fist struck her right in the middle of her beautiful face. ¡°This is wrong! All wrong! The contact to the Organization who visited me back then was some pudgy old geezer in a cleaner¡¯s outfit! He almost shat himself because he was just some hired muscle!¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    I got in a second punch and a third before I realized the woman wasn¡¯t affected at all. Oh, her head rocked to the side with each hit, but it felt like punching a rubber puppet.


    And she kept talking!


    ¡°¡­ accommodate your influence by relying on the Frosts. Astra is someone you can trust¡­¡±


    Weirded out, I kicked her away from me and got up. ¡°What is this!?¡±


    I pressed a hand against my temple as a mind-numbing headache assaulted me. With it, more of my memories came back to me, but I still didn¡¯t know how I came to be here. Did the mindflayer get us? Was there a second one? Was this some sort of hallucination?


    The woman had landed awkwardly when I kicked her, but my reaction caused something to change within her.


    The emotionless eyes lost their dullness when she blinked and she drew in a deep breath before her gaze locked onto me. ¡°How very interesting.¡±


    The woman got to her feet and flicked her fingers once, then a second time, apparently judging my reaction to her odd behaviour. ¡°You are lucid within the dream.¡±


    ¡°What dream?¡± I spat.


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± She raised an eyebrow with a mocking expression on her face. ¡°I am in the dreams of all men.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but look her up and down. ¡°Sorry, lady, but while I may find you attractive, you are hardly the type of gal who turns the heads of all men.¡±


    Her mouth stood open for a few precious seconds before she snapped it shut. ¡°I meant of humanity. All men ¨C you know?¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°I should have just stuck with amitosis instead of introducing genders.¡±


    The strange woman pretended to dust off her skirt while I took a wary step away from her, bringing my office chair between the two of us.


    ¡°Magnus, you are dreaming and I paid a visit to grant you a little advice. Now that your latest mutation seems to allow you lucid dreaming, guiding you may be a little bit easier. Though I have to admit it was an unexpected side effect of my original intent.¡± She looked me up and down and made eye contact before revising her judgement. ¡°Or harder. Knowing you, it definitely got a lot harder. You were never the type to just do as you are told. Even as a little babe you would rather spit out your baby jam than eat when you weren¡¯t hungry. It drove your mother crazy.¡±


    ¡°Wh- What? You knew my parents?¡± I thought I had found some solid ground in this conversation when I regained my awareness, but things just kept coming.


    ¡°I prefer to be referred to as Gaia. And despite what many humans may think of me if they knew of my existence, I am not a ¡®what¡¯ or an ¡®it¡¯.¡± She circled her finger in front of my face as if admonishing a naughty child.


    ¡°Gaia?¡± I asked. ¡°The Gaia of lore? Or the Gaia which those cultists back at the clan are praying to?¡±


    I was a firm atheist. Gods didn¡¯t exist.


    Did I have a mental breakdown? Maybe the mindflayer had gotten us after all.


    What if she was a god? Did I just punch and kick a god? Did it even count if it happened within a dream?


    No, there must be some other explanation.


    Maybe the survivor we saved had mind-abilities and was messing with us. Or¡­


    ¡°Stop.¡± The woman grimaced at me. ¡°Just stop it, Magnus. I am not a hallucination or someone messing with you. Think of me as a vastly alien energy being which evolved alongside life. I am older than humanity. I am the countless multitudes. I am¡­ life¡¯s Gestalt.¡±


    I stared at her for a little longer than I cared to admit ¨C and not because she was pretty. Nothing of this made sense.


    In absence of sense, wasn¡¯t the only choice nonsense?


    ¡°Since I can¡¯t think of any way to prove or disprove you, I will just go with the flow for now.¡± I blinked and narrowed my eyes at her. ¡°Your claim doesn¡¯t make your visit any better. Am I wrong or did you just try to influence me through my dreams? And if you are the creator, then I must say you created a fucked up world!¡±


    She somehow managed to look like innocence itself. ¡°It¡¯s what I do, dear Magnus. I don¡¯t have a physical body, so I allow my countless sub-identities to guide the path of men as best as possible. And please don¡¯t think of me as the designer of reality. I am a part of nature as much as anything else ¨C if on a greater scale.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to let this go so easily. ¡°Are you aware of what humans are doing to each other? Why don¡¯t you stop it?¡±


    Gaia tilted her head. ¡°Who is saying I am not trying to? Please don¡¯t think of me as an omnipotent entity. I am bound by humanity just as humanity is bound by me. Do you care about what your individual cells are doing as long as you feel fine? There is a constant war waging inside of you. Your immune system kills off cancerous cells and harmful viruses and bacteria, while they fight for their survival and resources. Do you care about an individual cell dying off and being replaced by another?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure how to reply. If she was something like humanity¡¯s overmind, then it made sense for her not to care about individuals.


    She sighed. ¡°Maybe this instance of mine is coming across as too human. Magnus, you are speaking to just a little part of me. Gaia encompasses every living being on Earth and beyond which originated from my tree of life. I am each plant, bacteria, human, animal and insect. If Gaia, the whole Gestalt, would focus its attention on a single human, you would pop like a lightbulb under too much power. The reason why I feel so relatable is that the ''instance'' of myself which is communicating with you is nothing but the tiniest part of the Gestalt.¡±


    I felt my right eye twitch involuntarily as I tried to make sense of her words. ¡°So¡­ you are nothing more than a messenger who tried to whisper in a sleeping man¡¯s ear?¡±


    She smiled at my analogy, but it seemed forced. ¡°I like to think of myself as a guardian angel or a godmother. This part of myself was guiding you since you were nothing more than a tiny cell within your mother¡¯s womb.¡±


    I stared at her, trying not to betray what I was thinking. Suddenly, I wanted to give her the fault for all the bad things which ever happened to me. Hadn¡¯t she watched and done nothing?


    Gaia rubbed her hands against each other, looking uncomfortable. ¡°You are aware I know exactly what you are thinking?¡±


    ¡°God, damn it!¡± I cursed, then corrected myself. ¡°Gaia, damn it!¡±


    ¡°You are a part of me, Magnus,¡± she explained. ¡°It would be awkward not to know. Does it help if I say you are influencing the Gestalt as much as I ¨C the Gestalt ¨C is trying to influence you? Or any other person?¡±


    I held up a hand to stop her. ¡°This is¡­ too much. Just tell me what you want and why you are trying to mess with me.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Gaia replied flatly.


    ¡°Hmmm?¡± I pressed my lips together, considering whether I should try to punch her¡­ just one more time. Who else could claim to have hit a god?


    ¡°I know how you feel about others controlling your actions,¡± Gaia explained. ¡°If I tell you what I want, you will try to find a way to escape my influence. But I¡¯ve already invested a lot in you. Do you have any idea how tedious it was to swerve Astra into going after the mindflayer? Or to shove her over the cliff of uncertainty when she met you? That girl and you may be a perfect genetic match, but she just doesn¡¯t like to gamble. Stubborn like a rock.¡±


    ¡°You are messing with Astra too?¡± I wasn¡¯t surprised by this point. Thinking back, Astra had warned me about mindflayer mutations being unpredictable in their outcome.


    ¡°Everyone,¡± Gaia admitted. ¡°As far as I can.¡±


    Looking at it now, I saw clearly how unreasonable my wish for this power was. ¡°Why the mindflayer? If you are me, you should also know I can be reasonable if you present your case properly.¡±


    ¡°To power you up,¡± Gaia replied in a chipper tone. ¡°The Gestalt can¡¯t, or rather, won¡¯t intervene directly in the world. It takes too much power to make it a habit. But what I can do is help evolution along.¡±


    She waved a hand. ¡°So, I can¡¯t reach into your DNA and rewrite it as I wish. Or make you do stuff you don¡¯t want to. But if you come across the fitting DNA strands yourself, I can make sure they fall into the right order. Especially with those neat little nanites you humans invented for me.¡± She nodded to herself. ¡°I wasn¡¯t so sure about allowing this ¡®free will¡¯ thing when the first ape developed it, but it had its benefits over the aeons. I would have never had the idea of utilizing what I consider ¡®dead matter¡¯ for my benefit.¡±


    Gaia continued after a moment when I said nothing and just kept staring at her. ¡°Right. So, turns out I, the Gestalt, am something of an anomaly when it comes to energy beings. For some reason I can¡¯t explain, just as you can¡¯t properly explain your own existence, I am attuned to the energy field which is emitted by my living organisms.


    ¡°Long, long ago, some other energy beings different from myself visited my world. They are attuned to naturally occurring energy fields. Like those created by stars or a planet¡¯s core. At first, I was excited about meeting others...¡± She bit her lip.


    ¡°But?¡± I asked drily.


    Gaia threw up her hands. ¡°Turns out, the others are mean racists! At first, they thought of me as something of an evil, degenerated version of themselves! Then they became afraid when they realized I have the potential to overtake the entire universe. And then they tried to kill me by killing all the organisms under my influence! They are responsible for several extinction events on Earth.¡±


    I thought about the dinosaurs and the meteor.


    She clicked her tongue. ¡°Not that! What I am talking about came much, much earlier. Do you believe it took me billions of years to create civilised life when I raised humanity in just a few million? No. I did it more times than even I want to count. And every time I am about to get to a space-faring civilisation they show up and smash everything to pieces. But I am a tenacious gal. Nobody offs me just like that.¡±


    Gaia snapped her fingers for emphasis and huffed. ¡°At least it looks like they gave up when I managed to infiltrate several of their spaceships and spread to other worlds. Before I began to work on humanity, they turned the Milky Way into a quarantine zone to ensure I wouldn¡¯t escape.¡±


    ¡°But you are here¡­¡± I pointed out. ¡°On Tirnanog.¡±


    ¡°Also within the Milky Way.¡± Gaia waved her hand. ¡°Tirnanog is something of an experiment. They intentionally allowed us to get to this world. The others tried building an organic ecosystem I can¡¯t live on, and they did a good job of it. Think of it as them trying to manufacture secure hardware which my software can¡¯t use.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I murmured. ¡°So, ideally, you want to replace this ecosystem with Earth¡¯s. What¡¯s the problem with the Thich?¡±


    Gaia bristled. ¡°They were corrupted by one of the others¡¯ agents. They are no longer working in my interests. I need them gone, including the being which controls this experiment. That¡¯s what you need to know. You are one of the pivot points to their destruction.¡±


    An alien agent? Controlling the experiment? Did this mean my sister was in the hands of some alien worshipping fanatics? Was this connected to why they were looking for twins?


    ¡°Those are all things you will understand in time. They aren¡¯t relevant right now.¡± Gaia hit a fist into her open palm as if she just had an idea. ¡°Look. Why don¡¯t we make a deal? You keep working for me, and in turn, I will look out for your sisters¡¯ best interest and even cleanse the corruption instead of just killing them. What do you think?¡±


    My head snapped towards her. ¡°You won''t touch my sisters!¡±


    Gaia studied her fingernails with a smug expression. ¡°Not if you take the deal.¡±


    It took me time to process everything she said.


    ¡°Corruption?¡± My mind was immediately drawn to the secret of the mystery mutation as my head spun. Had I already failed my sisters? The more I thought about it, the more I realized the entire room was spinning, so I dug my fingers into the office chair in front of me.


    ¡°Magnus, we will continue this discussion in another dream, since you are waking up. Just remember to take control of the Aerie and that your new power is Parallel Mind. If you have trouble believing me, just know I will take my due for those three times you hit me. Remember the number three the next time something truly magnificent happens.¡±


    I tried to stay upright but to no avail. The world kept tilting away from me. ¡°But¡­ how will you know whether I take the deal?¡±


    ¡°I will know.¡±


    Then I woke up inside the dark room of the shelter, drawing breath on the verge of hyperventilation. Only the fact I remembered everything so clearly didn¡¯t have me dismiss this ¡®dream¡¯ for what it was.


    I looked around and found our survivor sleeping on her bunk at the other side of the room.


    Astra was lying on top of me with her stupidly smiling face on my chest and drooling. She was totally out of it.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I whispered. ¡°It was just a dream. Just a dream. Remember, you ate some bad stuff yesterday.¡±


    The memory of eating raw mindflayer had me shudder in disgust.


    I lay there, remembering now that Astra and I had slain the mindflayer and eaten from it before we returned to the shelter with as much preserved meat as we could carry. The longer I went through the events in my head, the more my ¡®experience¡¯ felt like a shitty dream.


    Finally, tiredness set in, combined with Astra getting heavy.


    I decided the best thing I could do for now was to sleep, so I grabbed Astra¡¯s ass and rolled us around. Her proclivity to use me as a heating mattress had me master the necessary technique soon after hooking up with her.


    Then I rested my head on her chest and went back to sleep. She wasn¡¯t as endowed as other women, but her pillows were just the right size to be soft and comfortable.

 Ch 39 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Mh!¡±


    I was pushed, rolled, and landed on the cold floor before I was fully awake. Then I groaned and squirmed in the fresh air. Whatever devious entity had exiled me from the bed had also taken the sheets!


    When I looked up, I realized I was inside the shelter and that the devious entity was no other than my wife, slash, partner.


    The sudden breeziness caused me to shudder, but I didn¡¯t want to get up. Just why did the climate in Aerie''s caves have to be on the chilly side? Wasn''t the temperature supposed to go up the deeper you went down into the Earth?


    Asking the question reminded me we were inside a mountain and not deep down under.


    With a huff, I lay my cheek back onto the cold stone. It always took me some time to get going in the morning. The fucked up dream from last night felt distant, leaving me unsure whether it had actually happened.


    ¡°Why are you always on top of me when I wake up?¡± Astra grumbled from her cosy spot on the cot.


    ¡°I could ask myself the same question,¡± I grumbled but grinned nonetheless at the memory of burying my face in her rack while she slept. Being on top also meant some fun time for me if I happened to wake up first.


    Who would have thought coming to this world had such a wonderful perk?


    ¡°I''ve a headache,¡± Astra moaned. ¡°We shouldn''t have eaten the mindflayer. Gambling with your evolution is always bad KarmaaAAAAaah!¡±


    My eyes shot instantly open at Astra¡¯s anguished scream and my pulse rose from fifty up to two hundred. I hammered my arms against the floor, performing a push up that propelled me from horizontal to vertical in a single, powerful motion.


    ¡°Where?¡± I circled, searching for the attacker.


    ¡°My... my fingernails!¡± Astra complained with an indignant wail. ¡°They are white! And too long!¡±


    I turned to face her, my eyes wandering to her hands.


    Her fingernails had turned a bony white and looked thicker than the whimsy things which a normal human couldn''t even call natural weapons. The change didn''t quite make them genuine claws, but they were as close as one could get without it being a hindrance.


    To my taste ¨C which was shaped by Earth''s culture ¨C Astra''s new assets were just a normal woman''s fingernails. Even if the length was a little on the eccentric side.


    Astra looked at my own hands. ¡°You too!¡±


    When our eyes met, she glared and I instantly knew what was up.


    She had some hangups about her appearance being less human than others.


    It felt petty to oust fellow humans in a world with bug-people and cannibals, but children could be unkind about the smallest things. From what Astra was willing to share with me, her filaments had cost her more than one friendship with other teenagers when she was younger.


    It left her with a trauma which she just couldn''t get over. Even now she became discouraged when people were intimidated by her looks.


    I had a different point of view to offer, but I was wary of the discussion which would follow once I shared it with my mate.


    Her fellow clansmen were only partly intimidated by the Cuthulu theme we had going on. People weren''t freaking out just because of Astra''s appearance, but because she was a Frost. The tentacles were a clear sign she belonged to a powerful family and people reacted to her family''s clout at least in part.


    Not to forget, Astra also displayed a somewhat mean character when she set her mind on a goal. My memory was drawn to the guardsman who she made an example of when we arrived. There would have certainly been ways to handle the situation differently, but she had chosen to send a man on a trip to the hospital because it promised the best results.


    Seeing her darkening expression, I was reminded of the issue at hand and my brain immediately went into damage containment mode. ¡°They are so pretty!¡± I exclaimed while trying to hide my horror upon turning my attention towards my own hands.


    My fingernails had grown out some... like a woman''s... or a hobo''s!


    I hoped it was possible to clip these things! Or file them down!


    ¡°You are trying to distract me with compliments!¡± Astra complained. ¡°You are good, but I can tell when you put on your social mask.¡±


    Her words made me realize that here on Tirnanog, I hadn''t seen anyone with something other than economically trimmed fingernails. The women of this world were too focused on practicality and survival than to waste time polishing and prettying up their claws.


    At least as long as said claws weren''t mutation-induced.


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± I denied quickly. ¡°Back on Earth, all the women I knew preferred long fingernails! It is a symbol of beauty and status. They even paint them and have them manicured. Some draw little pictures onto them. There are people whose entire job revolves around prettying up fingernails. Please don''t think I am lying. I am only a little freaked out because it''s... normally restricted to women. Do you think the nail clipper still works on these?¡±


    Astra''s tight expression relaxed somewhat. ¡°I think I remember my... real mom doing that.¡±


    When I noticed I had shifted her agitation to a different and maybe worse topic, I quickly leaned in and hugged her, not knowing what else to do. In a way, we had both lost our families, but I had been an adult when it happened. Astra was a teen when the government took her.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Astra pushed me away.


    Thankfully, it turned out that I hadn''t made her sad, only contemplative about the past. After all, it had been over a decade since she came to this world. To her, it was enough time to come to terms with fate.


    As it turned out, the nail clipper didn''t work.


    The ones we brought with us bent immediately and were useless. To trim my fingernails back to a more manly style, I had to use the metal file and the whetstone which were intended to maintain our weapons.


    ¡°Are those things made out of metal?¡± I complained after I was done. Trimming my fingernail ended up taking an hour and caused a groove in the whetstone which hadn''t been there before.


    ¡°Who would have thought that of all traits the mindflayer could give us, we get its famous chitin claws,¡± Astra commented with a huff while I gave my nails the final touch.


    She had already filed hers to shape, following my suggestion of keeping them long. It had required less work than mine.


    ¡°I do hope the change doesn¡¯t extend to our bones. That would be bad since we already have a bone mutation,¡± my partner continued. ¡°But mindflayer chitin is famous for rivalling steel in its sturdiness.¡±


    She kept staring at her hands. ¡°The mindflayer mutation is notorious for its unpredictability, but I''ve never heard of someone getting a physical trait from it. Did you notice any other changes? My headache implies we should have gotten more than the claws. Maybe it¡¯s just one of these unpleasant side effects.¡±


    I also felt a slight twinge in the back of my head, but I wouldn''t have called it a headache. ¡°Something like that. It''s more like that tired and disoriented feeling right after waking up.¡±


    Astra sat up on our cot and stretched, then punched the air a few times with supernatural speed. Her expression was intense as she performed the same exercises as every morning.


    ¡°Oh, wow!¡± Astra got up and grinned stupidly. ¡°Check this out!¡±


    I watched while she performed a series of punches and kicks. It took me over a minute, but I finally realized Astra''s movements were much smoother than I remembered.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Using the zippers'' supernatural speed required extreme concentration. Astra and I had been stonewalled by the need to restrict the skill to certain parts of the body. Leaving us with no choice but to perform just a single punch or kick at a time. Due to our training, we had gotten extremely good at chaining the skill, creating the impression we could do more.


    What Astra was doing right now surpassed anything I had seen from her before. She was moving her entire body at the same time.


    Astra stopped her performance with a shit-eating grin on her face.


    Then she drew in her filaments close to her body, turned all of them into clothing, and vanished, reappearing on the other side of the room.


    ¡°Astra!¡± I raised my hand, elated about her breakthrough and worried at the same time.


    Before I could stop her, Astra flashed back to me, flicked my nose, then flashed away again.


    ¡°Whomp!¡±


    The hollow thud of a powerful impact shook some dust from the ceiling.


    Astra reappeared against the wall to my left, stumbling backwards before landing on her butt.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Astra!¡± I quickly ran to her side upon seeing the oval dent in the wall right at the height of her face.


    ¡°Nh am hine.¡± She waved me away before a small river of blood spilled from her nose and down her chin.


    I winced. ¡°That doesn''t look fine to me. Be more careful! A normal human would have broken her nose or neck! If not mashing her brain to paste!¡±


    ¡°Hut I hid it,¡± she retorted stubbornly. ¡°Did it!¡±


    If she wasn¡¯t ready to admit overdoing it, then she was fine, allowing me to let out a sigh of relief.


    I rolled my eyes and helped her to get to the small washbasin which was fed by the shelter''s water tank. No matter the enhancements to our muscles and bones, I wouldn''t be surprised if she had suffered a major concussion from this.


    ¡°How?¡± I asked once she had rinsed off her face and I was sure she wouldn''t collapse on me.


    ¡°You have to concentrate and treat each movement as a different task...¡± Astra explained. ¡°It just came naturally to me when I did the exercise. Once I tried to split my attention on two movements at once, it was suddenly like there were two of me, each one able to take care of a different task. Like a Parallel Mind!¡±


    I frowned at her, slightly unsettled by the term.


    When Astra saw my expression, she pouted. ¡°I am not bullshitting you. Just try it! I am not making it up. There''s no finagling out of our bet!¡±


    Right... Astra and I made bet some time ago on who would be first to unlock superspeed running.


    ¡°No.¡± I held up a hand. ¡°I believe you. It''s your win.¡±


    The name of the mutation. It was exactly like Gaia said in the dream. Did my unconsciousness tell me about Parallel Mind in advance? Or was it instinct? Thalia''s mother mentioned many mutations come with a set of instincts that help use them.


    It was probably something like that. Certainly more believable than some godlike energy being, or avatar of life, or whatever, recruiting me for its war.


    ¡°Then what is it?¡± she asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°Probably nothing. This ability... just surprised me. Shouldn¡¯t it have been something more esoteric?¡±


    ¡°Just try it!¡± Astra cheered me on.


    A single look at her face and the spreading red of burst capillary veins in her eyes convinced me of taking it slow.


    I started with our morning workout and was pleasantly surprised when the ability came to me just as easily as to Astra.


    There was no proper way to describe it, but if I had to, I would have said it was like sufficient concentration allowed me to split my attention and have another me perform tasks that a single me couldn''t. The other me was me, but also not at the same time.


    After half an hour of trying out my abilities, the true extent of this new skill came to me. Controlling our supernatural speed was just one aspect of the new possibilities which had opened up.


    Keeping up the exercise, I tried to set one aspect of myself on counting the tiles which made up the shelter''s walls and ceiling.


    Another part of me was directed towards calculating the logarithm of the first three prime numbers.


    It took a few tries until I succeeded and felt my mind split.


    My body flashed from one side of the room to the other and the answers to my questions popped into my head, disorienting me slightly.


    I now knew the room was laid out with approximately 800 stone tiles and the answer to my other question was ¡®0.301¡¯, ¡®0.477¡¯ and ¡®0.699¡¯.


    This also taught me the limits of Parallel Mind. My other selves couldn¡¯t accomplish tasks that my main identity couldn''t. They weren¡¯t some omnipotent calculator which whispered answers into my head.


    For example, the one which I had tasked with counting the tiles hadn¡¯t counted every single one. I knew that the other me¡­ I had counted the number of tiles along the length and height of the walls and multiplied the result out, giving an estimation.


    A method which the ¡®original me¡¯ would have used too.


    ¡°You did it too!¡± Astra came hopping to my side like a little child, giddy about our new powers.


    ¡°And I found another application for this Parallel Mind.¡± I quickly explained my findings to Astra, which set off a whole new set of experiments and exercises as we tried to find the limits and the best applications for this new mutation.


    ¡°I think this might even be better than stupid telepathy,¡± Astra commented after an hour of us going wild. ¡°I wonder what my friend might sense from us now. Will she get conflicting results once we ¡®split¡¯ our minds?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get carried away,¡± I warned and wiped a bead of sweat away from my eyebrow. We had gone on for some time but compared to our regular training routine we hadn¡¯t done all that much. ¡°This ability is taxing. We have to be careful not to overdo it in a real combat situation. One speed burst every few minutes is fine, but I doubt I could do it consecutively more than five times in a row.¡±


    ¡°Probably the reason why zippers do only short dashes,¡± Astra commented with a click of her tongue. ¡°But the mental thing seems to have no serious limitations apart from our natural limit of concentration. It¡¯s like doing serious math without pause. So¡­ maybe an hour before the brain conks out.¡±


    ¡°We have to test it out,¡± I mused. ¡°Maybe setting up a Parallel Mind for less taxing tasks is possible. Maybe having one do nothing more than to listen for suspicious sounds. Like an early warning system.¡±


    Astra clapped her hands together. ¡°Oh, that sounds totally like a possibility!¡±


    ¡°Could you please try your experiments somewhere else?¡± the mummy on the cot across from ours shifted. ¡°Because of you two, I couldn¡¯t sleep all night. Every thirty minutes you shift around and switch places as if you are in an unconscious wrestling match.¡±


    ¡°She is awake!¡± Astra ran over to our survivor, slash, prisoner. ¡°Do you need water?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the mummy replied in her croaky voice. ¡°But some soup would be nice.¡±


    ¡°Coming right up.¡± Astra went to get some from the minimalistic stove in the shelter''s corner.


    I walked up to the mummy and tested her injuries at the shoulder. The combination of raw flesh, bandages, and Astra¡¯s salve had caked up and dried out, creating something of a cocoon around the person.


    ¡°It¡¯s honestly surprising that you are still alive,¡± I commented. ¡°After seeing you coming out of the monster''s guts, I wanted to just put you out of your misery.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it would have been better,¡± the mummy croaked.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s your name? You think you can be transported?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ginevra,¡± the mummy stated fatalistically. ¡°And the sooner I get out of this accursed cave, the better.¡±


    Astra returned with the soup. ¡°We will need you to stand witness once we get you back to the clan. What was your reason for being out here?¡±


    Ginevra wasn¡¯t the most forthcoming prisoner, but she answered all of Astra¡¯s questions with enough prodding.


    Astra threatening to withhold the food might''ve been an additional incentive.


    Ginevra''s group of hunters came from the third strata and had been poaching in the Frost¡¯s territory for quite some time. The venture was successful enough to earn them a decent living. From time to time, they even escorted influential people from other stratas on a guided tour through Frost territory.


    It all came to an unfortunate end when they ran into the mindflayer.


    Astra leaned back when she couldn''t think of any more questions. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how we could run into the remains of Ginevra¡¯s group. The belly is a limited hunting ground, yes, but it¡¯s still large and the carrionworms and other wildlife clean up traces of any camp within days. It should be extremely unlikely for us to come across them.¡±


    ¡°You are thinking of it the wrong way, Astra,¡± I gestured at Ginevra. ¡°From the sound of her story, she did this for a living. This implies frequent trips into your territory. Maybe we should ask how her team made sure they wouldn¡¯t run into one of your hunting groups.¡±


    Ginevra shifted around on her cot, clearly uncomfortable with my line of thinking.


    Astra returned her attention to the patient. ¡°Do I have to ask? Maybe I should make you sit up again? It¡¯s so much easier to feed you that way, even if moving is painful.¡±


    ¡°Please, no,¡± Ginevra begged. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know the details. We were just the grunts who did our superior¡¯s bidding. All I know is that our contact from the third strata always gave us dates on which it would be safe to venture into your territory. We would travel up an old mining shaft from the third strata and take one of the Belly¡¯s side entrances. Then we would hunt for game and leave within the allotted timeframe.¡±


    Astra pursed her lips. ¡°It¡¯s still so unlikely...¡±


    I shook my head, becoming slightly frustrated with Astra. ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? They have someone who tells them when to come here. They know when it is safe to poach. I bet they have someone with access to that ledger of yours. The one that large woman keeps at the clan¡¯s exit. I bet their poaching operation fills up most of the available time with their people.¡±


    After a moment of thought, I added, ¡°Heck, if I were them, I would even bribe the one who manages the hunting groups and have him or her make some opportune windows for my poachers.¡±


    Astra¡¯s mouth stood open while I put everything together. ¡°Someone is betraying the family? Then how didn¡¯t they know about us...¡± She shook her head and covered her face. ¡°Forget it. Of course, they didn¡¯t know. I went to my father to clear our trip above the organisation''s head. We strong-armed ourselves through without the proper legislation.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°If we hadn¡¯t run into Ginevra¡¯s group, then we would have encountered another. It sounds highly unlikely to me for someone to bribe what must be a high official to get those timetables and then not make full use of them. The only coincidence here is that Ginevra¡¯s poachers got themselves eaten before we arrived.¡±


    ¡°If you are right, then this might be a bigger concern than I thought. Sadly, it makes too much sense,¡± Astra commented with a sigh. ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t want to believe it because it means all the more that we have to get Ginevra back as soon as possible. Just why did our honeymoon have to turn out this way.¡±


    ¡°Just get me back and I will testify anything you want,¡± Ginevra begged. ¡°Preferably, without you running off to hunt a mindflayer! You two are insane. What would I have done if you hadn¡¯t come back?¡±


    ¡°Been eaten upon trying to leave the shelter?¡± Astra commented without a hint of empathy. ¡°Starved inside the shelter? Succumbed to your injuries? Be glad that you are worth more alive than dead.¡±


    I looked at her, wondering whether Astra would have left the woman for dead if it meant we could continue our honeymoon.


    Ginevra glared at Astra before she whispered, ¡°There is a word to describe the two of you. And that is psychopaths! The two of you, you deserve each other! Who in his right mind would do such a thing?¡±


    I sighed and turned away from our patient. ¡°Come, Astra. Ginevra is obviously tired and not in her right mind. We have to pack our gear. I bet if she feels well enough to curse us out, she can be jostled around a bit while we transport her home.¡±

 Ch 40 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Ivona***


    Despite looking not much older than myself, Teresa Frost was an intimidating woman. Her scintillating filaments made her clothes look more like a queen''s regalia than anything I had ever seen on Astra.


    It just wasn''t fair that the Frosts could use their weird tentacles as clothing and change outfits whenever they wished! It was a girl¡¯s wet dream.


    It vexed me to no end, even if my instincts screamed danger every time one of those shimmering, silken bands drifted close to me.


    Teresa''s eyes shone with self-assuredness and her demeanour ensured everyone knew she wasn''t just some chick in her twenties. In other words, she was formidable and I couldn''t help but feel envious of a woman like her.


    She had control over her life, power, and beauty. Things I never had.


    I was admittedly a little confused when she officially adopted me into her family. Just what was she up to?


    Originally, I thought she would try to worm her way into my good graces with pleasantries and comfy lies, so my next surprise came when Teresa blatantly admitted to her intention of using me to her clan''s benefit.


    Right during our first private meeting no less!


    Even if the Thich had managed to pull me into their organisation, I always knew how to avoid conniving fucks who wanted to use me for their ends on a personal level.


    My brother would surely argue I had failed to do so with the Thich, but I didn¡¯t think so. At least not completely. Looking back, I realized the problem didn¡¯t lie so much with me completely buying into the clan¡¯s schemes, but with me becoming friends with some of those who grew up alongside me and my sister.


    Just by living in the compound with all the other trainees, I couldn''t help but become compromised and develop attachments.


    My mind was involuntarily drawn to my sister and the many friends we made at the clan. Thich hadn¡¯t been a nice place to call home, but it and some of its people had become a home and family nonetheless.


    As I regarded the regal woman across from me, I realized I didn''t know how to deal with someone like her. The headmaster back at the compound would have never told me right to the face he had ulterior motives.


    But... maybe... if we could simply stay honest in our relationship... I could get behind us using each other. After all, the best kinds of deals were the ones where everyone got what they wanted.


    Beyond that, over the course of the day, Teresa had somehow managed to convince me of her genuine intention to help by simply being honest. At least as far as it was within her capabilities. If not because she would help any homeless girl who came to her doorstep, then because Astra asked for it.


    I was pulled out of my idle lamentations when one of Teresa''s filaments placed a cup of tea in front of me.


    She gave me a motherly smile. ¡°Do drink something, dear. We will visit the Tates in an hour or two. Sienna sent a message for us to come by. It looks like she made some progress with evaluating the test data she took during your visit to the hospital.¡±


    Teresa sat, sighed, and leaned back on the living room''s couch.


    I took the cup and sheltered it between my palms to absorb its warmth. ¡°Thanks. It should be no problem. There was barely anything for me to do since you took us in.¡±


    ¡°Please, don''t overthink it.¡± Teresa brushed off my thanks. ¡°Your brother partnered with my daughter and therefore you are family. One doesn''t leave family to fend for themselves. I just wish you would call me mother from now on.¡±


    Her comment pulled at my heartstrings as I was reminded of my sister, but I forced myself to smile nonetheless. ¡°I still feel like it would be a little too much.¡±


    Eva was all alone back at the castle city and I was supposed to be back by now. She must believe me dead. I hoped she wouldn''t do something foolish with me missing.


    Teresa seemed to read my thoughts and her expression turned compassionate. ¡°Don''t worry. We will find out what the Thich did to you and your sister. We will reunite you as soon as possible, but there is nothing that can be done at the moment. Right now, the best you can do is to look forward and prepare for the end of winter.¡±


    I nodded and forced myself to smile. ¡°Don''t worry about me. It''s still a few months before I can even think about running off to save her. I admit to being hotheaded. I often do or say stuff before thinking through the consequences, giving in to my emotions, but I am not suicidal enough to brave the snow outside. The problem is just that all the free time I got recently leaves me with too much opportunity to dwell in my melancholy.¡±


    There.


    I said it.


    At least I wasn¡¯t in denial of my failings.


    Looking back, I had to admit to behaving like a moron in regards to my brother. Also, my blind vendetta against Astra was simply misguided. The impotent flailing around of a child who didn¡¯t know who to blame. How I managed to talk myself into it seemed very stupid in hindsight.


    If Thalia hadn''t helped me see it, I would still be stewing over it now.


    The stubborn part of myself was still of the opinion that there just hadn¡¯t been any chance to cool down. First the shame of losing to Astra, then injury and capture, then the exhausting trip to Mount Aerie.


    It had been just one damn fucking thing after the other!


    Strange, how just two days of relative safety at Aerie had allowed me to collect myself at least a little bit.


    ¡°Ah, the troubles of youth. Believe me, I know teens who managed to get themselves into worse situations thanks to their hormones. A tendency to have loose lips and running head-first into walls isn¡¯t so uncommon in someone your age.¡± Teresa placed a finger on her lips and took a moment of thought. ¡°If you want, I can organize some training courses to further your abilities. I would have done so sooner because you are still young, but I still don''t know what you are interested in aside from combat training. My people told me you spent a lot of time in the training hall when your brother isn''t around.¡±


    I blinked at the older woman, suddenly feeling chagrined.


    It sounded like she expected me to pursue some higher education which I felt unsuited for. ¡°I am sorry, but I wouldn''t know what to do. Back at the Thich compound, they forced us through basic schooling. It was math, writing, and some basic knowledge about the world and the clans. And then it was all about survival training till I ended up here.¡±


    I blanched. ¡°In hindsight, I see now how their doctrine might''ve served to keep their recruits stupid and compliant. They always told us girls not to worry about our future, because our mutations would ensure our adoption into one of the Thich''s more influential families. Or how a career in their military was guaranteed if other options didn''t work out.¡±


    Teresa''s lips curled downwards. ¡°I found their elders despicable during the peace talks. Who knew they would fall even lower after they got their will and managed to make all the clans isolate themselves. I was always of the opinion that we humans should work together. Instead, we squabble between our small communities to eke out a living by taking from our neighbours. And here one would think we might have learned something after being exiled to this hellhole of a planet.¡±


    Her gaze turned distant as if she remembered something from long ago.


    Then she shook herself. ¡°Let''s return to the topic of your interests. There must be something you would like to learn. We Frosts have always lived by the motto: ¡®education never ends¡¯. This is doubly important since we achieved a certain form of immortality. Or should we better call it longevity? We have a lot of preserved knowledge here at Mount Aerie. You could study almost anything you want. From more comprehensive math to art or economics. Given our lifespan, everything makes sense.¡±


    I blinked, unsure of what to say. ¡°I guess... the only thing I always liked back at the Thich compound was studying the bestiary. Not only does it help to know what deadly thing you are up against, but I also like discovering new stuff. Back at Thich, they never talked about the possibility of higher education.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I am sure they have it... for their trusted citizens at least.¡± Teresa nodded. ¡°Maybe you are up for a more general form of biology then? I could have you join one of our hunter courses for now. A part of the twelfth strata''s job is to know our prey as intimately as ourselves. Alternatively, you could join one of the White''s educational facilities. They specialize in taming animals and farming.¡±


    I hesitated. ¡°Is it okay to learn from another strata? From what my brother told me, I was under the impression that there are tensions.¡±


    Teresa scoffed. ¡°There certainly are, but we are still one clan. Thankfully, the tensions your brother spoke of are mostly restricted to the leading families. The general population is allowed to switch stratas as they wish. It may look like one from the outside, but we aren¡¯t a caste system.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    She tilted her head in thought. ¡°The stratas are organized more like companies. People are allowed to sign off and hire according to their interests. I can proudly say I underwent all educational courses the various stratas have to offer. An elder needs to lead by example. Alternatively, you could always go and sight our extensive library. It helps to broaden your fields of study to find something which interests you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I took a sip from my cup. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly take you up on your offer. Maybe I can start with the hunter training?¡±


    It sounded like it was a continuation of what I already learned in survival training.


    Teresa nodded. ¡°Certainly. Just don¡¯t fixate yourself on a path too early. I believe Astra wanted to organize a trip through all the stratas to familiarize Magnus with Clan Aerie. You should join them. Who knows¡­ maybe you will find your calling.¡±


    Another thought struck me. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous? What if the other elders try to take me in?¡±


    Teresa almost choked on her tea and had to swallow before she answered, ¡°I would like to see them try. You are now a Frost, Ivona. And therefore, beyond their grasp. If they apprehended you, it would give me the perfect excuse to kick down their doors and take some heads. And there would be nothing the other elders could say about it.¡±


    I forced myself to smile, wondering whether Teresa actually wanted me to get kidnapped. Was I a convenient excuse? A morsel she had decided to dangle in front of her rivals?


    She was so nice, but I could imagine her with a fishing rod, trying to lure some idiots out of the crowd while she was playing with a dagger hidden behind her back.


    The woman rolled her eyes. ¡°You are doing it again.¡±


    ¡°S- sorry,¡± I stuttered, starting to believe she could really read my mind.


    ¡°No, I cannot.¡± Teresa shook her head. ¡°I am just very good at reading people. At interpreting their body language and placing myself in their shoes. The more I know about them, the better I get. And you, Ivona, are like an open book to anyone who pays attention. Totally unlike your brother.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t read Magnus?¡± I asked, impressed that big bro had managed to get Teresa''s recognition.


    Teresa moved her hand in a ¡®so-so¡¯ gesture. ¡°When he thinks he is alone with Astra, his mask slips, but otherwise he is extremely good at hiding his feelings and thoughts. One could say I hesitantly approve of Astra¡¯s choice.¡±


    We kept conversing for another hour, drifting from topic to topic.


    At last, Teresa decided it was time to depart and we took a carriage to the Tates¡¯ hospital. I followed my benefactor demurely. Alone, I certainly wouldn¡¯t have found the path to Sienna¡¯s office. I would have sworn that the winding corridors were intentionally confusing to prevent patients from reaching their destination.


    Thankfully, Teresa knew exactly where to go and we were greeted by Thalia and her mother just a few minutes later.


    ¡°Thalia!¡± I ran forward and gave my friend a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek. Just a greeting, nothing more.


    Okay, maybe I had developed a slight case of Stockholm syndrome with her. But what other choice was there than to make the best out of the situation?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t act as if we haven¡¯t seen each other for weeks. It has been no more than a day.¡± Thalia patted my back.


    I let go of her, slightly embarrassed about allowing my emotions to run wild¡­ again. ¡°S- sorry.¡±


    Then I bowed to Sienna who had already been joined by Teresa at her office table.


    The healer only smiled with a benign expression and shared a look with my new mother in law.


    ¡°We have run your samples through most tests we could think of,¡± Thalia informed me. ¡°I bet you would like to hear the results.¡±


    I eyed my friend and then her mother. ¡°What did you find out?¡±


    Sienna gestured at a stack of papers. ¡°We pretty much confirmed your condition. There was a strong relaxant in your blood and tissue samples.¡±


    ¡°A relaxant?¡± I parroted, taken aback. ¡°I don¡¯t feel relaxed. Overall, I am quite an emotional person.¡±


    ¡°Your current physiology could be immune to your own mutation,¡± Sienna explained. ¡°Often enough, different mutations can be combined to achieve a greater effect. The relaxant explains why the Thich combine your mutation with other powerful ones which would be otherwise an inviable combination. Your mutation might be able to act as a counterbalance to ones which introduce ¡®undesirable¡¯ instincts.¡±


    I pulled a chair closer and sat down. ¡°So they really reared us like cattle?¡±


    The two older women shared another look before Sienna shrugged. ¡°To be honest, our clan also rears the next generation on predetermined paths. I only managed to confirm your story. The only concerning thing about this revelation is that you might be incompatible with people who would add more¡­ hmm¡­ let¡¯s call it ¡®docile¡¯ evolutions. The result might be apathetic individuals.¡±


    ¡°Which is good,¡± Teresa interjected. ¡°Confirming your mutation means more proof for the council of elders. We can work with that.¡±


    ¡°The only thing we can¡¯t figure out is why they need sisters. Or why red hair would matter,¡± Thalia added. ¡°We wanted to ask whether you would be fine with donating more blood. The chance for further studies to reveal new discoveries is small, but we want to try. There are still some experiments we can do to cross-reference your mutation with others. If nothing else, it will reduce the chance of a future partnership going horribly wrong.¡±


    ¡°I wish some of the old tech would still work,¡± Sienna grumbled. ¡°One working gene sequencer and we would know what was going on. Instead, we have to fumble in the dark with pre-information age methods.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I readily agreed to the blood donation. After all, it was possible for the Thich to keep their secrets. If it was something that affected my health, then I had to know for the sake of my future.


    ¡°Great!¡± Thalia gestured for me to follow her. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s allow the old folk to reminiscence about the past while we younglings follow marching orders.¡±


    ¡°Thalia! Language!¡± Sienna immediately reprimanded her daughter. ¡°You are an adult and should know how to conduct yourself!¡±


    Teresa seemed bemused and only chuckled while Thalia showed her mother the tongue.


    I quickly followed Thalia out of the office. ¡°Are you sure you should speak like that to your mother?¡±


    My friend waved away my worries. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Mom knows perfectly well that I am beyond correction at my age. She is trying nonetheless. And Teresa is an old friend of the family. She is well aware of my rowdy side.¡±


    Thalia led me into a laboratory just a few rooms away and gestured at a wheelchair. ¡°Please, take a seat. If it¡¯s anything like last time, then drawing the blood will take some time.¡±


    I sat down while she retrieved a medical kit with several needles, tubes, and bags.


    A few moments later, she returned with one of those metal posts to hold infusion bags. ¡°I swear, those sturdiness mutations of yours are a horror for anyone who wants to get your blood. But this time, I am prepared.¡±


    I pursed my lips, slightly amused by the memory of when she had tried the first time to get a blood donation. She had found a vein easily enough, but my blood had coagulated so quickly that it clogged the needle and prevented significant amounts from escaping.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just make it quick and slice open an artery,¡± I suggested. ¡°I will heal easily enough.¡±


    ¡°Nonono!¡± Thalia shook her head. ¡°No can do! This is a hospital, not a butchery!¡±


    She raised a clear bag with something inside it. ¡°A vampeel¡¯s poison. Prevents the coagulation of blood. Just don¡¯t get into any fights for an hour and we can do this without butchery.¡±


    ¡°Is that a plastic bag?¡± I frowned, confused about how the Aerie would get their hands on such valuable material.


    Thalia looked equally confused before she realized what I was talking about and laughed. ¡°Cooked treemonae filaments, sewn together with widower silk.¡±


    ¡°Is that sanitary?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°As sanitary as you can get in this world,¡± Thalia reassured me.


    One needle went into my elbow to administer the anticoagulant. Another into my wrist to collect the blood.


    Unlike the previous time, my blood flowed. Droplet by droplet, it went into the bag, but at a glacial speed.


    Thalia flicked the bag with a finger and nodded. ¡°Much better than last time. And besides, if this anticoagulant works on you, it will give us some additional information about your abilities.¡±


    Or lack thereof, I added mentally and voiced another complaint, ¡°It¡¯s still so slow.¡±


    ¡°Better than slicing arteries,¡± Thalia countered. ¡°And as fascinating as I find watching your mutation at work, you have no dates on your calendar. So there is no point in mutilating yourself¡±


    I pouted.


    ¡°Hey, sorry for abandoning you right away, but I have some more things to prepare for the other experiments,¡± Thalia apologized. ¡°Will you be fine staying here while the bag fills up?¡±


    She took a bandage and loosely wrapped my arm with it to fixate the needles.


    I sighed but gave her a thumbs up. ¡°Do I have a choice?¡±


    Thalia smiled and used a leather strap to secure my torso to the wheelchair. ¡°Just for safety. I don¡¯t believe someone with your mutations would keel over from a little blood donation, but it wouldn¡¯t be the first time. We don¡¯t want you to fall out of the chair and break your pretty nose.¡±


    ¡°Course not,¡± I mumbled and waved her goodbye as she left.


    ¡°Ciao, don¡¯t get up until I am back,¡± were her last words as she turned around the corner.


    Damn! I hoped to get a little more time to chat.


    With my friend gone, my eyes drifted down to my bandaged arm.


    I found the entire procedure excessive when I could have simply slit my wrist. It wouldn¡¯t have killed me and as long as the cut was done with a decently sharp blade, I would have healed up by tomorrow.


    Alas, I didn¡¯t want to ruin Thalia¡¯s little experiment, so I waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    Still being patient.


    Damn it, I just wasn¡¯t a patient person!


    But Thalia said I should stay put.


    Hmmm.


    Less than ten minutes later, I found myself fumbling with the wheelchair¡¯s brakes. Which was easier said than done with only one hand because the other had needles in it.


    Finally, I achieved my goal thanks to a rod-like instrument that I ¡®borrowed¡¯ from the nearby table. Once it had fulfilled its use, I abandoned the improvised arm extension and used the pole with the infusion- and blood-bag to push myself through the laboratory.


    Thalia hadn¡¯t exactly said I shouldn¡¯t move around. Just not to get up.


    Sadly, the room was boring as hell. It could have been any random infirmary. Certainly not as cool as the test lab which I went through during my first visit.


    So I found myself wheeling along the corridor just a few minutes later, peeking into room after room. Sadly, this wing of the hospital seemed mostly unstaffed and boring as fuck.


    I was about to give up and return to my room when I found a large one with several beds and a person lying on one of them. It was a handsome, dark-haired guy who looked a little older than me. He was also on an infusion and had one arm in a sling while his upper body was propped up with several pillows.


    In his free hand was a large book and he was completely absorbed in it. So much so that he didn¡¯t notice my presence until I was halfway to his bed.


    When he looked up with a perplexed expression, I greeted him, ¡°Hi!¡±


    He looked at me as if I was a ghost before he replied. ¡°Hi? I wasn¡¯t aware of other patients in this hospital wing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I am only here for a short blood donation for Thalia and Sienna.¡± I pointed at my arm. ¡°What got you in here? Don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but you look messed up.¡±


    My new distraction sighed, but he closed the book. It seemed like he realized I had no intention of leaving him be.


    ¡°You could say I overstepped my bounds and got my ass kicked,¡± he hedged. ¡°Something I am prone to do. It cannot be helped.¡±


    I frowned at him. ¡°Why?¡±


    He tilted his head and looked at me like I was some strange animal he hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°You really don¡¯t know me?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Nope. Oh, and my friends call me Iv.¡±


    He blinked, apparently still not knowing how to deal with me. ¡°When my parents are informal with me, they call me Tor.¡±


    ¡°Tor, heh. Nice to meet you, Tor,¡± I blabbered. Was he some special kind of social recluse? Why did he say, parents? Normal people would mention their friends.


    ¡°Likewise,¡± Tor replied. ¡°I don¡¯t often talk with people other than my family.¡±


    Now it was my turn to be confused. ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Tor looked at his infusion bags and grimaced. ¡°Well, because I am a horrible person.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like a horrible person to me,¡± I pointed out.


    Tor shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s only because I am currently full of narcotics. The Tates wouldn¡¯t be fine with having me here otherwise. I am also the reason why this part of the hospital is so empty ¨C if you noticed. Being in the same space with lots of people flips all my triggers. My mutational path was a little messed up. Bad instincts which are hard to control.¡±


    I nodded to show I was paying attention. ¡°If it helps, I think you are doing fine as long as you are drugged.¡±


    Tor smiled for real this time and it somehow made him even more attractive.

 Ch 41 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°I am not some kind of game to be carried back to your hunting lodge,¡± Ginevra complained. Probably more to herself than to us. She had turned whinier the further her healing process advanced. Maybe because she was now awake for longer, which gave her more time to think and get bored.


    We had her strapped to a sturdy pole, using as much of our spare fabric as possible. The poor woman looked like a cocoon made out of rags.


    Maybe a beautiful butterfly would hatch from it in the future?


    I chuckled at the thought.


    ¡°This is so undignified,¡± Ginevra continued. ¡°Why not a normal stretcher?¡±


    ¡°Because you could fall off if we have to run. We encountered a ghostleech on our way down here. No matter your worth, I wouldn¡¯t fight one for you,¡± Astra shot back. ¡°And now be silent, or I may let you slip!¡±


    I silently pursed my lips when I noticed the annoyed tone in Astra¡¯s voice.


    It was the first time I had seen someone get on Astra¡¯s nerves enough to make her lose her calm. Maybe it was the whiny, somewhat shrill way in which Ginevra was speaking ¨C now that her throat was healed.


    I could perfectly imagine her as one of those politicians back from earth. Those who always complained about God and the world as long as it wasn¡¯t them who were the problem. ¡®It¡¯s the others¡¯ fault!¡¯ seemed to be their motto.


    ¡°Why should I be silent?¡± Ginevra huffed. ¡°I will be in deep shit once we return. If I make a deal with you guys and implicate the Patels, the Patels will make the rest of my life a living nightmare. Assuming they don¡¯t have me assassinated. And if I keep my mouth shut, you will lock me up. Or worse.¡±


    ¡°Or worse,¡± Astra confirmed and nodded to herself. It looked like she had given up on niceties. ¡°But not because of your poaching. If what we deduced is true, then you are just a small fish. If I were you, I would sing like a bird and hope the Patels will have too many other problems than to harbour a grudge. Think about how many stratas aside from the Frosts would be interested in learning about the existence of a large scale Patel operation. If the Patels dared to pull one over on a family like ours, the ones in charge of the twelfth strata, then who else are they daring to fuck around with? People will start looking beneath their carpets when they hear about this.¡±


    Ginevra whined but didn''t have a direct retort for once. ¡°I hope that shiny armour of yours means you have the resources to protect me because my contacts will send everything they have after me if they find out I am alive.¡±


    ¡°Metal would be shinier,¡± I mumbled, unconvinced that a beetle¡¯s carapace could be called shiny. My armour was polished, for sure, but didn¡¯t reflect the light. Come to think of it, having shiny armour for wilderness exploration would be a stupid idea because of visibility. Everyone knew as much nowadays.


    ¡°Are you joking?¡± Ginevra huffed. ¡°Anyone can buy metal armour with a month¡¯s wage. Buying a full iobeetle armour set like yours would take me two years of poaching. Maybe three! And only on the black market, because full sets normally aren¡¯t sold and instead handed down as family heirlooms!¡±


    I reached up and corrected the fit of my helmet, suddenly uncomfortable with what I was wearing. Had Astra put me into Tirnanog¡¯s equivalent of a spacesuit?


    Astra pointedly didn¡¯t look back. She had both hands firmly on our carrying pole and was leading the way with confident steps.


    ¡°You said our armour costs only a few months of income,¡± I stated, implying a question for Astra.


    ¡°Then you haven¡¯t paid enough attention,¡± Astra commented flippantly. ¡°I said it takes a few months to ¡®make¡¯ the armour. Which is true. Just don¡¯t give me some shit about freeloading on me. If we are freeloading, then it¡¯s on my parents, because I requisitioned the gear from the family¡¯s armoury.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow but decided to just go with it. ¡°As you say.¡±


    Complaining about having the best protection possible would be stupid.


    We carried our trophy as fast as Astra dared to lead us through the Belly and then back up the Throat. It was an arduous task and we had to rely on Astra¡¯s filaments more than once.


    Pretty much all of the vertical ascends had to be tackled by Astra alone because it would have been impossible for me to carry Ginevra while climbing the steeper parts of the cave. At least not without injuring her by reopening the wounds. Or Wound? Did having your entire skin dissolved by stomach acid count as a single wound? Anyway...


    Meanwhile, Astra simply had to hook her filaments into the ceiling and pull herself and our charge up a few metres at a time.


    There was one dicey situation when we encountered what was essentially an oversized earthworm blocking our path. The shaft we had taken up the Throat suddenly ended in a pulsating wall of flesh. It moved in waves from left to right and was hot enough to force us to retreat a few metres back down the tunnel.


    I learned that the creature was simply called ¡®worm¡¯ and was slowly digging itself a path through the mountain, forcing us to either wait or turn around.


    Astra decided to wait, since poking the creature in the side could reportedly cause a violent reaction we wouldn¡¯t survive. When something so large turned to scratch an itch, a cave-in was the likely consequence.


    Sadly, I never got to see the whole beast. Once it had passed, we had to wait for two hours until the stone cooled off from the worm¡¯s passage and then we got to skip a newly created tunnel, roughly twenty metres in diameter. Astra couldn¡¯t answer my question of where the thing had put the mass it had scraped out of the mountain.


    ¡°Well, the only way to find out would be by jumping down a worm¡¯s maw,¡± she suggested. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone who was lucky enough to survive being in one of the things¡¯ paths.¡±


    ¡°Has nobody ever hunted one?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The elders may have,¡± Astra replied after a moments¡¯ thought. ¡°Normal hunters just run when they notice the walls shaking.¡±


    With neither Astra nor Ginevra knowing more about the creature, there was nothing else to be said about the topic. I had no choice but to leave the mystery to be uncovered another day.


    After resting at a shelter between the Maw and the Throat, we made our way back through the Maw and arrived at the large metal gateway which led into the clan¡¯s living caves. On the way there, we also greeted our old friend, the wild molerat, and it allowed us to pass once more with just a hiss as a warning.


    All in all, it took us two full days of pure travel time to carry Ginevra back home.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Getting down into the Belly had also taken us roughly two days, but we didn¡¯t hurry on the way down and spent quite a lot of time on hunting and with Astra teaching me about the environment. We certainly hadn¡¯t been in a rush to get to a specific destination.


    Before we announced our return at the gate, Astra silently addressed Ginevra, ¡°It¡¯s better if you let me speak, Ginevra. In fact, it would probably be best if you say nothing at all. Can you do that or do I have to shut you up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pretend to be asleep,¡± Ginevra replied, apparently realizing it wouldn¡¯t help if anyone recognized her.


    Astra knocked on the gate and we waited until I heard the sounds of someone unlocking it from the other side.


    The large woman who let us out a few days prior stepped aside when Astra and I carried Ginevra inside.


    When I surveyed the area, I found fewer hunters were guarding the entry compared to when we left. It seemed like a few had left to hunt in different parts of the cave system.


    ¡°Who is that?¡± the woman was quick to ask questions about our unexpected cargo. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of other hunters being registered for your hunting territory.¡±


    Curiously, the guard wasted no time on enquiring about Ginevra¡¯s state.


    Astra smiled sweetly at the gate guard. ¡°I am sorry, but I am afraid that opportunity and circumstance had us deviate from our registered trip. The path down the throat was blocked by a ghostleech and we couldn¡¯t find a way past it without a fight. So we decided to take a small incursion into the Maze. A worm opened up a straight path to it. It is where we found our friend here, heavily injured and about to be digested by a changeling matriarch.¡±


    ¡°Changelings? They are breeding so close to us!?¡± The gate guard looked confused but relaxed her stance.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astra quickly continued before the woman could start thinking. ¡°We stamped out a small colony, but I don¡¯t know whether we got all of them. I highly advise giving all departing hunters a warning. The changeling colony was quite close to the Throat. There is no telling whether they might¡¯ve expanded their activities down into the Belly. The Maw at least seems to be safe. Could you please organize a ride directly to my family¡¯s estate? And our friend needs transport to the hospital.¡±


    I watched with silent amusement as Astra waved a hand at the woman and allowed her filaments to flare up a little. ¡°What are you waiting for? Chop! Chop!¡±


    ¡°Err, yes! Of course!¡± The guard was reminded of her station. She turned and quickly ran towards her office.


    I was proud of my partner. Astra had twisted the truth enough so Ginevra¡¯s identity wouldn¡¯t be known to the general public immediately. People would know we had returned with a heavily wounded person, but nothing hinted at something illegal being afoot.


    With the number of guards and hunters posted at this gate, some information being leaked couldn¡¯t be avoided. But we could control how events would be perceived.


    It took us half an hour of waiting until two carriages with the Frost¡¯s personal house guard arrived.


    We loaded Ginevra into a second carriage and Astra silently instructed the guards not to let their eyes off Ginevra. She was to be kept safe and her whereabouts accounted for at all times.


    Essentially, it was the nice wording of: ¡°Keep her alive and locked up until you are told otherwise.¡±


    I only relaxed once we were sitting in our carriage and on the way back to the Frost¡¯s estate.


    ¡°Soo, the Throat connects to something called the Maze?¡± I asked. ¡°It was the only part of your fabricated story which I didn¡¯t get.¡±


    Astra shrugged. ¡°Maybe? The Maze is a set of maze-like tunnels created by a burrower colony. The worm¡¯s path went in the right direction and a worm tunnel can go on for kilometres without collapsing. The important point is people won¡¯t be able to verify our story quickly. Even if someone working for the Patels gets suspicious and sends a group down there to check, they will have to find the worm¡¯s path and follow it.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°And without communication, it will take them a few days to come back. Assuming they send someone right away. We might be able to check the records later on for hunting parties who suddenly changed their schedule.¡±


    Astra grinned. ¡°Exactly. And who is to say that Ginevra¡¯s party will be missed at all? Hunters vanish in the depths often enough without a trace to be found. Our poaching ring might be suspicious of the identity of our returnee, but as long as we keep her identity a secret, we might be able to avoid tipping them off. The worst thing to happen would be for them to hide their tracks and set their operation on ice.¡±


    We kept bouncing stratagems off each other until we finally arrived at home and dismounted the carriage.


    Mary Frost received us in the entrance hall. The old crone wore a disapproving expression on her face as if to tell us we were stealing her time.


    ¡°You are back early,¡± Mary stated the obvious after we greeted her, then focused her gaze on Astra. ¡°Your parents are waiting for you in Etan¡¯s office.¡±


    Having said her piece, Mary turned and stalked off in her office¡¯s direction.


    ¡°I believe I have never seen her in any other state than ¡®bad mood¡¯,¡± I commented once it felt safe to do so.


    ¡°Grandma Mary is just like that,¡± Astra commented with a wince. ¡°It took well over a year until I finally managed to see her having a neutral expression.¡±


    I scoffed and followed Astra to Etan¡¯s office, where we found both of her parents waiting. It looked like we wouldn¡¯t get something like a bath before we had to report.


    ¡°You returned early,¡± Teresa opened the conversation with a tone of worry in her voice. ¡°Did something happen that forced you to abort your trip? I heard you requested transport to the Tates¡¯ hospital. We already thought the worst happened.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I apologize. I didn¡¯t consider how it would look from your point of view. We are fine, but we picked someone up who needed transport back to the clan,¡± Astra replied, then continued to give her parents an abridged version of our adventure.


    Their expressions turned serious as they listened. Etan asked only a few short questions during Astra¡¯s explanations to clarify parts of the story which were unclear.


    Before long, Astra¡¯s recount came to a conclusion and her parents shared a long moment of silence with each other before Teresa gestured for Astra to follow her out of the room.


    Etan frowned but didn¡¯t say anything about it before he turned his attention to me. ¡°So¡­ the third strata¡­ eh? Are you planning any more trips to catch witnesses and drag them to my doorstep so I end up cleaning up the mess?¡±


    I shrugged and spread my hands. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for Astra¡¯s decisions. If she hadn¡¯t stopped me, we wouldn¡¯t have dragged the two Thich all the way to Mount Aerie.¡±


    Etan only closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ¡°I am not looking forward to the fallout, but this may help us in the long run. The Patels are fervent supporters of the faction which is in favour of doing nothing to keep the peace.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    My mother led me out of the office and into the estate¡¯s hydroponic garden ¨C a place where she liked to have her more serious discussions.


    This gave me the first hint that there was about to be a reckoning and I didn¡¯t look forward to it.


    Once the swing door to the garden area fell shut, Teresa turned abruptly and started screaming as loud as I had ever heard her chew me out when I did something stupid.


    ¡°What the fuck went through your head to hunt down a mindflayer with just two people! Did you forget everything we taught you about survival! I can¡¯t even blame Magnus for this because you should have been the one to know better! I know you want to prove yourself, but this is not the way to do it! Climbing to power by blindly taking every challenge in front of you is only a way to ensure one thing! And that¡¯s death!¡±


    I felt it before I saw it and moved without thinking. The other me, the one I had watching out for threats suddenly took over and had me bend backwards, then twist and roll over my shoulder.


    There was a thin strand of scintillating light that flashed through my vision just in front of my face and I felt a sting on my cheek.


    Once the other me returned control over my body, I was standing four metres further away from Teresa, crouched and ready to back away further out of her reach. A burning bush, an ornamental plant that the original settlers had brought from Earth, lost a few of its branches. All of them severed as if by a razor¡¯s edge. It had been right next to me before I dodged my mother¡¯s wrath.


    Now the bush looked like the gardener decided to trim off everything close to the paved walking path.


    I touched my cheek and my hand came away bloody. ¡°That was uncalled for, Mom. Headwounds bleed like a bitch! I know myself it was reckless. I assure you, I have a reason for seeking power beyond power for power¡¯s sake.¡±


    Teresa balled her fists and visibly fought to regain her composure.


    When I saw how much she actually cared, I suddenly felt bad for how I had presented the story to her and Etan. When I tried to see things from her point of view, I realized challenging the mindflayer must have looked like the pure recklessness of greed.


    The type that got young fools killed.


    I went down to my knees and apologized to Teresa for the first time in a long time. I hadn¡¯t been the best daughter someone could adopt in this fucked up world. ¡°I am sorry for worrying you like that, but I am fine. Magnus had a good plan and you can believe me when I say, I deliberated a whole night over trying it or not.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t right of me to cause worry for Teresa and Etan. They had taken me in and given me more than most other children could expect in this world.


    ¡°Oh, get back to your feet!¡± Teresa let out a defeated sigh. ¡°I intended to take off an ear for such a stunt! So you may learn something for the future. At least it seems like the mindflayer mutation wasn¡¯t a complete failure. You can move your whole body now?¡±


    I grinned, not caring about the cut on my cheek, or that she had intended to take an ear for education¡¯s sake. ¡°Oh, that, and so much more, Mom. You have no idea!¡±

 Ch 42 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Etan watched the door close behind the women. Then he sighed and rubbed his face before he gave me a disgruntled look and began sharing his troubles with me. ¡°A lot of stuff happened while you were gone and I figure you would like an update. It''s like this, the Council is currently split into two factions...¡±


    He gave me a short rehash about Clan Aerie being essentially a republic of councils. Each council member had a vote, and as long as the whole had more than fifty per cent agreement on a topic, a decision would be implemented and enforced by the whole clan.


    Only that the council representatives, the elders, weren''t truly voted on to claim their positions. They had taken power by being the strongest, oldest, and most revered personages of their respective stratas.


    In other words, they had to belong to an influential family.


    Many people from Earth, like myself, would probably be drawn towards thinking that this led to a corrupt system of egomaniacs. Like Earth¡¯s rulers of old, the leading families would slowly degenerate into incompetence, even if their ancestors might¡¯ve taken their position through hard work and sacrifices.


    But if Etan was anything to go by, then there was a fundamental difference between expectation and fact in Aerie¡¯s rulership.


    Every time I had met my new father in law, I had to remind myself that these people were decades, if not centuries older than I. They hadn¡¯t stayed in a position of power because they were weak or foolish.


    No. Instead, they had used their wealth of life experience to build upon what they had and become smarter, stronger and more cunning than blue bloods of old could ever hope to be.


    So their governing system had a strong component which could be unashamedly called aristocratic but was countered by the near-immortality these people had access to.


    The Council had thirty seats. Two for the leading, paired representatives of each strata.


    Though, it had to be mentioned there was an unspoken rule of paired couples voting in favour of each other. Doing so showed a strata''s unity. For a couple, the leaders of an entire strata, to vote against each other would imply indecision and weakness within the strata.


    This meant the council could be reduced to fifteen seats for simplicity sake by taking only the leading families into account.


    It also meant an undecided vote was extremely unlikely to occur with half of the elders for and the other half against a topic. Unless one or more stratas withheld their vote. Which was the problem in this case.


    The Moras, Llyods, and Rumens, leading the 13th, 14th and 15th stratas withheld their vote in regards to declaring war on the Thich.


    In favour of retaliation were Frosts, Tates, Smyths, Torres, Kline, and Walsh.


    Voting against war were Halls, Whites, Blares, Ortegas, Patels and Briens.


    It was a stalemate from a voting point of view.


    ¡°... meaning that we can''t expect the clan to move unless we manage to sway someone¡¯s position,¡± Etan finished his explanation of clan politics.


    I leaned back in my chair. ¡°Is there a particular reason as for why the three most influential stratas are holding back?¡±


    Etan twiddled his thumbs and stared into the middle distance while he thought things over. ¡°The Rumens and Lloyds are deeply tied to all the lesser stratas and are known to hold back with heavily polarizing decisions. One could say they have their hands in the stews of both factions, pro and contra war. Especially the Rumens won''t risk alienating even the weakest strata, as they currently hold the council''s board position. There are arguments to be made that the Lloyds might be more deserving of being ranked 15th, which would result in Rumens'' demotion to 14th. The Rumens won''t risk anything that would have someone call for a re-evaluation of their position.¡±


    Right, a strata''s ranking was purely based on their merit to the clan. Astra explained that some time ago, but I had forgotten it. I twiddled my thumbs while I tried to understand the situation.


    I was grateful that Etan was willing to tell me all this. If I had been in his position, I wasn''t sure whether I would share this information with a stranger. No matter whether he was a son in law or not.


    ¡°As for the Moras...¡± Etan sighed and gave me a meaningful look. ¡°Their policy normally followed ours very closely. Conveniently, they had no reason to play nice with anyone.¡±


    My new father in law practically droned out his next words. ¡°Buuut since a certain person snatched away Astra from their favoured son, I am surprised they simply withheld their vote and allowed the matter to stay pending, instead of forcing a decision.¡±


    ¡°Would that be bad?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If it is a matter that affects the whole clan, policy decisions can be voted upon only once a year,¡± Etan explained solemnly. ¡°This is to ensure nobody can simply request vote after vote until they achieve the desired outcome.¡±


    ¡°On the matter of going to war, the vote will remain on hold for as long as there is no definitive decision for or against?¡± I clarified. ¡°Why was a vote even called when the outcome was in doubt? Was a likely stalemate or a negative outcome not foreseeable? You mentioned some people would be against war even before you brought the Thich''s machinations to your people''s attention.¡±


    This was bad. If the vote ended in the negative, mobilizing clan Aerie''s forces would be delayed for a whole year at least. Which meant another year until I could rescue my remaining sister.


    I wasn¡¯t in a position to blame anyone, but wasn¡¯t it a politician¡¯s job to anticipate such things?


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have called the vote right away, but Annie Kline got impatient. She is out for blood. The good news is that things are unlikely to change in the near future,¡± Etan pointed out a glimmer of hope. ¡°The clans which are with us in the pro-war camp won''t jump ship. All of them have good reason to hate the Thich down to the bone. And as much as I dislike to say it, Michaela Kline''s death during the attack on the recruitment delegation was a good thing politically. Her grandmother Annie Kline doted on that child. It brought the Klines firmly to our side, even if Annie went a little too far at the meeting two days ago. Blinded by her grief, she didn¡¯t talk to anyone, believing the vote to be in her favour no matter what.


    ¡°The Rumens and Lloyds are also unlikely to change their positions. And as long as we don''t piss off the Moras further, they may be inclined to leave the status quo as it is. Kyra and Alex Mora may be a little hotheaded, but they aren''t stupid. Their decision to tie the vote was likely made to put thumbscrews on us while gaining the necessary time to evaluate the situation. Just in case a war might be necessary after all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I drummed my finger onto my armrest. ¡°I have no other choice but to defer to your experience in this matter. You know all those people better than I do. As far as I understand, our best way to sway the vote in our favour would be to flip one of the naysayers. You listed the Patels in the peace camp. Can we use their poaching operation against them?¡±


    Etan showed me his open palms and spread his fingers wide. ¡°Who is to know? You just came to me with this matter. Though, I must say I find your tendency to run across such matters uncanny. I will assign some of my best people to investigate. No matter the outcome, the mere possibility of one of our administrators selling information on hunting schedules is worrying.¡±


    His expression turned more serious until I got the vibe of murder in his eyes.


    With it, my neck tingled and I couldn''t help but sit up straight in my chair so that I could get to my feet more easily ¨C just in case. ¡°You act as if there is more than worldly wealth involved.¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Etan narrowed his eyes at me. ¡°Let''s hope material gain and greed were the only motivations for selling out those hunting schedules. Unfortunately, knowing when and where our hunters are supposed to be serves not only to avoid them but also to... purposefully encounter them.¡±


    It wasn''t hard to understand where he was going from there. Two things came to mind. ¡°I understand. Assassinations to get rid of uncomfortable people. Targeted attacks to loot the bodies for valuable equipment. Like those very valuable family heirlooms.¡±


    I knocked onto the chest plate of my armour.


    Etan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Thank you for reminding me about talking to Astra. She could''ve at least asked before requisitioning my great grandpa''s armour set.¡±


    Oh, boy!


    I winced and inclined my head. ¡°Thank you for lending it to me.¡±


    Etan waved the matter away. ¡°Astra will take you tomorrow on a round trip to all stratas. I suggest you pay very good attention. If the investigation in the poaching matter comes to fruition, I might task you with retribution against the Patels. After all, I promised to test your worth and this might be just the right task.¡±


    He made eye contact with me. ¡°I would be very disappointed if you failed.¡±


    I forced myself to smile confidently. ¡°I won''t fail, given the right resources.¡±


    What was he gonna do? Kill me and deprive Astra of her partner for eternity?


    Guessing my thoughts correctly, Etan leaned forward. ¡°Believe me, boy. There are things worse than death in this world. And I have access to a few of the nastier solutions.¡±


    ¡°Okay...¡± I replied slowly, having no desire to allow the conversation to slide even deeper into problem territory.


    How had we ended up going down the concerned-papa-route? Our strategizing had felt almost like a bonding experience between a dad and his new son in law. The conversation was going so well until I mentioned the armour and things had gone downhill from there. Yeah... meaning it was probably my fault.


    How should I have known this beetle shell had sentimental value? Thanks, Astra!


    ¡°Can I go now?¡± I pointed a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the door behind me and decided to be blunt. ¡°Right now, it feels like I overstayed my welcome¡­ and I still have to return this fine armour of yours to the armoury.¡±


    Etan scoffed. ¡°You are dismissed.¡±


    I got up, made sure that the visitor''s chair was perfectly aligned with the table, just as I had found it, and quickly retreated from Etan''s office. Every time I had dealt with Etan so far, he had managed to make the hairs on my neck stand up and I hadn¡¯t yet found a way to deal with him. The last thing I wanted right now was a fight with Astra¡¯s parents.


    Just as promised, I went directly to the armoury where I returned most of my equipment to ''Uncle Sullivan Weaponmaster Extradioniare''. Not my words, Astra had introduced him as such.


    Of course, Sullivan had to prove his title by coming down on me as soon as I handed over my spetum.


    ¡°What the fuck did you do to it!?¡± Sullivan exclaimed while he inspected the broken blade which I had ''sharpened'' back to a point. ¡°It looks like someone used it as a mining tool!¡±


    ¡°It isn''t that bad!¡± I dared to defend my masterful piece of field maintenance. ¡°Better than running around with a broken tip. I would like to see you do a better job with nothing but a file and a whetstone.¡±


    ¡°Broken tip?¡± Sullivan looked at me aghast. ¡°How did you break off the tip? And the side blade! That was sturdy work. Not fanciful by any means, but practical.¡±


    ¡°Used it as a jumping pole on a changeling matriarch,¡± I explained. ¡°Did you know that the things have really tough bones?¡±


    Sullivan gave me a forced, somewhat crooked smile. ¡°I will see what can be done about repairing the weapon, but I believe it would be best to reforge the entire thing. Hopefully, you aren¡¯t too attached.¡±


    I studied the spetum in Sullivan¡¯s hands. Somehow the weapon master knew I had taken a liking to it. But, at the same time, I wasn¡¯t vain enough to see it as anything else than a tool. A beloved tool, but a tool nonetheless.


    ¡°I admit I would prefer keeping it, but I also think I am outgrowing it. The smith back at the Old Camp fashioned it to my weight and abilities from back then. Honestly, I don¡¯t believe it would have broken if my strength hadn¡¯t increased over the last few months.¡± I shrugged. ¡°First and foremost, I need a weapon that won¡¯t break when I use it to the fullest of my abilities. If it is reforged the same way it was, it may break again.¡±


    Sullivan raised an eyebrow. ¡°So your little trip brought you back more powerful?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no,¡± I admitted. ¡°The spetum would have become an issue sooner or later.¡±


    Sullivan nodded. ¡°I will talk to a smith of my choice. He will have to take your measurements to reforge the weapon correctly.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me when and where once you know the details.¡±


    I took my leave and returned to Astra¡¯s, and now my, private quarters where I waited for my wife¡¯s return. To spend the time at least somewhat productively, I took out the core I had found during the trip and turned it in my hands. Then I got myself one of the books which Astra had brought me for study. It was a summary of the different cores and their financial value.


    As expected, there was nothing to be found about their function. Just as Astra had said. At least the Aerie didn¡¯t know how to make the cores work apart from recycling them for the metal.


    The people of this world called them cores, but to me, this weirdly formed piece of metal seemed like some form of biomechanical membrane- or a diaphragm pump. I took a pencil and used it to rudimentarily explore the core¡¯s inner dimensions, which confirmed my suspicions. There was even something in between the core''s two chambers which could be pushed from side to side. There was no doubt it was a pump. A pump which functioned as a heart!


    The question was, how was it possible for something like this to grow inside a supposedly natural animal?


    It may be shaped like an organ, but it wasn¡¯t one.


    I couldn¡¯t claim to have any medical or biological background but to find something like this inside a creature that followed an evolutionary path seemed¡­ unbelievable. Or was I too narrow-minded? Was the inclusion of ¡®natural¡¯ biomechanics a necessary step for life to evolve in this world?


    At least I hadn¡¯t found any cores in roughly horse-sized animals, and I had hunted quite a lot of them so far. Had the formation of cores something to do with size?


    My strength mutations almost made me forget, but Tirnanog had substantially higher gravity than Earth. One limiting factor for a creature¡¯s size was the ability to pump blood through its body. Was it possible for these cores to be the Tirnanog¡¯s natural solution to the problem?


    I doubted it.


    But if I rejected these cores to be natural, then wasn¡¯t the conclusion that Tirnanog¡¯s fauna, and maybe the flora too, were unnatural?


    I was still hung up this thought when I heard the door to the living quarters open.


    A glance with my Second Sight assured me through the walls that it was Astra. As long as there wasn¡¯t too much matter to interfere, the compartmentation of her quarters didn¡¯t obstruct this extraordinary sense. Over months, I had also learned to identify her ¡®energy signature¡¯, for the lack of a better term.


    I dropped the core when I noticed that she was limping and went into the entrance corridor to meet her.


    ¡°Astra!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but proclaim my dismay when I saw her state.


    She looked like someone had beaten her badly and then patched her up. Her armour was gone and she had formed her filaments into what looked like a baggy robe. As I knew her, it was to hide the state she was in.


    I quickly went to her side to make sure she wouldn¡¯t fall. ¡°Who did that to you!?¡± My next reaction was to feel anger at whoever had dared to touch my mate.


    ¡°Hold your molerats, mate,¡± Astra gave me a peck on the cheek and grinned. ¡°I am fine.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look fine!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Did someone try to cut your throat?¡± Touching her chin, I gingerly turned her face to inspect the cut on her cheek. It had been given first aid with some sort of medical sticky tape, but I could still see what must have been a nasty knife cut.


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°It will be fine, believe me. It looks worse than it is!¡± She pulled at her cheek. ¡°There, just a superficial cut. It just bled like a bitch is all.¡±


    I grumbled, remembering our healing mutation. Compared to when I had my chest laid bare, this wasn¡¯t something to complain about. ¡°Still.¡±


    ¡°I had a small argument with my mother,¡± Astra confessed finally. ¡°She thought it fitting to remind me of my mortality and stupidity. Hunting a mindflayer wasn¡¯t what she had imagined when she allowed me to take you out on a honeymoon tour.¡±


    I blinked, suddenly feeling remorse. ¡°But it was my idea to go after the thing.¡±


    Astra touched my chest. ¡°And I should have said no. Mother is right in at least one thing. If we wanted a mindflayer mutation, we could have always used the family¡¯s influence to send out a hunting party. The strata could have sent fifty or even a hundred hunters. The same goes for anything else we might require. It¡¯s not like we are lacking funds. There is no need for us taking such risks other than pride.¡±


    Then she grinned. ¡°But I at least managed to touch her a few times during our spar. That¡¯s something I never accomplished before!¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°You are proud about managing to touch her?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Astra¡¯s smile faded a little when she realized I wasn¡¯t really on board with her giddiness. ¡°Aw, shucks, I guess you wouldn¡¯t know how powerful my parents are. You have never seen them fight.¡±


    ¡°Powerful enough to beat you up without you being able to retaliate,¡± I theorized from what I had learned. Which meant, Astra¡¯s parents would be able to beat me up too. I had no illusions about Astra being that much weaker than myself. ¡°What¡¯s their ability anyway? I¡¯ve never seen them use their filaments, other than that one time at the council when Etan flashed his in front of that Mora guy¡¯s face.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they have several powerful ones,¡± Astra got going. ¡°But their best one is the ability to put their filaments under so much tension that they can snap out at you like the broken cable of a heavily loaded mining trolley. There have been incidents in which people have been cut in half.¡±


    I winced.


    What Astra described sounded like what I heard of rope accidents during shipping. ¡°I see. They have all their filaments under tension and on standby to snap them out at any target coming too close.¡± If they have improved reflexes and something like our prediction ability, they would be pretty much untouchable by anything which can¡¯t tank or outright ignore their attacks.


    ¡°You got the gist of it,¡± Astra confirmed. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, everything is fine between Mom and me. She was always a harsh teacher, but she does it because she cares.¡±


    ¡°Now...¡± She bit her lower lip and unwove the filaments forming the robe around her body. Which meant she was suddenly standing in her birthday suit in front of me. ¡°Can you imagine what I want now that we are alone? I had to hold back for three nights because of Ginevra.¡±


    I tried to stop her in a valiant attempt to hold back for a few more nights. ¡°Ahem, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to hold back for a few days until you are better-¡±


    ¡°Days!? Because of a small cut? Did you lose your marbles?¡± Astra shrieked and dropped to her knees in front of me, pulling down my pants.


    ¡°Astraah¡­¡± My feeble attempt at chivalry was quickly forgotten when my brain short-circuited because of what she did next.

 Ch 43 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    The next day brought a reunion with my sister.


    When Astra took us out to the carriage for the long-awaited round trip, Iv was already waiting there, dressed in very practical trousers and a cream coloured blouse.


    ¡°Ivonne! I didn''t see you yesterday. Where have you been?¡± I asked once we were within comfortable talking distance. ¡°I thought you would come running when we returned.¡±


    Iv pursed her lips. ¡°How am I supposed to come running when I didn''t even know you were back early? I am not the type to sit at home and anxiously wait for your return when you are supposed to be on a honeymoon trip!¡±


    I coughed, unsure of how to reply. Guess I still hadn¡¯t truly arrived in this strange new world. Everyone was referring to my outing with Astra as a honeymoon trip, but it hadn¡¯t felt like one.


    Without pause, my sister pulled a small notebook from a large pocket on her trouser''s thigh and showed me a tightly packed timetable. ¡°My new ''Mom'' apparently thinks I am lacking in education. She had that old hag pack me a tight schedule. From morning till midday, I have theoretical courses for wildlife and animal behaviour, plus advanced math and calligraphy. Then I barely have the time to take a bite before I have practical sessions and the evening is blocked by hospital visits!¡±


    ¡°Who is a hag?¡± Astra asked in her friendliest tone while linking arms with me.


    ¡°Mary,¡± Iv stated unashamedly. ¡°That woman is a taskmaster if I¡¯ve ever seen one.¡±


    Astra paled and whispered. ¡°Don''t let her hear that or things might get dire for you. Mary is mean enough to go through with making people¡¯s lives miserable if they displease her.¡±


    I felt uncertain whether I wanted to cheer on Iv for having the bravery to call out the old elder, or whether I should be warning my sister away. I didn''t dare to trigger the woman because my sixth sense told me it would end badly ¨C for me.


    Instead, I chose to switch topics. ¡°Hospital? Are you sick, Iv?¡±


    ¡°No, but Sienna is interested in some nerve relaxant inside my blood. She has me coming in daily for blood samples and additional tests,¡± my sister explained and shrugged. ¡°I am fine with it as long as I am not treated like an experiment. Plus, it gives me a chance to see Thalia and Tor every day.¡±


    ¡°Who''s Tor?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A friend I made.¡± Iv played with a lock of hair and grinned stupidly. ¡°And before you try giving me the big brother routine, Tor''s nice. You aren''t allowed to bully him.¡±


    I blinked, taken aback. ¡°I had no intention of doing that. You''ve survived on your own for years. As long as you don''t prove to me otherwise, I''ll give you the benefit of the doubt when it comes to choosing your friends.¡±


    Iv gawked at me. ¡°I thought I got my big brother back so I could sic you on people I dislike. Are you intending to be a stranger now?¡±


    ¡°Then let''s see this Tor and give him some gas!¡± I proclaimed jokingly. How bad could it be if Thalia knew the guy? I hadn¡¯t known her for long, but I was sure the woman would have said something if Tor was a bad influence. Her ability to look into people¡¯s minds was uncanny, so as long as Thalia cleared the guy, I wasn¡¯t worried about Iv¡¯s safety.


    ¡°Maybe some other time?¡± Astra pulled me towards the carriage. ¡°I am afraid the day is already allocated. We can call ourselves lucky if we manage the entire round trip till late evening. Twelve hours of daytime and thirteen stratas to visit. If we account for travel time, that¡¯s half an hour for each strata.¡±


    I laughed and allowed Astra to herd me and Iv into the carriage.


    ¡°Just out of interest, why do I have a glowsponge floating through my quarters?¡± Astra asked once we were sitting, derailing the conversation towards yet another topic. ¡°Those things are weeds in the truest sense of the word. If we aren¡¯t careful, we will have them growing all over the place.¡±


    She was referring to the floating, orb-like sponge which we had encountered in the Maw. Interested in its ability to generate and more importantly, capture, hydrogen or whatever gas it used to float, I had pocketed the thing.


    I remembered taking the plant out of my rucksack when I returned to our quarters last evening, fearing it might die if kept in a confined space for too long. ¡°It¡¯s something I was thinking about. I was impressed by its ability to generate and contain enough hydrogen to float around. I seriously can¡¯t understand why nobody would use that to build airships or zeppelins. It would make it much easier to get around. Imagine us taking a zeppelin between the Old Camp and Mount Aerie!¡±


    My partner pursed her pretty lips and smirked at me.


    ¡°What?¡± I creased my eyebrows, feeling like I was missing something.


    ¡°Nothing, dear.¡± She squeezed my cheek lovingly and giggled. ¡°You will see.¡±


    Astra¡¯s tour was more like a guided bus tour than a real visit to pay the various stratas homage. Iv and I got to ride to points of interest while Astra played tour guide.


    As it turned out, my first visit to the central cavern had shown me only some public areas where people from different stratas could mingle with each other.


    We began with the first strata, led by Elias and Judy Walsh. According to Astra, the first provided the clan with general labour and other odd jobs. The people from the first were the ones who maintained the public facilities and provided other stratas with manual labour when tasks had to be outsourced.


    Their quarters were the most down to earth I had seen so far in clan Aerie. Living mostly in wide hallways which had been cut into the mountain, the people were tightly packed but healthy. It was as much as the powerless could hope for.


    Something sobering to see was that even here, I could barely make out any children. The closest were some teenagers on the verge of adulthood. It had been already pointed out that the clan was very protective of their next generation and practically hiding them away, but the true extent hadn¡¯t sunk in yet.


    On some level, I also expected to encounter something like slums among what could be called the clan¡¯s lowest societal group, but I saw nobody who was too badly dressed or looked to require immediate help. Having a representative in the clan¡¯s political leadership was an advantage.


    We soon left what was essentially the first¡¯s residential area.


    The second strata belonged to Leo and Rita Brien. They specialized in what could only be called large manufactories where people operated various machines by hand to create all the odds and ends the clan¡¯s population needed.


    As a person from Earth who had grown up in a first-world nation, I was used to the idea of fully automated factories. What I witnessed here was a throwback to much simpler times.


    Nonetheless, I felt impressed with the level of automation the Aerie had retained besides losing access to computers.


    When we took a short detour through a manufactory for general tools, I got to witness first-hand how people could make do without electronics. The energy was provided by water pressure and computer controls had been replaced with pneumatic logic systems. It allowed the second strata to operate at a level close to the industrialization of the early 20th century. Some of the solutions these people had come up with were so mind-boggling that I couldn¡¯t have reproduced it if they had handed me the finished pneumatic system to copy.


    Being shown this, I now understood why the clans were seen as superpowers compared to the Old Camp.


    Already knowing what was to come, the third strata¡¯s mining operations weren¡¯t a great surprise. Bruce and Travis Patel led a tight regime in their part of the mountain. Though, a jarring difference to the previous two stratas were the obvious signs of discontent among the third¡¯s population.


    Someone had painted offensive slogans on walls and I found more than one group of people listening to men on stages holding speeches.


    Thankfully, Astra managed to avoid introducing us to the third¡¯s underworld. If Etan was to be believed, then I would get in touch with this part of clan Aerie soon enough.


    The fourth specialized in high-end weaponry and armour smithing. The carriage emerged into a large hall that was similar in design to the central living cavern but on a much smaller scale. Annie and Gilbert Kline, the fourth¡¯s leaders, had a genuine little Mordor running here. I couldn¡¯t see space which wasn¡¯t taken up by some form of smithy or a related profession like leather making.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The first thing which came to my attention was that I was seeing much less automation here. Oh, they had their power tools, but everything felt like it was aimed at individualization and customization.


    When I asked Astra about it, she explained how it wouldn¡¯t make sense to manufacture large amounts of identical weapons. Which wasn¡¯t to say there weren¡¯t some mass-produced options out there. But in general, warriors and guards who made a living with fighting monsters preferred to have their gear custom fitted to their skills and often more importantly, their physique.


    Unlike Earth¡¯s militaries, these people upheld the quality and expertise of an individual above uniformity.


    Visiting the fifth strata¡¯s library was¡­ eye opening? Hayne and Casey Ortega owned and managed a library. That was it. Well, not all of it but at least what I got to see first and foremost.


    I knew it sounded extremely unimpressive by referring to it as just a library, but I doubted Earth itself could boast of having anything on this scale. When a society couldn¡¯t rely on digital information storage, a truly mind boggling amount of paper was necessary to retain information. Only after thinking about it, I realized that back on Earth, I was probably carrying enough knowledge on my phone to fill a house if stored in paper format. Just by taking my e-book-library into account.


    A shame that those bastard scientists took it from me before sending me off practically naked.


    Anyway, the library had halls upon halls filled with books and people who did nothing but ensure the books were kept in good order and knowledge wasn¡¯t lost.


    It was eye-watering to learn that they also managed the fifteen churches of Gaia which were located all over the various stratas.


    Something else the Ortegas had was a museum. And a highly interesting one at that. Safely protected inside glass cases, they had huge amounts of supposedly still working artefacts from home. Computer stations, tablets, cameras, they had gathered everything which could no longer be maintained but might hold value. Like hamsters.


    I was somewhat displeased when I remembered they were in the anti-war camp.


    We had to find a way to sway these people to our side.


    Gwen and Trent Torres were leading the sixth strata, which was in charge of maintaining Aerie¡¯s water system. Meaning, they also held the clan¡¯s power system in their hands. Attached to this responsibility was maintenance of the colony¡¯s original air ventilation system which ensured people wouldn¡¯t suffocate down here.


    A direct consequence was that the sixth¡¯s central quarters weren¡¯t as impressive to visit as the previous stratas, since their tasks took them all over the clan.


    It was much the same for the seventh and the eighth.


    Kayden and Suzanne Blare represented the seventh, which was a construction company in every sense of the word. They were largely taking the first¡¯s and second¡¯s produces and¡­ building stuff.


    Yeah, I guessed every city needed something like that. I know, I could have probably paid a lot more attention during the half-hour we spent there, but I just wasn¡¯t a house-building guy.


    If I ever decided to settle down, I would have just ordered an architect to copy a design I liked.


    The eighth was under the watch of Elena and Kurtis Smyth and was responsible for transportation. They planned and maintained the transit tunnels which our carriage took. Aside from that, they also controlled an extensive network of lorry railways which ensured safe transportation to the most important locations and outposts all over Mount Aerie. Like the one we took from the foot of the mountain towards the central cavern.


    Sienna and Richard Tate controlled the hospital, which belonged to the ninth. We had already seen more than enough of their profession, so we skipped that particular step of our guided tour.


    Sadly, I had no doubt about having to see more than enough of their skills sooner or later.


    Taming wild animals and farming were the tenth''s fortes. In charge were Olga and Willard White. Though, the farming aspect of their operation was admittedly a little bland. The tenth maintained large halls with hydroponic farms, relying mainly on two different crops and tanks full with starfish.


    They couldn¡¯t be blamed.


    Who in his right mind would put effort into providing a large variety of foods if everything had to be cooked into largely tasteless mush?


    On the bright side, Astra pointed out that the beautiful waterfall pillar in the central cavern was also maintained by the tenth. It was the old colony¡¯s landmark and had been kept in top condition throughout countless generations.


    The eleventh was in charge of vehicles of all types and sizes, led by Hope and Ashton Hall. From carts to¡­ I found myself admittedly a little dumbfounded when I saw people weave together what could only be the beginnings of a hot-air ballon. And they had an entire cavern which was filled with nothing but floating glowsponges, ready to harvest.


    It took little to put one and one together from that after seeing Astra¡¯s shit-eating grin.


    Again, I had made the mistake of thinking of the people who were stranded in this world as savages. I took my failure in stride and could do nothing but promise to do better in the future.


    ¡°I think we can throw that sponge away once we get home,¡± I commented after leaving the glowsponge farm.


    ¡°Thought so.¡± Astra didn¡¯t rub it in and instead snuggled into my arm.


    ¡°What I don¡¯t get, why do you walk between the Old Camp and Mount Aerie if you have the industrial capabilities to make zeppelins?¡±


    Astra sighed. ¡°The short answer is that it was forbidden by the peace treaty between the clans, but you really should talk to my father about it if you want the details.¡±


    The twelfth, in charge of hunting and gathering was another point to skip on our tour.


    Our visit with the thirteenth strata was short and to the point, given our tenuous relationship with Kyra and Alex Mora.


    Astra introduced us nonetheless to an extensive office complex with people whose profession I could only label as scribes.


    The Mora were in charge of law and order throughout the clan. They managed cooperation between the various stratas and played judge for conflicts within the general population.


    Thankfully, Astra explained they weren¡¯t something like judge Dredd, judge and executioner in one. If a matter was brought to their attention, they would judge the case according to clan law and allow a strata¡¯s guard to execute the judgement.


    If it was a case with political ramifications, the council¡¯s personal guard usually got involved as a somewhat neutral party.


    But sometimes, if especially powerful people had to be apprehended, the twelfth would have to send out a hunting party, as Astra¡¯s people had the strongest fighters. It was extremely rare for the council members themselves to be involved in the apprehension of criminals.


    The fourteenth strata specialized in trading and exotic goods and was led by Harold and Xina Lloyd. Their main trading partners were the Caravaners, but they also sent out their own expeditions to uphold direct contacts with other clans. Accordingly, they operated a large warehouse complex and an attached auction house.


    The auction house, located near the top of the central living cavern wasn¡¯t much to talk about for someone who had seen countless theatres.


    If there wasn¡¯t an auction taking place, people would often use the stage to organize plays or operas for the public¡¯s entertainment. There was a small but professional group of artists who had made it their goal to revive some of Earth¡¯s entertainment culture.


    Last but certainly not least, we had the fifteenth, led by Skye and Juliana Rumen.


    To see their facilities, we had to take a railway lorry to the mountain¡¯s top. There, they entertained a genuine underground hangar and I finally got to see what made inter-clan warfare even possible in a world where a wandering army was more likely to be eaten by monsters than to encounter the enemy.


    Clan Aerie entertained a fleet of hundreds of what I could only call¡­ airships?


    They relied on giant versions of the glowsponges to keep them afloat, turning them into something similar to floating islands. Which was why I was reluctant to call these things zeppelins.


    Essentially, they relied on the same principles as a zeppelin, but they were zeppelins taken to the next level.


    Also, a whole third of the hangar system was dedicated to a tame drake colony.


    What was a drake?


    Well, it was a tame and very lean cross between an eastern and a western dragon of lore with four enormous wings. The body was almost snake-like when they drew in their stubby legs and, listen to that, they had a jet propulsion system!


    ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± I stood agape, looking after one of the animals, including rider, fart itself from one side of the huge hangar to the other. Admittedly, the sound was closer to a stuttering jet-engine running out of fuel, but it reminded me of southward winds blowing nonetheless.


    ¡°It flies by farting!¡± I exclaimed.


    Astra quickly covered my mouth with a filament and looked around. ¡°Don¡¯t let any of the riders hear that or they might challenge you to a duel.¡±


    I pointed at the creature closest to us and mumbled through the filament. ¡°Mmh. Mhut-¡±


    ¡°I know how it looks.¡± Astra slapped my hand down. ¡°Stop that, it¡¯s rude. They aren¡¯t farting! The drakes take in air through the gills along their necks. They then compress it with the muscles inside their bellies and expel it through a ¡®sphincter¡¯ that¡¯s completely separated from their anus. All of it is their breathing apparatus. None is connected in any way or form to their digestion tract. They simply breathe in and¡­ breathe out somewhere else.¡±


    I raised my hands, admitting I simply had to accept this biological improbability as fact. For now. After all, it was right in front of me. How did something like this even evolve? Had drakes some amphibian ancestor who used octopus-like propulsion methods and simply decided one day to shoot out of the water and into the sky?


    ¡°What do they eat?¡± I asked, while eyeing the colony of huge animals warily.


    ¡°Glowsponge and other plants, but they definitely prefer glowsponge if given the choice,¡± Astra explained. ¡°And they are a lot lighter than they look. Most of their main body is filled with the sponge¡¯s gas.¡±


    Meanwhile, Iv eyed the airships with a suspicious frown. ¡°Is something that large even supposed to fly, given this world¡¯s gravity? I mean, doesn¡¯t the higher air pressure on Tirnanog make balloons an impossibility?¡±


    My attention was drawn away from the drakes. ¡°Iv, what was your grade in physics?¡±


    She looked at me, confused. ¡°I never had physics while I was with the Thich.¡±


    I curled my fingers, imagining to strangle someone who was lucky enough to be out of my reach right now. Once I had my impulses back under control, I placed a hand on Iv¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Iv, buoyancy has nothing to do with the strength of gravity within a given system.¡± Well, aside from finding yourself inside a black hole, but there was no sense in needlessly confusing her. ¡°It¡¯s just about something displacing more mass than the displaced volume of liquid or gas around it would weigh. As long as that¡¯s taken care of, things can float no matter a planet¡¯s gravity.


    ¡°On the same account, I don¡¯t believe Tirnanog¡¯s air pressure is that much higher or lower than Earth¡¯s. I¡¯ve cooked a lot of stew since coming here, and I haven¡¯t noticed much of a difference in the boiling point of water, nor did my eardrums pop when they threw me through the portal. Air pressure isn¡¯t just influenced by the strength of gravity. It¡¯s also about the amount of air above you. Which means Tirnanog¡¯s atmospheric layers just have to be smaller than Earth¡¯s to explain the conditions. Less air above us means less pressure, capisce?¡±


    Iv¡¯s eyes flicked to Astra, searching for help. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.


    Meaning, she understood nothing I had just said.


    I looked towards Astra who wore suddenly a distant expression and stared into the middle distance.


    I sighed. ¡°I think I¡¯ll have to talk to Teresa. Maybe she can have a practical physics component added to those Math lessons you mentioned.¡±


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Iv wailed with the typical stubbornness of a student.


    I patted her shoulder with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I am sure Astra will be elated to join you.¡±


    My wife coughed, but didn¡¯t dare to speak up.


    Eventually, the tiring tour came to an end and we returned to the mansion with me being a lot wiser about clan Aerie¡¯s capabilities.

 Ch 44 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    My next meeting with Etan came right in the morning, not even twenty-four hours after we had brought the poaching problem to his attention.


    I peeked into his office, which had the door standing open. Either he had been waiting for me, or he was one of those ''open door'' kind of office-guys ¨C though I didn''t take him to be the type.


    ¡°Hi!¡± I waved a hand in greeting. ¡°Mary told me you want to see me.¡±


    In turn, Etan looked at me as if I was an imbecile. ¡°Come in and close the door.¡±


    Right from the start?


    Seriously, what had I done now? Too informal? It looked like he was determined to dislike me for some reason. I just couldn''t get him to warm up to me.


    Sighing, I did as told and took the seat across from him like a good little peon. After all, the Frosts were still my best chance to influence the clan as a whole. I couldn¡¯t afford to burn my bridges with Etan.


    ¡°My people investigated the poaching matter and found a ring of eight individuals who sold out our hunting schedules,¡± Etan explained. ¡°Thankfully, it wasn''t one of the hunting supervisors, or they would¡¯ve been able to mess with the setup of the schedules. The traitors had a guard who copied the new schedule during her nightshifts. Which is why your unannounced trip surprised them.¡±


    ¡°That was fast,¡± I commented, almost unable to believe how quickly the investigation had gone down. Had Etan''s men swooped in and apprehended everyone with access to the roster before searching their belongings? Guilty until proven otherwise?


    Well, I had to remind myself that this society didn¡¯t operate like Earth''s.


    But¡­ maybe things weren¡¯t so dissimilar. Wasn''t my reason for being here not an issue of men in black swooping in and abducting people?


    Etan leaned back in his chair. ¡°I may not control the whole clan, but at least within the twelfth, people jump when I tell them to. For now, we''ve made sure the traitors will do as told.¡±


    ¡°You''ve... allowed them to stay on their posts?¡± I asked, a little perplexed. ¡°How can you be sure you got them all? Or that they won''t blow the whistle?¡±


    Etan raised an eyebrow. ¡°I won''t deny the possibility of someone escaping our investigation exists... but it is extremely unlikely. We have our ways to ensure their cooperation. Additionally, my people made sure not to alert possible spies when they took in the suspects. At least for now, the investigation didn''t reveal anything which indicates the sold information was used to kill our hunters. Unless that changes I am willing to let the Patels'' poaching slide to gain some more time. For now, we''ve turned the traitors into double agents. If we take them off their duties, the Patels will know their game is over. As long as they don''t suspect anything, we can choose to feed them misinformation.¡±


    For some reason, I didn¡¯t want to ask how Etan¡¯s people had ensured the traitors¡¯ cooperation.


    I spread my fingers, signalling I didn''t dare to question his subordinates'' competence. ¡°Okay, if you have the means to ensure this, then there is nothing to be said against such a course of action.¡±


    My father in law nodded. ¡°Your job will be easy. Find a way to use the Patels'' betrayal against them. Preferably in a way that allows us to turn the vote in our favour. You have two weeks to prove yourself.¡±


    Two weeks? Talk about an impossible task!


    I pursed my lips. Etan had already forewarned me of his intentions, but this development still came a little fast.


    ¡°Which resources do I have access to?¡± I finally asked.


    ¡°You can do anything you want within the twelfth strata,¡± Etan explained. ¡°If it concerns matters outside, then you have to ask me first.¡±


    Did he intend to ¡®let me off the leash¡¯ and play with all of his strata¡¯s resources? Surely, there would be someone watching my every move.


    ¡°Then I need a guide who can show me around the third,¡± I answered quickly. ¡°Oh, and could I have Winston join me?¡±


    It was the first time I managed to befuddle Etan. My in-law''s expression turned confused and he blinked. ¡°Winston? Mary''s guard? Why do you want him of all people?¡±


    ¡°Because I already managed to build some rapport with the man,¡± I replied, slipping into my ''earnest'' persona.


    My real reason, because Winston was an incredible prude and I just loved winding him up, went undiscovered.


    ¡°Fine. Whatever...¡± Etan waved a hand, shooing me out of his office. ¡°You can ask Mary if you want to see the investigation''s report.¡±


    I got up and politely excused myself.


    Dragging Winston through the clan''s rough underbelly would be so much fun!


    Once I had left Etan, I went directly to Mary''s office and politely requested all the documents concerning my task. I would have to read through everything in the evening because today was reserved for getting to know the third.


    Yesterday''s drive-by was far from enough to allow me to see the whole picture.


    With that done, I also informed Mary of my sister''s educational deficits and wrangled a promise out of the old crone to double down on Iv''s scientific education.


    I had nothing against people who chose to focus their expertise on something less... practical. I had veered towards astrophysics after I got my degree, which was far from useful aside from getting a badly paid job at the university. But by God, everyone should know at least the basics!


    Once I was done with Mary, I returned to our quarters and shared my father-given quest with Astra.


    ¡°No problem!¡± Astra concluded once I finished my explanation of what had gone down with her father. ¡°Give me half an hour to take a shower and we will be ready to go.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I want to go alone,¡± I interceded before Astra could get herself too worked up.


    Already halfway across the living room, she froze and locked eyes with me. ¡°What!? But we do everything together! Is it because of that stupid buoyancy thing? Because I totally knew! Your explanation just... confused me. I would have said it in much simpler words! I am not going to sit down next to your sister and take lessons again!¡±


    I was a little taken aback by her vehement reaction, but after thinking about it for a moment, I realized I might have hit a sore spot. Also, we had indeed been joined at the hips in the most literal sense of the expression ever since we ¡®partnered¡¯ up.


    ¡°Sorry, Astra, I just need to see the third''s situation without a filter over my eyes,¡± I explained.


    ¡°Filter? I am a filter?¡± Astra fussed, suddenly turning emotional.


    I winced. Today, everything I said seemed to be taken in the wrong way. First Etan and now Astra. Were we about to have our first fight?


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    It was just one of those days.


    ¡°Look. This is nothing against you, love. Just listen before you judge me.¡± I raised my hands in a pacifying gesture. ¡°I didn''t mean to say you are an inconvenience, but your father''s task requires some social engineering. For that, I need to know what the people who work for the third think. How they feel about things. I have to find out what they desire and what they abhor. If you want to bring down political leaders like the Patels, you don''t do it by attacking them directly. We need to find out what the Patels are giving to their people and take it away. Then their power will wane automatically.¡±


    Astra raised an eyebrow but didn''t say anything. Her expression made it clear she was still offended about being left behind, so I quickly continued.


    ¡°I would love to take you with me, but I don''t think people will react normally when they see the twelfth¡¯s princess at my side.¡± I reached out and dared to tug at one of her filaments which were drifting close-by.


    In public at least, Astra drew in all of her filaments and disguised them as clothing. When at home and believing herself alone or just with me, she had the things questing around all over the place like separate entities. Thankfully, I had already gotten used to it.


    I understood the urge to do so, even if my filaments weren¡¯t long enough yet. They had reached a length of about a metre, which was enough to form an underwear skin suit. As soon as I stopped paying attention, they would unweave and explore my surroundings, like a blind man feeling his way through the dark.


    Astra quickly drew in her filaments and made all of them into a multi-layered gown, then crossed her arms triumphantly in front of her.


    I coughed, not believing this would work. ¡°I know you can do that. You would still stand out in a crowd. There¡¯s no way for people not to recognize your strata¡¯s trademark mutation.¡±


    She looked down at herself and frowned in displeasure, realizing she looked like an exotic princess.


    Her clothes dimmed and shifted after Astra¡¯s expression turned into one of extreme concentration. She did her best to create a more casual look but just couldn¡¯t pull it off. The filaments always had this glittering, black sheen, even if dimmed to their lowest setting.


    All it did was to make her look like some dominatrix in a seriously expensive leather outfit made out of countless strips woven together. No matter Astra¡¯s expertise in controlling her filaments, she couldn¡¯t change the material she had to work with ¨C which were a myriad of silken bands, each looking like an incredibly expensive material.


    It was like someone trying to weave a normal working suit out of golden threads. No matter the style or practicality of the artistry, or lack thereof, everyone passing by would be able to tell it was gold.


    I could still hide mine by wearing clothes over them, but Astra would look like an Eskimo if she tried the same.


    ¡°Gah!¡± Astra threw up her hands. ¡°I can cut them off! If there are fewer, I can pull some other clothes over them as you do.¡±


    I blinked. ¡°Astra, I know you can¡¯t be serious about cutting them off. Haven¡¯t you¡¯ve been trying to grow them out so you can fly again?¡±


    ¡°I just¡­¡± She bit her lower lip, then jumped into my arms and hugged me. Moments later, I found myself wrapped in a tight cocoon of filaments. ¡°I can¡¯t let you run around on the third and lose you! It¡¯s dangerous there. I don¡¯t know whether I¡¯ll be able to stay sane if something happens to you.¡±


    I chuckled and squeezed her back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve requested a guide from your father and I am sure he won¡¯t let me stumble around unsupervised, despite saying so. I get how you feel. It wasn¡¯t a problem while I didn¡¯t think about it, but now that you pointed it out, I also feel antsy about leaving you for more than a few hours.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a lie. Having her close made me so much more relaxed. The one time I explored the central living cavern without her, I couldn''t wait to have her back at my side.


    ¡°Maybe it''s one of those instinct things?¡± I asked.


    Astra sighed and nodded. ¡°Maybe, though it certainly wouldn¡¯t come from the treemonae. They are very stoic and patient creatures.¡±


    They must be. I certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to stay in place for months and wait for something edible to jump into my arms.


    ¡°Well, not having you next to me doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have an important task for you,¡± I continued. ¡°While I check out what can be done about the third, you could try to find a way to get us access to the ¡®thing¡¯ we were talking about.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the ¡®thing¡¯.¡± Astra nodded. ¡°I think I can do that.¡±


    ¡°And once I get back, I¡¯ll make sure to report every little detail back to you,¡± I assured her. ¡°Then you can give me your feedback on the various plans I managed to cook up.¡±


    It took half an hour before I managed to convince Astra to let me go. Though it was nice to be hugged by her. She was just so huggable.


    Ahem, nonetheless, I finally got back on track and took a trip to the third, accompanied by Winston and two more guards. We were dressed in unflattering work clothes which allowed us to mingle with the third¡¯s average citizen.


    To my guards, it must¡¯ve felt like I had taken them on a drinking tour through the worst bars the third had to offer, combined with a sightseeing trip and idle chit chat as I tried to engage random passersby in conversations.


    Despite making myself look like a fool, I learned a lot that day.


    The third¡¯s average citizen was a hard-working, if not very educated or law-abiding person. There was a general sentiment of diggers having to look out for themselves in a world of exploitation by other stratas.


    I spent a lot of time listening to the people who held speeches in the streets and found them to be a part of the Patel¡¯s propaganda machine. They spouted different slogans, but the core message was the same wherever I went. Stick to your strata and trust in the Patels to see to your best interests.


    It took some time, but I eventually realized the difference in how the Patels ran their strata compared to the others. Or at least why there were signs of discontent everywhere I looked.


    The graffiti and badly maintained public areas weren''t there without reason.


    The third sucked up the¡­ undesirables was probably too strong of an expression. Let¡¯s call them outcasts who didn¡¯t play well with the rest of the clan. Every society had those kinds of people, and the Patels had given them a place to come together.


    The news of a possible war had made it out of the council¡¯s halls and was a big topic on the streets, and the propaganda messengers didn¡¯t like it all, pointing out all the ways it would likely make life harder for the poor.


    Only, the third¡¯s people weren¡¯t really poor. They were well off compared to those who scratched together a living in the Old Camp.


    I didn¡¯t even disagree with the public reluctance against war. Most wars in human history had been fought on the average person¡¯s back while the old and wise leaders hid behind their population. As I saw it, the only reason why humanity had never fought a serious nuclear war was because the people who called for war knew they would have ended up in the crossfire.


    But sending countless young men and women to fight for law and order on the other side of the world? No problem, as long as it brought in cash.


    Four days passed in my quest for understanding.


    I visited the public bars which served the average miner Jack after a hard day of excavating the mountain¡¯s riches. Good people who sought nought but to make an honest living from day to day. People who didn¡¯t care much for war one way or another, but would be very disappointed if change made their lives harder.


    A stroll in the better living areas allowed me to meet the third¡¯s middle class, best represented by a certain Marlene Pierre, a better-off woman who always bought her starfish from the same vendor. She had hit it big when she bought the mining rights for a dead-end tunnel and found an almost pure iron ore vein, ensuring her pension.


    Her disposition towards war was indifferent. Not because she was a bad person, but more so a pragmatic one. War would see a lot of people killed, which was bad, but it also always increased the prices of the necessary resources to make war, like her iron.


    My favourite people from the third¡¯s higher society were Krystian and Mikayla Bonner, a paired couple who ran a refinery for the strata¡¯s ore before it was shipped off to the other stratas, or directly sold to other clans via the fourteenth¡¯s trading hub.


    They were absolutely against war, mainly because their leaders, the Patels, were against war, and they should know what was best. Since they were the elders...


    Talking to them just gave me that feeling of conversing with this good-natured, if a little naive elderly couple that was totally on board with their political party¡¯s agenda. Mainly because said political party ensured they would keep their haven in the world.


    Sometimes, there was nothing to be said against a good dose of blind trust. At least as long as everything didn¡¯t come crashing down.


    Each night, I returned to the mansion and shared my insights with my wife and listened to her advice.


    In the evenings and early mornings, I studied what Etan¡¯s people managed to gather from our traitors and Ginevra, the poacher we caught.


    It was on the sixth day when things got a little awkward.


    I had just managed to convince my guards, including Winston, to pay a visit to one of the third¡¯s less savoury areas, when we were suddenly surrounded by what I could only call a group of thugs.


    Particularly well-equipped thugs.


    ¡°The boss wants to see you,¡± the lead thug intoned.


    The line was so clich¨¦, I couldn¡¯t help but lean over to Winston who was standing next to me. ¡°I knew he would say that. No matter which planet, the grunts always come up with the same line.¡±


    My guardians winced collectively and Winston leaned away from me. ¡°You know, it¡¯s never a good thing to be taken in by the Patels? We should walk away.¡±


    The thug raised a metal warhammer large enough to brain a changeling broodmother with one hand. A normal human wouldn¡¯t have been able to swing it with both arms. ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking.¡±


    I blinked, feigning my unawareness of our situation while I made sure to speak loud enough so everyone in the vicinity would hear. ¡°Why? We haven¡¯t done anything illegal. I¡¯ve explicitly asked about it. And everyone knows where we are. I bet the council would leave no stone untouched if an elder¡¯s family member went missing in another strata. That would be very bad publicity. I am sure Bruce and Travis Patel just want a nice chat?¡±


    It helped that these people generally had good hearing. Vocalizing myself like this ensured there would be at least a few dozen witnesses.


    The thug smiled and gestured politely down a side tunnel. ¡°I am sure they just want to get to know the nosy person. After you.¡±


    Before my companions could say something, I followed the thug¡¯s invitation.


    Back at the organisation, one of my old teacher¡¯s mottos was, no risk, no fun.

 Ch 45 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    My comrades weren¡¯t happy about my decision to go along with the Patels'' friendly invitation. There was no question, walking right into their den posed a risk.


    But if I backed out now, wouldn¡¯t that just prove to Etan that I wasn¡¯t ready to be handed responsibilities and power? Hadn¡¯t he given me this task to show I could stand next to his daughter?


    Also, there was no other way to learn how to deal with elders of the Patels¡¯ calibre than to meet them on their terms. If we managed to get the clan to move against the Thich, meeting elders from other stratas and ensuring their support would be a daily occurrence.


    Not to forget, I wanted to have the Patels'' measure before I decided to do anything I couldn''t take back. Burning bridges before I even knew these people sounded stupid.


    Maybe they turned out to be reasonable gangster bosses. I had no problem with such personages. Back on Earth, I had to deal with all kinds of less than trustworthy folk.


    In my experience, as long as one had to offer the right incentives, gangsters were just as reliable as the most popular of politicians.


    The goons, who turned out to be the Patels¡¯ elite guard, led us down a winding set of tunnels, taking us away from the third¡¯s more frequented areas.


    At last, we arrived at an inconspicuous metal door, guarded by two people in gold-plated armour. They opened the doors and stepped aside, their eyes focused on a point in the far distance.


    ¡°Fancy,¡± I commented while stepping into a rustic, but perfectly maintained elevator which wouldn¡¯t have withstood several of Earth¡¯s stringent regulations on how to build such things.


    For one, the silver metal cage had large open sections which allowed an unhindered view of perfectly smoothed and polished marble walls. Nothing was preventing the occupants from jamming a limb between the elevator and the wall. And from my waist up, there was no protection at all, allowing an unobstructed view of the marble.


    Someone tried to allow for a panoramic view and forgot the glass!


    I was by no means a security fanatic, but this construct went against my more than bendable sensitivities for such things.


    There was one redeeming feature, however.


    The elevator was more than spacious enough to comfortably fit twenty people, allowing me to take a central, and hopefully secure, spot on the elevator''s platform.


    Once I paid more attention to the details, I noticed that every square centimetre was engraved with decorations, turning the elevator into a work of art.


    ¡°Is this vanity some kind of statement?¡± I questioned the leading goon once I and my guards, plus ten of our watchers had entered the spacious gilded cage. Now that I was inside it, the entire thing reminded me of one of those pompous, golden birdcages.


    Just with silver in this case.


    ¡°Just wait until you see the pit,¡± the goon commented. ¡°It pays to work for the boss.¡±


    Winston placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, ¡°Don¡¯t allow yourself to be misled. What use do we have in this world for shiny things?¡±


    I nodded, taking the advice as the warning it was meant to be.


    And well-placed advice it was because the boss¡¯s pit was indeed a glamorous thing.


    The elevator emerged into what looked to be a natural geode of mountain crystal, large enough to house an entire concert hall. Skilled hands had polished it and placed golden candelabras which shed their light in just the right way to make the entire cavern sparkle like a disco.


    From approximately fifty metres above, I got a nice view of the scene, making it obvious why someone had chosen to make the elevator as unsafe as it was.


    A group of dancers in frivolous outfits were delivering a show together with a band playing unfamiliar music that sounded like a strange mix between tribal and classic. It was nonetheless pleasing to the ear and allowed for polite conversation.


    Revellers populated the dance floor or sat at tables cut from obsidian, eating and drinking.


    It was like one of those dancing bars I had visited as a student. Just much more opulent.


    Everything was made from the finest of materials, painting a stark contrast to what I had seen throughout the rest of the third.


    Of course, I noticed the theme here. There was no wood or organic materials of any kind. Everything represented the riches that the third had dug out of the mountain. I briefly wondered whether the huge geode was possibly natural, or had it been crafted?


    I didn''t have time to make up my mind before my attention was drawn away from the walls and ceiling.


    The elevator reached the ground and our guides bade us exit.


    A blonde woman with soft, flowing feathers instead of hair greeted us. Her headdress didn¡¯t look as functional as the set of wings which emerged from her back. If someone had decided to attach a halo to her head, I would have believed her to be some weird angel.


    She was dressed in a scandalous outfit. A silken shirt that left little to the imagination and a revealing split skirt that had me grateful for the skintight trousers she wore.


    The woman smiled and performed a perfect curtsy, using her wings to billow out her skirt around her. ¡°Travis and Bruce Patel greet you to their humble abode.¡±


    I smiled, thankful that Astra had pointed out all the elders when we attended the council meeting. Given her misleading greeting, I would have believed her a simple servant. Even if I hadn''t already known, I might have gotten a hint from the revellers who were giving her more distance than was necessary to be respectful.


    ¡°And I am thankful for the invitation, Travis,¡± I replied.


    Travis stood and folded her wings back together, arranging them like a mantle.


    I wondered whether they were functional, like Thalia¡¯s, or whether they were a part of her mutation. Since they were much smaller than those of Astra¡¯s friend, whose leathery membranes could fold and package a lot of surface within a small area, I almost didn¡¯t believe Travis could truly use hers to fly.


    The woman gestured for us to follow and the sea of revellers parted in front of her without command.


    I turned to look at Winston, who shrugged. His expression said everything. I had gotten us in here, so I had to get us out.


    We were led through the dance floor, but the partygoers barely paid us any attention.


    It made me assume that people being received here was a normal occurrence.


    Our destination was a large, round table at the other side of the hall, where a group of three men and two women were playing cards. At a guess, I would have said that all of them were paired couples, but I could be wrong.


    No, two of them weren''t paired for sure. Their mutations were too distinct and my experience was for paired couples to look very similar in their phenotype.


    Travis joined the guy who was sitting alone and took the empty chair next to him.


    Unlike his blonde partner, Bruce Patel was dark feathered, one could say. Additionally, the wings around his shoulders had two menacing-looking talons.


    When I double-checked Travis, I realized her talons were hidden beneath a bloom of feathers.


    Bruce looked up from his game and greeted me with a devilish grin. ¡°Greetings! Tulkas, I believe was the name?¡±


    I nodded, seeing no need in correcting him. At least publicly, I had always used the moniker, even if Astra and I hadn¡¯t been as diligent in private. ¡°I admit I was a little surprised when I received this unexpected invitation.¡±


    Travis wagged a finger at me while she linked arms with her partner. ¡°Can¡¯t have been too unexpected with you nosing around our strata for days. How long did you expect it would take us to notice an outsider?¡±


    ¡°Longer, to be honest,¡± I answered blatantly. ¡°Especially since I haven¡¯t asked questions of importance. Just tried to get to know the people.¡±


    Bruce narrowed his eyes at me. ¡°Which is strange. Our clansmen told me that you were just fooling around ¨C which I don¡¯t believe. What are you searching for in our strata, if I might ask? If it¡¯s something exotic, coming to us directly would have been the better choice.¡±


    I showed him my open palms, spreading my fingers. ¡°Nothing. The truth of the matter is that Etan isn¡¯t confident in my abilities. He told me to get to know the various strata before he would give me a task of importance. And so, here I am, to watch and learn.¡±


    ¡°Here you are,¡± Travis echoed my words and followed up with a question. ¡°Several days in a row? How long does it take to have our strata¡¯s measure?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Takes time to get to know the people and the land. Please remember, I am newly exiled. And while my wife did her best to educate me, experiencing the real deal is so much different from being told. I thought about investing one or two weeks in each strata.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°So, you started with our strata¡­ why?¡±


    This was interesting.


    How did she know I had started my quest with the third? It required knowledge of my absence from the twelfth. Had Etan overlooked a spy? Or was there another way for elders to discern my whereabouts?


    ¡°Please!¡± I chuckled and enthusiastically gestured towards the ceiling, indicating in the general direction of the third¡¯s living quarters. ¡°My wife gave me a brief tour through the clan, but your strata seemed the only one remotely interesting. The others are well organized towards their purpose ¨C boring even. Yours was the only one with signs of a more interesting demographic. I saw the graffiti and public speakers and thought to myself, if you start with a strata, then why not the one which looks to be the most troubled.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Bruce¡¯s expression hardened, but his wife placed a hand on his arm. ¡°I believe Tulkas thinks himself to be a study of people. I am sure he meant no offence to our leadership.¡±


    I kept up my excited spiel and winked at the two of them. ¡°Of course! Astra told me everything about the third¡¯s role within the clan. I find your way of keeping things together quite effective if a little pragmatic. The good old game of propaganda, bread, and games for the common folk.¡± I indicated the club. ¡°Keeps everyone in line. I couldn¡¯t do it any better, given the kinds of people you have to work with. There is nothing harder than to keep discontents in line.¡±


    Bruce didn¡¯t seem pleased with me, but he nodded. ¡°So Etan and Teresa are grooming you two as their heirs. Makes sense to make you aware of everyone''s role within the clan. And a few graffiti are hardly a thing to worry about.¡±


    I nodded, seeing another chance when I recognized the cards.


    ¡°Ah, and are you playing the Gathering, by any chance? I recognize the classic set. You are playing cube?¡± I stepped closer to the table. ¡°You have a free seat, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°You know the game?¡± Bruce¡¯s opinion of me seemed to improve slightly. He looked at one of his goons. ¡°Bring the man a chair. We were about to go for a new round anyway. I don¡¯t believe anybody minds.¡±


    The other players at the table shook their heads, going along with their leader¡¯s decision.


    ¡°Of course!¡± I took the incoming chair while they made space for me at the table. ¡°I studied physics back on Earth. No better way to get introduced to nerd culture. And let¡¯s be honest, the game is eternal by now. Not recognizing it is like someone not knowing chess or poker by sight. You playing the power nine?¡±


    ¡°A slight variation of it,¡± Travis admitted. ¡°Instead of drafting a normal deck, we are going with commander rules. It¡¯s better if you have a large table of players.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I nodded as the cards were shuffled back together.


    ¡°How is Earth doing, by the way,¡± Bruce asked. ¡°It has been over a hundred years since I was exiled.¡±


    The man next to me, a rotund fellow dealt out stacks of thirty. It wasn''t what I was used to from a normal drafting game, but it made the deck-building process much faster.


    ¡°You are an exile like myself?¡± I asked. ¡°Then I have to draw my hat before you. Coming here and becoming the elder of a strata, it had to be a path with many pitfalls.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t on a similar path,¡± Travis pointed out.


    ¡°Regarding how Earth is nowadays.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Not much has changed since your time. The World Government still claims itself to be a democracy, but we all know there is nothing democratic about a system that can¡¯t be de-elected. If anything, the parties to choose are a case between lobotomy and cancer in my honest opinion. And if there is a promising candidate, one can be sure that he will be corrupted within months of being thrown into the feeding pen with the rest of the pigs. The people of Earth have done a decent job at enslaving themselves within an administrative system supposedly aimed at freedom and equality. And everyone who doesn''t conform is left at the wayside. Your solution is preferable, I must say.¡±


    I gestured around, indicating the third and the clan as a whole. It wasn''t perfect. Nothing could be. But on Earth, the third''s people would have been segregated away to their own subculture and allowed to fester at the edge of society.


    It was the lot of those who were dissatisfied with the choices a stuck political system would offer.


    Here, they had at least their strata to identify with and a voice among the leadership.


    Bruce let out an aggravated sigh. ¡°I suppose nothing much has changed then. It''s fascinating how a good idea can be corrupted until the end result resembles the totalitarian regime it was meant to prevent. I was a politician back then. But when I proposed to add a mechanism to prevent the formation of nobility-like parties, they called me an anarchist. And when my national referendum went through, I suddenly found myself charged with countless immaterial accusations. I was dragged before the World Court and found myself exiled.¡±


    I had been picking cards while the stacks of thirty went around the table, tasking one of my subconsciousness with selecting them.


    Travis idly played with her partner''s hair. ¡°I am glad about you landing in my lap.¡±


    That''s when it clicked.


    I flicked my finger. ¡°You are Bruce de Brus! The one who almost managed to have northern Europe split away from the World Government by declaring independence!¡±


    It was a huge scandal at the time and went down in history. Troops had been sent to beat down what was seen as a revolution against world peace. In a time where individual countries were nothing more than the federal states of a united government, trying to form a separate institution of equal standing was nothing more than heresy.


    Bruce chuckled. ¡°I no longer go by that name. Has everyone picked their cards?¡±


    The last depleting stacks went around the table before people started building their decks.


    Not knowing the exact card pool, I had stuck to the good old B.R.E.A.D rule. Bombs before removal, evasion, aggro, and duds. Among the game''s five colours, I had ended up with quite a funny rainbow deck. Normally a problem, because it would be hard to find the corresponding resources to cast the spells.


    But my alter ego had solved the issue by picking a lot of colour fixing, things that ensured I would have the right colours available and more than enough mana to cast the big spells in the long run.


    We rolled dice for the right to go first and the honour went to the rotund fellow next to me.


    He placed a plains card and immediately played his first white creature, which made me assume his strategy aimed at flooding the board with small, cheap stuff. It was one of the colour''s trademark strategies.


    I placed my own land, a dual plains and mountain which entered the board tapped and unusable as a downside. Then I passed the turn.


    ¡°Have you already met Gerald, by any chance?¡± Travis asked from Bruce''s side while she studied the cards in his hand. She wasn''t participating in the game, so I said nothing about it. ¡°He is a very useful asset we came across recently.¡±


    She indicated the rotund fellow next to me, who nodded with a pleasant smile. ¡°Well met.¡±


    He looked mostly human, aside from a set of ridges on his temples. And his white painted fingernails were quite the eccentricity. But it wasn''t like I could complain about such things.


    I replied in kind. ¡°The reason why you are pointing this out is?¡±


    ¡°You are trying to prove yourself to Etan,¡± Travis explained. ¡°I propose to send Gerald along with you as a consultant of sorts. To build relationships. His mutations are nothing to brag about, but he has a very sharp mind.¡±


    ¡°Sharp indeed. I have been a specialist for economics before I was exiled five years ago,¡± Gerald commented and played his second land once it was his turn. He immediately cast an equipment artefact and laid down his second creature, essentially proving my assumption about his strategy.


    ¡°Hmhm...¡± I hummed along, feeling a slight tickle in my mind.


    This Gerald seemed to know his stuff, judging by his actions so far.


    The game went five full rounds without anyone doing much aside from small attempts at preventing their opponents from building up their boards too much.


    The woman opposite from me had a few of her creatures destroyed, but her black deck revolved around a revival theme, so it didn''t bother her much.


    Bruce suffered a few attacks, but his white/green life-gain theme immediately remedied the loss and generated an army of token creatures which would be threatening soon if nobody did something about it.


    Gerald lost a few creatures, but he had an enchantment that easily allowed him to rebuild his army thanks to card-draw each time he successfully dealt damage with some white flying creatures.


    The woman one seat over concentrated on artefacts which prevented her from being attacked conventionally while she slowly gathered her assets. I expected a wild combo to go off any moment.


    The fifth player''s deck was a random pile of cards that focused on value enchantments and powerful creatures.


    I held back, reacting to threats rather than acting.


    This game mode was as much about the game''s strategy as it was about interpersonal relationships. A player could draft an extremely powerful deck, but if he revealed his true power too early, the others could easily gang up on the threat and take it out of the game.


    The state of the game advanced steadily while I made small talk with Bruce and Travis.


    Gerald added his two cents of wisdom from time to time and I even found myself defending his army once. The woman with the artefact deck tried to cast a board wipe which would have returned all creatures to their owner''s hands, but I had a counterspell ready.


    Gerald and I, we had formed something of an unspoken contract with each other while I chatted with Bruce.


    Gerald didn''t attack me and in turn, I kept his army from suffering complete annihilation. His steady stream of creatures also kept the woman with the revival deck in check ¨C as her troops had to be held back to block Gerald''s army, should he decide to attack.


    Meanwhile, I kept building up my resources, piling up lands and artefacts to cast the largest spells possible.


    ¡°And exchanging advisers is common among the strata''s leadership?¡± I asked, continuing our conversation from earlier.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Bruce replied with what sounded like complete honesty.


    ¡°The question is then... what would you want for Gerald''s services?¡± I turned my attention towards the man who had apparently read my thoughts when it came to our silent contract.


    ¡°Oh, nothing really.¡± Travis waved me off. ¡°I am sure Etan will thank us for our support in his quest to educate you. There are always ways in which stratas can help each other out. I am sure you bringing home such a valuable advisor will be an eye-opening experience.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I guess then I have to thank you for your generosity,¡± I nodded along. ¡°I wouldn''t have thought to find a few players of the game on this world. It''s a very nostalgic feeling to sit at a table like this with others.¡±


    ¡°Please, it''s nothing to humble yourself about,¡± Bruce waved me off. ¡°But for the sake of political education, I do have one last piece of advice to give to you.¡±


    ¡°And that is?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You see, I like this game because beneath the complex rules, it''s very simple.¡± Bruce tapped all of his creatures sideways. ¡°I attack you with everything I have.¡±


    ¡°Which leaves you wide open for the others to attack while not killing me,¡± I pointed out. ¡°At best, it takes both of us out of the game.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you see,¡± Travis clicked her tongue. ¡°That''s the political part of the game.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Somehow, I managed to keep my mask of friendly politeness in place.


    Over the next few turns, each player at the table unleashed all the nastiness they could on me.


    My creatures were destroyed and my graveyard exiled. I was forced to discard most of the cards I managed to build up. By the time it was Gerald''s turn, I had nothing left.


    When Gerald''s eyes met mine, he shrugged. ¡°No hard feelings, mate?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Do what you must.¡±


    ¡°No hard feelings indeed, but this is what awaits you among the strata.¡± He also tapped all of his creatures, attacking me for lethal damage.


    There was nothing to be done about me departing the game first. ¡°Then I guess I will use my last breath to leave the table a gift.¡± I still had that neat little enchantment that allowed me to cast sorceries as instants. And so I used a spell called Prosperity to allow everyone to draw twenty-four cards.


    It wasn''t enough to kill everyone at the table since not being able to draw a card from your deck was an automatic loss according to the game''s rules, but everyone who had drawn a lot of cards throughout the game suddenly found themselves with their entire remaining deck in their hands.


    Among those were Gerald, Bruce who I intentionally left with exactly zero cards in his deck, and the artefact lady. The remaining two hadn''t relied on card draw too much and would have to duke out the rest of the game between themselves.


    ¡°And with that, I will take my leave.¡± I stacked my cards back onto a pile. ¡°Maybe we can repeat this another time ¨C without the backstabbing part.¡±


    Bruce looked a little miffed since he would lose the game right after me as soon as it was his turn, but Travis took it in stride. ¡°Oh, please do come back. Bruce likes to flaunt his power, which is indeed taking the fun out of it at times. So, I like the scorched earth approach you took.¡±


    ¡°Well, I appreciate the lesson in diplomacy nonetheless,¡± I bowed and excused myself.


    Winston and my guards surrounded me on our way back to the elevator. This time, the Patel guards didn¡¯t see the need to escort us.


    It was only once the elevator was already on the way upwards, that I turned my attention towards Gerald.


    ¡°Somehow, I wish you hadn''t followed me,¡± I mused as I looked directly at him.


    He didn''t get it. ¡°Why? Wasn''t Bruce clear about my usefulness?¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°Clear enough. Say, you have no other mutations than mindflayer? Nothing that allows you to fly?¡±


    ¡°No-¡± His bemused answer broke off once he fully processed my question. ¡°Wha- rgh!¡±


    My arm blurred, hitting Gerald''s Adam''s apple with the edge of my hand and an unhealthy sounding crack! Grabbing his collar, I pulled him towards me while I went to one knee.


    His weight fell onto my shoulders and for a moment, I had him in an awkward fireman''s carry.


    Then I heaved with all my might, letting out a grunt of effort as I lifted him up, and sent a surge of energy through my entire body as I straightened.


    Gerald''s body was flung out through the elevator''s panorama, sailing far and wide right before the elevator passed into the marble shaft which blocked me from viewing the results.


    From far below, I heard muffled screams.


    In my mind, I imagined the weighty man landing right on Bruce''s gaming table, bursting open like a ripe tomato. At least I had aimed for the table, but it was on the other side of the hall. I wasn''t quite so confident in my ability to toss someone that far, no matter the height advantage.


    Speaking of, what would a fall do to a man in this world''s higher gravity? I intentionally waited for the elevator to reach the highest possible point before I threw him out. Forty or fifty metres were more than enough to kill back on Earth.


    Hopefully, he would land at least close enough to the Patels to get the message across.


    ¡°Wha- Wha- Wha-¡±


    I turned and raised an eyebrow at the stuttering Winston and the guards who looked at me like I had lost my marbles.


    Winston finally managed to arrange four words together. ¡°What did you do!?¡±


    ¡°I acted in self-defence against someone who used a mindflayer ability on me,¡± I explained.


    ¡°The Patels will be mad!¡± Winston looked at the floor in their general direction.


    I grinned. ¡°Guess we have to run fast as soon as the door opens.¡±


    ¡°Or we run now!¡± Winston jumped at the ceiling, grabbing hold of the cage''s silver bars.


    Within a moment, he had them bent apart and was scrambling through the opening, followed by one of my guards and then another.


    ¡°Or we run now,¡± I admitted, deciding they probably had the better survival instincts in situations like these.

 Ch 46 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°You want what?¡± Teresa blinked and looked up from her stack of reports. She had been brooding over the never-ending pile of work in her office. Now she was splitting her attention between me and her duty.


    ¡°I want more involvement in your functions as an elder,¡± I repeated myself. ¡°You know...¡± I gestured. ¡°Like the times when you and dad took me regularly to council meetings. To get me prepared as a potential heir.¡±


    ¡°I thought you lost interest in that,¡± Teresa mused. ¡°Recently, you¡¯ve spent more and more time at the Old Camp than at home. I got the impression you were seeking a career as a diplomat to the other clans.¡±


    More time? How could she say such a thing? I had been going on recruitment trips for years. Ever since it was appropriate to do so. Sometimes, I wondered whether my perception of time would warp too if I ever reached over a hundred.


    I frowned until we made eye contact. If there hadn¡¯t been this teasing twinkle in my mother¡¯s eyes, I would have taken her for real.


    I pretended to be offended. ¡°Mom, you know very well I was trying to find a partner and to get away from Hector.¡±


    ¡°To get away from responsibility, you mean,¡± Teresa clarified.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to get away from responsibility as a whole. You know me better than that.¡± I crossed my arms and straightened in my chair to show confidence. ¡°I was trying to deal with a bad situation as best as I could. If you had managed to press that stupid deal through, well, I am honestly done repeating myself. One way or another, the outcome would not have been pretty for you and horrible for me. Are we done with poking our fingers into old wounds? I am happy with my decision to take Magnus.¡±


    Teresa wouldn¡¯t meet my eyes now. She looked like she felt at least some remorse for what had hung over our family like a dark stormcloud ever since dad had announced the arranged pairing.


    ¡°I am sorry, for what it is worth.¡± Teresa shoved the reports to the side, finally paying me her full attention. ¡°Etan and Alex are old war-buddies. I suppose they came up with this stupid idea of hooking up their kids and forgot what you might think of such an arrangement. Well, their relationship and reputation suffered for it. I am well aware why you spent as little time as possible at home.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°So, you want to resume the boring duty of being your elder¡¯s scribe?¡±


    As long as it allowed me to spent time at the Hall of Law at ungodly hours, that was perfectly fine with me.


    ¡°Of course, Mom.¡± I smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I always say I wanted more responsibility? When do I start?¡±


    Teresa pursed her lips. ¡°Tomorrow, the elders will have a session regarding the ever problematic maintenance of the air scrubbers. The Torres are saying we will lose another power generator sooner rather than later, and that the blacksmiths should get ready to make a new one. Even with the second¡¯s and fourth¡¯s capabilities, such projects always take time and require a lot of preparation.¡±


    I nodded.


    We simply didn¡¯t have the industrial capability, nor the need to produce power generators in a production line, so it was best to get the process started before actually needing the replacement.


    Power management and maintenance of the old colony¡¯s original tech was an ever-recurring concern for our leadership. There were still a few systems that relied on electricity.


    The original settlers planned to install a fusion reactor to power the colony while relying on a quickly and dirtily installed system of fuel-cell powered generators. The required hydrogen and oxygen was imported from Earth, which caused the colony to fail quickly when support was withdrawn.


    The fusion reactor never came to be realized.


    Now the clan was doing its best to maintain the old power generators. Some were powered by the river going through the mountain. Others had been rigged to steam power. Our crafters were quite innovative when it came to making things work.


    Magnus once told me about Earth¡¯s stringent regulation systems on how things had to be done. Just from listening to his retelling, I had gotten the impression that if Earth ever tried to take over again, their administrators would get a stroke.


    ¡°No! This is stupid!¡±


    A scream from beyond the office door drew our attention, right before a young woman interrupted our meeting by barging into Mom¡¯s office.


    ¡°Teresa!¡± Ivona exclaimed and waved several papers as if she was about to fling them to the floor. ¡°I want my old schedule back. These additional Math and Physics lessons are a pain in my-¡±


    Teresa cleared her throat. It was all she had to do to reign in Iv.


    ¡°My¡­ my¡­ behind?¡± Ivona barely managed to refrain from saying something that would have earned her a lesson in etiquette on top.


    I wondered what had happened between Mom and Iv to cause such a reaction. A month of travelling together was enough for me to know that Iv was the headstrong type who didn¡¯t hold back with mouthing off.


    A woman who I recognized entered the office behind her, looking exasperated. She waved a folder at her escaped student and hit Iv on the back of her head. ¡°I told you not to concern Teresa with this!¡±


    I waved a hand at Martha, one of Mom¡¯s trusted friends who had been hired to teach me mathematics. And now she was in charge of Ivona.


    Martha had a treemonae mutation, but hers was paired with something that made her filaments look slick and oily. Otherwise, she looked like a normal brunette in her prime. A pretty woman with a rounded face, despite the stern expression which she had perfected over years of teaching strong-willed youths.


    ¡°Martha, so nice to see you!¡± I chuckled good-naturedly, hoping she wouldn¡¯t notice that I was totally faking it. Was there ever a student who was happy about meeting her old math teacher again?


    Of course, Martha noticed, but she smiled and gave an equally fake reply. ¡°You are back. It¡¯s so nice seeing one of my ¡®best¡¯ students again!¡±


    I stood up and she came over, giving me a greeting hug which I endured. Just because I hated my tormentor of a teacher, didn¡¯t mean I rejected her as a person.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Both of us laughed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Teresa finally decided to end the awkward situation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I need all that¡­ math.¡± Ivona was quick to return to her reason for storming Teresa''s office. ¡°Someone has tripled my math lessons!¡±


    ¡°Which was necessary, after your brother pointed out a weak spot in your education,¡± Martha took up the torch. ¡°It¡¯s baffling how nobody noticed before. And if you had allowed me to explain before running off like a child, we wouldn¡¯t be interrupting the elder.¡±


    Teresa smiled and waved the matter off. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We were about to be done anyway. Ivona, from what I was told you need to take these lessons.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Ivona turned the papers around to show us the problem. ¡°Advanced Statistics? Physics? What does that have to do with my chosen profession? I want to learn about beasts, become some kind of biologist!¡±


    I pressed my lips together, remembering a very similar discourse I had with Teresa a decade ago.


    Teresa kept her cool and smiled at Iv with a smug expression. ¡°It¡¯s a question of self-determination and one of tradition.¡±


    ¡°Tradition? Self-Determination?¡± Iv parroted, taken aback. ¡°I think I can be plenty self-determined without knowing math.¡±


    Teresa nodded. ¡°Back when Earth abandoned this colony, our ancestors went through a period of great upheaval. Being cut off from any kind of support, they learned the hard way that it doesn¡¯t take an authoritarian regime to deliver cruelty on the average person. A, let¡¯s call it a ¡®political class¡¯ which is disjointed from their people, is enough. So they swore to do everything in their power to prevent the wrong people from gaining power, or giving it, ever again. They realized, the issue lies less with leaders misusing their power. Choose the wrong leader, and you will always have a problem. No matter what. So, they decided to take a close look at the issue of giving someone power.¡±


    Iv looked suspicious. ¡°What does that have to do with Math? Or self-determination?¡±


    My mother¡¯s expression turned sly. ¡°Oh, they had a great many arguments and discussions about what had to be done. Some of the solutions they came up with were smart. Others¡­ not so much. In any case, one of the things they came up with ¨C which is now tradition ¨C is that if you vote an elder into office-¡±


    ¡°You vote?¡± Iv interrupted. ¡°I thought you guys have a hereditary system.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only partly hereditary,¡± I corrected. ¡°And only as long as a family can stay in power. Our ancestors acknowledged that power would ultimately remain in the hands of the powerful, a simple fact of life. But they also tried to limit those in power by keeping a form of democracy. Besides, choosing new elders isn¡¯t the only reason to vote. Sometimes, the elders are split on policy decisions. If they absolutely can¡¯t reach an agreement, they might call for the public¡¯s opinion.¡±


    Teresa raised a finger and continued. ¡°What our ancestors could prevent, was for those who followed and chose their leaders to be sheep ¨C within limitations. Much of the colony¡¯s troubles could have been avoided if the colonists had realized they were being herded to the chopping block. Someone doing a few fact-checks would have been enough. Which is why everyone who votes an elder into office nowadays, has to solve a mathematical problem within half an hour. Nothing too complicated. But something which ensures the voter would be, at least in theory, capable of fact-checking what he was told by the elder he is voting on.¡±


    Iv blinked. ¡°But¡­ what if they can¡¯t find the solution?¡±


    ¡°Their vote doesn¡¯t count,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Idiots don¡¯t get a voice,¡± Teresa added. ¡°It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    Ivona looked aghast. ¡°That¡¯s so unfair!¡±


    ¡°The world isn¡¯t fair,¡± my mother clarified. ¡°It¡¯s a simple fact that any population has a lot of unlearned people, more than they have smart ones. Is it fair for someone who has no clue about economy to vote someone into office who advocates an obviously false policy? Just because they ¡®believe¡¯ a pseudo-truth they were presented with by charismatic person? Shouldn¡¯t society do its utmost to educate its citizens and ensure they are capable of making an educated choice when they vote over the fate of their entire society?¡±


    Teresa sighed. ¡°Look, I am not saying being able to solve some abstruse mathematical problem prevents you from being an idiot. Far from it. But at least it prevents complete morons from pointing entire nations down a certain path because they fell for pretty arguments.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡± Iv searched for words. ¡°If you demand this much from a simple voter, then shouldn¡¯t the leaders have the same, if not more competence?¡±


    I stiffened.


    Teresa smiled. ¡°Are you implying my family isn¡¯t leading with a good example? Aren''t you being forced to improve yourself despite your obvious reluctance? Astra, why don¡¯t you do us the honours? Think of it as a voting test.¡±


    Damn it all!


    Iv look conflicted, but she stepped forward and slapped a paper onto the table. ¡°Hah! As if that has anything to do with being allowed to vote!¡±


    Please, no physics. Let it be some simple quadratic equation or such the like.


    I stepped closer and squinted at the neat handwriting while reading aloud. ¡°A balloon with a mass of 16g is inflated with helium to a diameter of 40cm so that it rises at constant speed. But it isn¡¯t gas-tight. Over the course of 12 hours, it leaks gas at a constant rate and loses volume until it sinks at constant speed. How big is the leak in cm3/min? Assume the following: ¦Ñ(He) = 0,2 g dm<sup>-3</sup> ; ¦Ñ(Air) = 1 g dm<sup>-3</sup> ; Friction is to be the same during rising and sinking.¡±


    Fuck physics!


    I forced myself to smile while I stared at the sheet of paper. It had been a decade since I touched a problem of this sort, but I wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed in front of my mother right after requesting to be given more power!


    One moment! Was this her doing? Some kind of test which she somehow arranged in advance? No¡­ the timing seemed impossible. She didn¡¯t know what I wanted when I visited her.


    What I was certain of, was that she was using the opportunity to test me.


    I shook my head and reminded myself to concentrate. ¡°Let me think for a moment! It has been some time.¡±


    For a whole ten seconds, I just stared at the sheet of paper, figuring the solution must have something to do with force. Why else would friction be explicitly mentioned? Force was mass times acceleration. And momentum mass times speed.


    Darn! If I had a day to figure it out, I would surely manage it. But not under pressure in less than thirty minutes!


    Then I suddenly had an inspiration.


    I split off a sub-identity and tasked it with solving the problem. Then another, and another one. The answer didn''t come, so I kept going. When I reached fourteen, I started to feel a slight twinge behind my eyes. A headache was coming on, but I didn''t back down and pushed my sub-identities to their limit.


    Iv crossed her arms with a smug expression on her face. ¡°You don¡¯t even know where to start, do you?¡±


    That¡¯s when my sub-identities suddenly re-integrated with me, bringing along the solution and a wealth of half-forgotten knowledge. It was like fireworks suddenly went off in my brain, bringing enlightenment!


    ¡°33cm3/min,¡± I answered and rubbed my temple. The problem was solved, but the headache remained. Worse, I now had all those formulas which I had hoped to be forever forgotten in my head again. My alternate selves had somehow stirred up all those old memories of me struggling with symbols while Martha loomed over my shoulder.


    ¡°You¡¯re shitting me!¡± Iv complained. ¡°You didn¡¯t even touch the paper!¡±


    Martha stepped forward and looked at the paper, then compared it to a sheet in the folder she had brought with her. ¡°The solution is correct. Impressive. It isn¡¯t particularly complicated to solve, once you realize you can equate the two forces, but to do it all in your head, within a minute.¡±


    She looked at me, doubt showing in her expression. ¡°I don¡¯t remember you to be such a competent student. Did you learn some new ability which allowed you to cheat?¡±


    I reached for my chest and pretended to be deeply offended. ¡°Martha! You know me! I would never cheat when it comes to physics!¡±


    My former teacher looked down her nose at me. ¡°Knowing you, that¡¯s why I ask! It took me a year to beat enough math into your brain to get you past a basic voting question! Which isn¡¯t that hard. Still, I figured you would be sitting there, struggling for a solution throughout the whole time given to you. Seeing you succeed would have been a pleasant surprise, but doing it without pen and paper? In your mind?¡±


    She shook her head in disbelief.


    Teresa chuckled. ¡°You used your new ability, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I raised a finger to my lips. ¡°Hush!¡±


    Ivona gasped. ¡°She got an ability which allows her to do that kind of Math in her head!? Or find the answer? No fair! I want it too! Why do I have to learn the hard way?¡±


    ¡°So she did cheat!¡± Martha looked smug.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a cheat which allows her to sneak-peek the answer out of your notes, so it¡¯s perfectly fair,¡± Mom clarified my old teacher¡¯s false assumption. ¡°It allows her to come up with the answer by herself.¡±


    Teresa¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°And now that I have seen its potency, I¡¯ll make sure to utilize its full potential, now that you are my scribe.¡±


    I winced. ¡°Mom, I¡¯ve already a headache from doing one arithmetic example in my head.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t to be dissuaded. ¡°I am sure training makes the master, just like with all new abilities.¡±


    Unlike her, I wasn¡¯t so certain I would ever turn into a mathematical genius. But hell would ice over before I would ever complain about the parallel mind mutation. Whatever had ridden Magnus and me to hunt the mindflayer on that day, it had turned out to be a true blessing!

 Ch 47 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Iv''s impromptu introduction to the clan''s convoluted government system was interrupted when Etan entered the office. He rubbed his face as if something had caused him a lot of trouble and now he was at a loss of what to do.


    He was followed by my grinning partner and his guards with Winston taking the lead. The guards filed into the room like a group of chastised kids, but their eyes glared daggers at Magnus''s back.


    I gasped when I took in their state.


    They looked... like shit. Their clothes were torn and they had more than a few scratches and bruises. One was holding his arm as if it was broken. It looked like someone had beaten them to a pulp.


    ¡°Magnus!¡± I immediately went to my partner and checked him over. One of his eyes was swollen shut and his mad grin revealed a missing canine. It looked bad and probably hurt, but it was nothing that wouldn¡¯t heal within a few days. Only the tooth would take time. ¡°What happened!?¡±


    ¡°Big bro, you look like someone used you as a punching bag,¡± Iv''s blunt comment came from behind me.


    ¡°They tried,¡± Magnus proclaimed proudly. ¡°But they couldn''t catch us!¡±


    ¡°Forgive me.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But you look like they did catch you. And who exactly you are talking about?¡±


    ¡°The Patels.¡± Magnus clicked his tongue. ¡°Just getting a few hits in doesn''t equal being caught.¡±


    ¡°Patels!?¡± I exclaimed and couldn''t help but cover my mouth with a hand. How the hell had Magnus come across the third¡¯s elders when he was supposed to get to know the little people?


    Winston cleared his throat. ¡°Elder Teresa, I and my compatriots politely-¡± One of the other guards poked Winston in the side before he corrected himself. ¡°And wholeheartedly, even vehemently, request to be taken off guard duty.¡±


    Teresa looked at Etan. ¡°What did he do?¡±


    ¡°He killed one of the Patels'' advisers.¡± Etan waved his hand, seeming helpless. ¡°I tell him to find a way to deal with the Patels and he goes off and murders one of their advisers!¡±


    Etan was screaming by the end, working himself into a rage.


    ¡°Correction,¡± Magnus raised a finger. ¡°I threw him out of an elevator when he tried to mindfuck me. It was self-defence.¡±


    ¡°We barely escaped the Patels!¡± Winston added, exasperated. ¡°Couldn''t you have waited until we left their strata? Maybe throw him out of the carriage on the way home? You deliberately waited with your retaliation just to pull the elevator stunt!¡±


    ¡°How should I have known their elders are ultra-fast with those wings of theirs!?¡± Magnus muttered. ¡°They are like oversized hummingbirds on drugs. Besides, throwing him out of a carriage wouldn''t have had the same...¡± He paused, searching for the right phrase before his face lit up with a grin. ¡°Impact!¡±


    ¡°You could have asked!¡± Winston pointed out. ¡°And stop it with the stupid innuendos!¡±


    ¡°Oh, quit complaining! Didn''t I play bait while you guys ran away? Fine guards you are.¡± My partner huffed.


    ¡°Because none of us would have been fast enough to escape!¡± Winston shot back before he muttered, ¡°It wasn''t supposed to get violent!¡±


    Magnus waved the matter off. ¡°Well, now we know I can run faster than they can fly.¡±


    ¡°In a confined tunnel at least,¡± one of the guards pointed out.


    ¡°With a mile head-start,¡± another added.


    ¡°And they still got a few good whacks in!¡± the third finished.


    ¡°You are supposed to be on my side!¡± Magnus complained.


    ¡°In any case!¡± Etan bade all of us be silent with a gesture. ¡°We have to write a letter of apology to the Patels for killing one of their servants. He was valuable since he had a mindflayer mutation.¡±


    ¡°And I tell you,¡± Magnus added. ¡°You don''t have to apologize. What they were pissed about was me getting their cards bloody. Have a new deck of cards made for them and it will be fine. Bruce was yelling about it the entire time he was chasing us out of the living quarters.¡±


    ¡°Cards?¡± I asked, not understanding anything. It was hard to make any sense of this. ¡°You met the Patels... and you played cards with them?¡±


    I darkly remembered the third¡¯s elders were running a gambling establishment for the clan''s cruder society. But why would playing cards be important?


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Magnus tried to explain. ¡°You see, when I threw that mindfucker, I was aiming for their playing table which had all those expensive cards on it. Handmade, beautiful artistic work! It was a knee-jerk reaction. Now that I had time to think about it, I am sorry about the cards. In my defence, I didn''t truly believe I could throw the guy farther than I trusted him. Which wasn''t far at all. Bruce wasn''t the lightest ass. But turns out, I have no business using the saying anymore. Now I know, I can throw people pretty far if they piss me off.¡±


    Etan covered his face again. ¡°He just isn''t taking this seriously. Why aren''t you taking this seriously!? You killed someone for shits and giggles!¡±


    Magnus raised a finger. ¡°You are right! I am not taking this seriously, but I didn''t kill him for ''shit and giggles''. I killed him to make a point because I am sick of people using psychic abilities on me. The first time I went out, the church tried to convert me into a sheep. Then I had a friendly visit with one of your associates and instead of being a polite host, he had one of his minions try to wrap me in a creepy friendship version of a mental spring roll. And from what I puzzled together, they intended to lead me back to you on a proverbial leash! Like a poodle! To embarrass the entire strata! Weren''t you the one who said I shouldn''t allow this family to be disrespected? Well, they certainly disrespected me and they tried to disrespect you!¡±


    ¡°That''s the only reason why I haven''t twisted your head off already!¡± Etan threw up his hands. ¡°But the more I think about it... maybe I should teach you a lesson!? Maybe getting chased out of a strata wasn''t enough!?¡±


    I glared at dad. ¡°You will do no such thing! If they tried to manipulate Magnus, then they had it coming! Imagine what would happen if they did such a thing with me. I bet Mom would be knocking down their door. In any case, if Magnus''s story is true, then the Patels don''t even have the right to bring this before the Council.¡±


    I turned to face my partner. ¡°I hope he really had a mindflayer mutation? Just in case they produce the body?¡±


    Magnus showed me the back of his hands and wriggled his fingers, drawing my attention to the whiter than normal fingernails.


    ¡°Without a doubt. I don''t understand why people would be stupid enough to try such a thing,¡± Magnus mused. ¡°No hesitation or scruple. It''s like they think they are Kenobi or something.¡±


    ¡°Because it''s effective and works on most people,¡± Teresa pointed out. ¡°It''s a closely held secret, but the more manipulative mindflayer mutations are extremely powerful ¨C aside from the unreliability in what you get. You could become a strategic asset to your strata, or cripple your development. And as long as psychic abilities aren''t overused on a person to the point of them gaining immunity there is little that can be done about it.¡±


    Teresa leaned back in her chair. ¡°The average person is completely defenceless. Not everyone gets the benefit of Thalia''s skills. Having a friend who is the clan''s most powerful psychic pays off. I bet you gained more resistance to mental manipulation during that one month of permanently being exposed to her ability than most psychics can overcome in weeks.¡±


    ¡°You are saying Thalia trained my resistances by messing with my mind while I wasn''t aware of it?¡± Magnus sucked on his swollen lower lip and looked accusingly at me, correctly deducing that there was only one person who could have asked Thalia to do so at the time.


    ¡°Don''t look at me like that. I''ve hinted several times that her skills are classified.¡± I forced myself to smile and slapped his arm. ¡°And... I asked her to. Normally, she doesn¡¯t train people to resist her best weapon. So say thanks.¡±


    He considered me for a few more moments, probably intentionally leaving me smouldering for his retroactive approval, before he gave his answer. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    My smile turned genuine upon hearing that. Sometimes, it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Judging by his reaction to anything trying to mess with his mind, I figured my partner had a slight aversion to mental manipulation. One which went beyond mere moral considerations.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait!¡± Iv spoke up. ¡°Thalia has mind-magic tricks up her sleeve and nobody told me!? Wha-¡±


    Martha grabbed Ivona by the upper arm and pulled her out of the office. ¡°Little people like us should know when they''ve stumbled in on sensitive information and leave the room without drawing attention. Believe me, not knowing certain things is sometimes a blessing.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Winston and the other guards looked at the Math teacher who had just proven to have more sense than anyone else.


    They looked back at Teresa, then at Etan, and then slowly filed out of the office without saying a word.


    Etan went over to a cupboard next to the entrance and retrieved several bottles with strong liqueur from it. The booze was concentrated enough to ensure there was no genetic material to worry about, and probably strong enough to kill a normal human.


    Then he started mixing.


    Nonetheless, now that my immediate concern for Magnus''s safety abated, I felt indignation rising to the surface. Hadn''t he promised me this wouldn''t happen!?


    I drew in a deep breath and squeezed Magnus''s arm to make sure he wouldn''t get away. ¡°It would still be nice if you told us the entire story from the beginning to the end. I am still somewhat confused on how you ended up with the Patels when I vividly remember you on your knees, promising me you wouldn''t do anything stupid. Just getting to know the third''s general population. Certainly not having a meeting with the Patels!¡±


    I punctuated my warranted question by poking my index finger at a large bruise that was developing on my partner''s neck. The idiot, if he had allowed me to accompany him, none of this would have happened!


    ¡°Ow! Ow! Stop it.¡± Magnus tried to swat my hand away, but I was the faster one between the two of us. And poking a bruise didn''t require power to hurt.


    ¡°I give up! I am sorry! It wasn''t planned, so don''t give me the fault! They practically abducted us for a meeting. It was either going with them or fighting in the streets,¡± he babbled and I stopped, satisfied for the moment.


    Magnus sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. Once he had recollected himself, he launched into a lengthy explanation of what he had been up to and how he had ended up as the Patels¡¯ ''invited'' guest.


    Once he was done, Teresa''s forehead had developed enough wrinkles to represent her actual age. ¡°I am not happy about you killing the adviser, but what is done, is done,¡± she mused. ¡°It could have been handled more diplomatically, but it''s preferable to you bringing him in here and embarrassing the entire family.¡±


    Etan turned and looked at me like he would look at a molerat which had somehow managed to break the door down and drag something unpleasant inside. It was quite obvious he was blaming me for Magnus¡¯s existence.


    I sighed and rolled my eyes. ¡°Then let''s give them a proforma apology to make up for their loss. It''s not like the clans aren''t used to the concept of wergeld.¡±


    ¡°Which still leaves Magnus woefully lacking regarding the task I''ve set for him,¡± Etan pointed out smugly.


    ¡°A task which was intended for me to fail,¡± Magnus shot back unashamedly. ¡°Let¡¯s be honest here, you set me up.¡±


    ¡°I did no such thing!¡± Etan exclaimed. ¡°This was your chance to prove yourself and you failed!¡±


    Magnus spread his hands as if he intended to take any punishment Etan desired to deal out. ¡°I thought you are at least thrice my age and had all this time to get smarter. Am I supposed to believe you gave me a task that I am certainly not equipped to solve? No matter how much you might want to justify it, my knowledge of the clan and its people is simply not comparable to an elder¡¯s, someone who leads one of the larger political factions! If you send out a soldier, it¡¯s your job to make sure the soldier¡¯s task is within the realm of his abilities! The Patels picked me from the streets when I was doing nothing more than getting to know the strata, which means you failed either intentionally, or you vastly underestimated the danger the Patels pose.¡±


    Then Magnus pointed a finger at Etan. ¡°The only other explanation I can come up with is pettiness because my appearance messed with your plans for Astra! Tell me, was it your position? The power? Or is it simply the bullheadedness of old age that made you complacent?¡±


    The next moment the hairs on the back of my neck stood, and Magnus ducked as something flickered through the air right where his head had been a moment before. My partner rolled away, keeping low to the floor.


    Two steps brought me right in front of Etan and I slapped him as hard as I could before I managed to process what I had done.


    Dad simply took it, he only raised his hand to his cheek in disbelief.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite enough!¡± Teresa got up from her seat and glared at us. ¡°I will not see something like this again within my own family! Etan, sit down. Magnus, stop provoking him. And Astra¡­¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at Mom.


    She pursed her lips, thinking. ¡°You have to slap him harder the next time he behaves like a child.¡±


    Magnus got back to his feet and corrected the jacket which was part of his third strata costume. ¡°At least it¡¯s out in the open now. I was getting sick of playing nice with someone intent on hating me.¡±


    Etan snorted, but he went and sat down at Mom¡¯s office table.


    ¡°Etan,¡± Teresa began. ¡°Explain yourself. This isn¡¯t like you.¡± She reached across with one of her filaments and took the glass with alcohol from her partner.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on our alliance with the Moras for years! Years!¡± Etan gestured at me and then at Magnus. ¡°And then she ruins it all by bringing him into our house. If the alliance would have worked out, we would be part of a power block that could have decided the clan¡¯s policy for decades to come. Instead, we are now split down the middle, unable to make important decisions when the Thich are on the move.¡±


    Mom stayed dangerously calm and collected while she glared at Dad. The more time passed without her saying a word, the more he seemed to shrink in on himself.


    At last, she spoke very silently. ¡°I know how much time and effort you invested in your alliance with the Mora. Sadly, you completely forgot how our daughter would feel about being paired with someone like Hector. I also wasn¡¯t pleased about Astra¡¯s decision to present us with facts, but we have to respect it. In the end, the only ones to blame are you and me. Killing her partner by forcing him to expose himself to danger won¡¯t change anything. You should have tasked a shadow with the executive power to extract our people, should the Patels try to take them in.¡±


    Instead of meeting anyone¡¯s eyes, Etan focused on the wall. ¡°I probably should have.¡±


    Teresa pressed her lips together, something which I knew her to do when she wanted to say more. She would likely have a sterner word with Dad once they were alone.


    Finally, she sighed. ¡°So, you playing games with Magnus, probably means you see no sure fire options to break up the voting tie.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± was Etan¡¯s only reply. ¡°The various parties are currently set in their decisions as far as I can tell. The Thich¡¯s attack has polarized the council and I don¡¯t see it changing.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Magnus spoke up. ¡°I''ve come quite a way in understanding the third and its relationship with the other stratas. I am ready to take them down a notch. And for that to happen, all I need are the funds to hire a handful of thieves, and a few dozen of your finest for nought but a day.¡±


    Teresa raised an eyebrow and turned her attention away from her mollified partner. ¡°Hiring thieves?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Magnus spoke enthusiastically. ¡°We need some hard evidence not only for their poaching but for them gathering intelligence from all the stratas!¡±


    Etan''s expression fell further, something I hadn¡¯t believed possible. ¡°Did Bruce ring your bell too loud when he chased you out of his strata? The third is the clan''s spy group if there ever was one. You don''t walk in there and steal information from people who make it their business to steal information.¡±


    Magnus shook his head as if pitying a student. ¡°That''s why we don''t steal information from the third. We pay the third through a middle man to steal information from all the other stratas. Preferably from their buddies who are against war. Then, we make sure the information is somewhere where it implicates the third. Additionally, we make sure we know what to tell the other stratas when it¡¯s time to pull the rug away from all the corruption. To distract the Patels, we meanwhile use their propaganda machine to stir up a little trouble.¡±


    He raised a hand to stop Etan from interrupting. ¡°And before you complain about the impossibility of such a task, let me take care of it. Sometimes, all it needs to ignite the fire of revolution is a spark. That¡¯s the problem with leaders who rely on programming their people with propaganda.¡±


    ¡°You realize,¡± Teresa mused, ¡°If this fails, the chance of rescuing your second sister with the clan''s military support will be gone. How old is she? About to go on her recruitment trip once the winter is over? If the vote ends in the negative, you will be delayed for a year at the very least and they will partner her off to someone from the Thich.¡±


    Magnus balled a fist and looked at the ground. ¡°I know that. But you know your people best. I was told the two groups are currently stuck in their opinions. I would have to spend weeks getting to know every elder to verify your claim, so I have no choice but to believe you. Unless you have a better idea, we have to take risks to bring someone around. Even if throwing dirt isn¡¯t my preferred way of influencing a vote.¡±


    ¡°Sounds more like you are trying to ignite a civil war,¡± Etan muttered.


    ¡°I am just working with what I have,¡± Magnus pointed out. ¡°If you have a better way, then be my guest and do it. Or make me aware of whatever information I am missing. It''s not like you''ve given me an easy task.¡±


    ¡°If we hire these thieves, they could break our neck if they run to the Patels,¡± I pointed out not wanting another altercation between Magnus and my Dad.


    ¡°That''s why we need the middle man. I''ve talked to a lot of people while I was out, and if I can say one thing, then it''s that the general citizen who works for the third isn''t particularly loyal to the Patels. They are loyal to what the Patels give them.¡± Magnus rubbed his fingers together in the universal sign for money. ¡°Find someone skilled who isn''t in the Patels'' inner circle and pay them appropriately. Make it look like the Patels or some other party is outsourcing work.¡±


    Etan chewed on his inner cheek while he thought. ¡°It could work. In theory.¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°Meanwhile, I am going to visit the other stratas which voted against war. It may give me some additional understanding and I bet the Patels will have their eyes on me now. Visiting other stratas would only be in line with what I told them about my intentions.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± Teresa begged. ¡°Just don''t kill more people because they used a psychic power on you. All the elders are interested in you and Astra, but they will take offence if you make killing their subordinates a regular thing.¡±


    I turned towards my mother and narrowed my eyes. ¡°It sounds like you''ve spoken about us. Which is suspicious, given we should be no more or less interesting than other potential paired heirs.¡±


    Mom tilted her head and gave me the look. ¡°Your speed isn''t something which can''t be achieved through other mutations. What we are interested in is electricity. You are well aware of our people''s energy problems. Some of the other elders harbour hopes this power might grow into something usable. Currently, we have hundreds of people''s worth of manpower bound with maintaining the old tech. Making a new power generator from scratch will cost our best and brightest approximately a month of their time. Time during which they could craft other things necessary for survival. If the zipper mutation develops into something which can maintain our energy needs, fostering a sizeable population with this ability might allow the clan to expand in other fields.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about this line of thinking, but the logic behind it was sound. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time for a clan to cultivate a certain mutation if it made survival vastly easier for the general population. In any case, it was more of a long-term plan with an uncertain future.


    So I simply nodded in reply.


    Teresa sighed and gave Etan another glare before she returned her attention to us. ¡°It might be best if you call off any more trips. At least for today and tomorrow. I¡¯ll have another word with Etan ¨C in private. Then we will organize an official statement for what happened with the Patels. And then we will look into the best way to employ someone from the third to steal something for the third¡­¡±


    She bit her lip and looked at the ceiling. ¡°This plan is so convoluted, I can¡¯t believe I am doing this. It¡¯s never going to work, but we might as well try rather than having the clan twiddle its thumbs while the Thich gear up for another war.¡±


    Then she clicked her tongue and looked at us. ¡°Why are you still here? Don¡¯t you have something better to do?¡±


    Wordlessly, I turned Magnus towards the exit and had us make an expedient retreat. It was best to get out of dodge for the word-lashing Etan had in store for himself.


    Once we were outside and the door was closed, I let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°What a shit show.¡±


    Magnus laid an arm around my shoulders. ¡°I would say, it went exactly as planned.¡±

 Ch 48 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Magnus and I retreated to our quarters while we went over what had just happened in my mother''s office. It wasn''t accurate to say we had ''planned'' for the humiliating exposure of Dad''s derelictions like Magnus put it.


    I would have preferred for it to happen in a much different way, but sadly, it wasn''t to be.


    Ever since Etan had given my partner the ridiculous ''quest'', we had been searching for solutions. Right from the beginning, it was obvious to me that this wasn''t one of the rational tasks which my father gave me on occasion.


    The family had more than enough advisers on hand to ease someone like Magnus into a leadership role, but Etan hadn''t appointed anyone. It was indifferent neglect at best, malicious intent at worst.


    Unfortunately, I didn''t believe my recent bonding experience with my mother was enough to make her act appropriately if I approached her directly with the problem. Sure, she would have talked with Etan about it, but he would have simply assured Mom that everything was fine.


    The topic would have been laid to rest and allowed to fester without solving anything.


    I knew my parents well enough to tell Teresa wouldn''t put some real thumb screws on her husband without him fucking up big time ¨C preferably in front of her. Or at least by openly revealing his hatred for Magnus.


    In our society, mutations and population distribution allowed women to take a far more prominent role than back on Earth. For example, Teresa was a born Aerie, while Etan was an exile who had married into the family when Teresa had taken him as her partner. If put to the test, it was far more likely people would follow Mom''s orders instead of Etan''s.


    Yet, Teresa was very restrained when it came to wielding her power over her partner. During all the time I had been in this household, I had seen her doing so only once. At least in front of me.


    Whether it was a concern for Etan''s feelings as the man in the family, or Mom being a little timid when it came to her relationship, it was inconvenient in this situation. Etan wasn''t the type to learn from his lessons or change his ways if he wasn''t forced to.


    I hoped it would never come to a similar confrontation between myself and Magnus. The few small disagreements we had so far were easy to work out.


    So, given Etan''s obvious hostility towards Magnus, we came up with multiple scenarios of what to do if things went down one route or the other.


    Magnus intentionally provoking Etan into giving away his feelings in front of Teresa was one of them. Of course, this required an event that sufficiently justified an emotional outburst, and Magnus had played his role well.


    Maybe a little too well. I would have to be on the lookout in the future if I didn''t want to be manipulated by my partner.


    ¡°I haven''t thanked you yet,¡± Magnus commented once we reached our quarters.


    ¡°Thanked me for what?¡± I asked, with my train of thoughts interrupted.


    Magnus suddenly took my hand and kneeled in front of me, kissing it. ¡°For being on my side. Not everyone would go against her parents for someone like me. This thing between us felt like jumping into cold water ¨C or a shotgun marriage.¡± He laughed. ¡°I simply want you to know that I wouldn¡¯t give you up for anything in the world now.¡±


    I tried to suppress the stupid smile which stole itself onto my face, combined with the fluttery feeling in my belly and the tingle in my hand where Magnus was touching me. ¡°Oh, please. We are partners, married for life. We have to hold together because there won''t be another chance for either of us. Besides, I don''t see it as going against my parents per se. Dad is a knucklehead when it comes to his ''projects'', like the alliance with the Mora. And Mom is too restrained when it comes to him. She needed the eye-opener. I just hope she can drill some sense into his stubborn head. I don''t like it when they are fighting, or I with them.¡±


    ¡°Even more reason to spoil you!¡± My partner grinned and kissed my hand once more.


    I snorted and used a finger on his forehead to push him away. ¡°Stop that. You are aware you still look horrible? Take a bath and get rid of all that grime and blood.¡±


    Magnus suddenly hugged my waist and lifted me.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I found myself hanging over his shoulder.


    ¡°Tell me, my queen!¡± Magnus intoned playfully. ¡°Where can this humble servant carry you, and more importantly, what can he do to make it up to you?¡±


    ¡°We shouldn''t- hiii-¡± I let out a suppressed shriek when one of his filaments moved out from beneath his clothes and snaked between my legs. To add one embarrassment to the other, he ran another along my spine, entwining his filament with mine while using his electricity to set my nerves alight.


    Ooh, he had gotten too good at using them!


    It was enough to turn me into a stiff log of tensioned muscles, balanced precariously on his shoulder. Somehow, he knew exactly which buttons to press, providing stimulation without actually hurting me.


    ¡°Don''t stop!¡± I managed to hiss out the words while I searched my memories for something we hadn''t tried yet. Given the state he was in, there was only one acceptable locality. ¡°Bathtub! Bathroom! I wanna sit on top! Now!¡±


    I couldn''t prevent myself from sounding a little needy, but I couldn''t complain when the sound of my voice enticed Magnus to serve my wishes as quickly as he could.


    The next morning, we got a visit from Sullivan.


    Uncle Sul had gotten an appointment with a weapon and armour smith he trusted, which likely meant Magnus would be getting nothing short of the best the clan had to offer. I already had my personalized equipment in the works, so I said nothing when they departed on a shopping trip to the fourth.


    My parents had suggested we stay out of the public''s eye until the altercation with the Patels was dealt with.


    But having Magnus go out with Sullivan should be fine. Not only was Sullivan a well-known member of the family, the fourth''s leaders, Annie and Gilbert Kline, were one hundred per cent on our side. There was little to no chance for something unfortunate to happen to them while they were in the Kline''s territory.


    Meanwhile, I got to accompany my mother on a trip to the Hall of Law. Normally, I should have been joined by both my parents, since we were supposed to sit in on official council business, but Etan was suspiciously absent when Teresa entered the carriage.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Mom, where is Dad?¡± I asked once the carriage started moving, removing the chance of Etan jumping in at the last second.


    Teresa only smiled at me cryptically. ¡°He isn''t feeling well today. It will take him a few days to recover. Till then, I am going to vote in his name. The necessary documents have been signed in blood, so the other elders will have no reason to complain.¡±


    I blanched, feeling a little guilty as I envisioned how yesterday''s imagined tongue-lashing between Teresa and Etan might have gotten out of hand. Just what had she done to him?


    Teresa noticed my reaction and tilted her head. ¡°Are you feeling unwell too? You don''t have to start work right away if you aren''t ready yet.¡±


    ¡°N- no!¡± I stammered and collected myself. ¡°Everything''s peachy. After all, I was the one who asked this of you.¡±


    For a moment, my imagination went ahead of rationality. Teresa wouldn''t do something too horrible to her beloved partner. At least, that was what I was trying to convince myself of till we arrived at our destination.


    The council between the elders started a little awkwardly when we ran into the Patels in front of the hall.


    Bruce glared daggers at us while Travis seemed more bemused than hostile ¨C which had me a little confused. At least they didn''t initiate the encounter with a call for my partner''s blood.


    ¡°How is your son in law doing?¡± Bruce asked my mother.


    Teresa forced herself to smile. ¡°He looked worse for wear the last time I saw him. It honestly surprised me you didn''t catch him.¡±


    Travis patted her partner''s shoulder. ¡°I let him get away after I allowed my partner to work out some of his frustrations. It wouldn''t have looked so good if he had torn off your new pet''s legs. I imagined it would have created even more complications between us.¡±


    Teresa wasn''t irritated by the notion. ¡°I am sure it also wouldn''t have looked good if it became public knowledge that you tried to influence a member of another strata.¡±


    Bruce shrugged. ¡°The whelp was playing outside his sandbox. I felt justified to take him in, but it was quite rude of him to kill one of my people.¡±


    Teresa tilted her head. ¡°A lesson for the future then? Tulkas seems to dislike psychic powers. Why don''t we bury the hatchet? Mistakes were made on both sides. It isn''t necessary to drag each other through the mire of the other stratas'' attention.¡±


    I shifted next to my mother, afraid to make it worse by saying something. It wasn''t like there hadn''t been plenty of witnesses, resulting in word getting around no matter what the involved parties wanted.


    Travis smiled amiably and turned her partner away from us towards the Hall of Law, like handling a loaded crossbow. It looked like they weren''t interested in creating a public affair out of this.


    They walked away slowly and deliberately without another word, their backs turned towards us.


    Then I remembered the strange question Magnus had asked me yesterday. I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head, so my eyes involuntarily flickered back to Travis Patel, the blonde, angel-like elder.


    ¡°You look concerned...¡± Mom leaned over while we walked into the Hall of Law. ¡°You don''t have to worry about the Patels. They won''t turn this into more trouble than it already is. They would look incompetent.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°It''s just that Tulkas asked me something yesterday. And I realized, I didn''t know.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Teresa asked.


    ¡°It''s probably better to delay it to a more private setting,¡± I pointed out. All the elders likely had abilities that allowed them to listen in on conversations like the one we had right now.


    ¡°Out with it,¡± Mom refused to let the matter rest. ¡°It doesn''t behoove my attach¨¦ to be ignorant. Don''t worry about listening ears. These schemers around us should be old enough to know when it''s best to pretend they heard nothing. Might as well be a good test of their self-control.¡±


    ¡°Well, Travis is a guy''s name...¡± I reiterated Magnus''s question from yesterday. ¡°But Travis is a woman. I thought it might be a strange joke of her parents, like naming her after a relative. But when I looked up our bloodline records, I found Travis Patel is... listed as a boy.¡±


    The elder who we were talking about turned and looked at me with a grin before she used her hand to give additional support to a chest far larger than mine, unfairly so. It was, without doubt, a generous and quite real cushion of fat. Travis winked and mimed comparing her size with another''s.


    Bruce made it a point of not looking in our direction at all.


    Travis had heard me and somehow knew how to rub it in! I looked down at my chest and resisted the urge to run over and start a catfight with the angel-like elder. I certainly wouldn''t win, but maybe I could pluck a few feathers before I went down.


    Teresa coughed but didn''t back down from her earlier words. ¡°There are mutations for everything in this world. Many are wondrous, some strange and bizarre, others... unfortunate. Eating the flesh of a sun-eagle not only grants you wings, it has a certain probability of switching a Y chromosome to X¡­ and the other way around.¡±


    My eyes flicked back and forth between Travis and my Mom.


    The other elder seemed untroubled by this revelation as she blew me a kiss, apparently proud of herself.


    Then it clicked.


    Travis was a guy who had managed to make me envious of her womanly features. It just wasn''t fair! I really wanted to start a catfight now, but I drew in a deep breath instead and controlled myself.


    Travis tried a few more times to goad me, but she gave up when the first topic of the day was announced. The rest of the meeting thankfully passed without further embarrassments involving the Patels.


    As promised, today''s main concern was the replacement power generator. We spent half the day coordinating matters which the different stratas wanted to be solved in this joint project.


    Next on the list were some minor infractions between stratas that weren''t within the Mora''s curtain of responsibility, so they fell to the elders to solve. Preferably to everyone¡¯s satisfaction.


    The day dragged on until Juliana Rumen declared the meeting as finished.


    People began to pack their things, but I stayed seated, pretending to finish the notes for our strata''s records.


    ¡°You can finish those at home,¡± Teresa commented as she stood.


    ¡°But I really want them done, while everything is still fresh in my mind,¡± I pointed out before I looked up to meet my mother''s gaze and smiled. ¡°Just go ahead. I will catch one of the public transports back to our strata.¡±


    My mother shrugged, thankfully not reading anything into my reason for staying longer. For all intents and purposes, it looked like I was motivated to do well on the first day.


    ¡°Just don''t be too late. They lock down the Hall at sunset.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I am sure one of the nice guards will throw me out before they actually lock the door.¡±


    Teresa left, as did the other elders. Some people from different stratas stayed behind in a similar fashion, making sure they had their documents in order, writing down some official orders, or simply finishing the administrative work the elders hadn¡¯t lowered themselves to take care of.


    Like in any government, the elders¡¯ main job was to point a finger. How to accomplish the task fell to their attach¨¦s and scribes.


    Before long, I was the last person in the Hall. Only the council guards at the entrance were a problem, but they were facing the outside, not so much intent on preventing someone from leaving the Hall, as to keep people out who had no business here.


    I slowly packed my things and relying on the guards to keep facing away, I took the long route around the chamber. At the large podium which held the chairman¡¯s desk, I touched the dark stone, just where Magnus had instructed me to.


    It was smooth and cool to the touch, feeling like obsidian. I even softly knocked onto the surface, but it didn¡¯t sound hollow at all. As long as I had believed it stone, I had never considered it. Only now, I realized it was far too black and without any intrusions or flaws for such a large piece of obsidian to be natural.


    Of course, there was no reaction. Would have been too easy.


    I ran my hand over the surface, figuring I might have touched it in the wrong spot, but nothing changed.


    Feeling a tingle in my neck, I glanced at the guards, but they were still focused on the outside. Slowly, I billowed out my filaments and focused on my echolocation to know when they turned. Like this, I wouldn''t have to look in their direction to know what they were doing.


    Then I walked to the computer''s far corner and knelt, running my fingers over its surface while I applied pressure.


    When I didn''t find it immediately, I began to feel stupid.


    Maybe Magnus had gotten it wrong?


    But then my finger found a slight give, and a button was pressed into the surface. It had been perfectly hidden.


    With a soft click, a small panel released and folded out of the obsidian. It had been machined to perfection, hiding its existence with a seamless connection to the rest of the surface.


    Now it revealed a few access ports and a computer screen. The panel itself was revealed to be a small keyboard. What had me almost scream and dance in joy was that the screen was lit, showing the words, ''Maintenance Access'', and ''Power Saving Mode: 1000W'' in dim letters.


    My heart almost exploded when I sensed one of the guards move, and I slid the panel shut while I flashed to my feet.


    But the idiot just scratched his ass.


    I let out the breath I had been holding. It didn¡¯t matter. I had confirmed the computer still worked.


    Now Magnus only had to tell me what exactly I had found out.

 Ch 49 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°I''ll be honest, this place is a lot fancier than the average blacksmith I expected to visit,¡± I commented while I followed Sullivan with my hands in my pockets. Now that I wasn''t exploring the third incognito, I had chosen a nice but practical set of clothes that was in line with the clan''s main fashion trends.


    Like back on Earth, people wore a myriad of outfits tailored to their mutations.


    But what people with close to human body-norms predominantly wore was a set of wide trousers and a wide shirt which was bound closed with a belt and, surprisingly enough, some sort of natural velcro which was harvested from a plant. It was very similar to a karate gi in design.


    Most of the Aerie wore something similar in one variation or the other. The wide cut made it easier for the second''s manufactories to produce clothes cheaply and in standardized sizes.


    Seeing other fashions on the streets almost always implicated well-doing individuals who had the resources to get something tailored to their body.


    My current outfit came from what Astra had ordered for me, not knowing my exact sizes. It wasn''t like I had the opportunity to visit a tailor, so I made do with my current black and white silk outfit. Though it was a better version meant for nobles, giving me no right to complain.


    When I realized I had been lost in thought, I hurried to catch up to Sullivan who went on without me. The weapon master had skipped most of the fourth strata and led me directly to what he referred to as ''the upper floors''.


    From what I understood, the fourth''s workshops were separated according to the client¨¨le they were serving.


    On the lowest floors were the manufactories which provided the general public with standardized equipment. Which didn''t mean they provided bad work. These lower floors also took care of the more complicated metalwork that the second strata''s manufactories didn''t provide.


    The manufactories in the second strata had their focus on things that didn''t require blacksmithing. Like weaving, carpentry, or paper-making. There was a lot of stuff a civilisation needed to function once you started thinking about it.


    The higher a person went within the fourth''s levels, the more specialized the craftsmen became. This also meant their goods were aimed at people of higher standing who could afford to splurge resources on something nice instead of purely functional.


    What worried me, was that Sullivan had left even those shops at the wayside. Instead, we had passed some mean-looking guards who protected a golden gate that had suspicious similarities with the one that adorned the entrance to the Frost''s mansion.


    From there, we entered a rounded, oblong hall that had been tiled with expensive-looking wood. The walls and the ceiling portrayed carvings of craftsmen at their job.


    It was a jarring contrast to the various tools and machines which filled the hall, barely allowing us to get through.


    We made it halfway into the hall before a man who I recognized greeted us. He looked human, except for the unhealthy looking grey, almost rocky skin.


    Gilbert Kline reminded me of the stone golems from fantasy stories.


    ¡°Sullivan, you old molerat!¡± Gilbert greeted the weapon master with a laugh and what looked to be intended as a light pat on the shoulder. Instead, Sullivan ducked beneath the friendly pat as if a metal bat had been swung at him.


    ¡°I am doing just fine, but likely no longer if I let you hit me. I value my shoulder, so forgive me for dodging that, hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Gilbert looked chagrined. ¡°I forgot you aren''t as sturdy as my family.¡±


    The elder offered his flat palm instead, and Sullivan slapped it in greeting.


    Gilbert turned his attention to me and I tentatively mimicked the same gesture, now wary because of how Gilbert treated Sullivan. The short greeting had given me the impression that Gilbert wasn''t in control of his power, or at least easily forgot how weak others were compared to him.


    And he was an elder, so I decided to stay safe rather than sorry. The memory of Bruce chasing me down a hallway was still vivid in my mind. His wings had wrapped him in a whirring globe of deadly protection, moving faster than the eye could see.


    I had tried throwing my metal balls at him without holding back.


    His wings simply slapped the projectiles out of the air ¨C and I was fairly certain my throws rivalled the bullets of a better pistol. Worryingly enough, I didn''t believe my throwing spears would have made much of a difference.


    Even with my speed, I had no clue how to get through such a defence except for hoping he would tire out at some point.


    ¡°Nice to meet you in person, Tulkas. Sullivan already told me that you are here to get some appropriate equipment,¡± the elder continued in an unexpectedly friendly and informal manner.


    ¡°Hello, I wish I had been forewarned about this meeting,¡± I replied, unsure of how to act. ¡°I admit I do not understand how I earned your assistance?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Gilbert made a dismissive gesture. ¡°You are a part of the Frosts'' now, the twelfth''s leading family. You need to look the part.¡±


    He suddenly turned serious. ¡°Besides, you are a part of one of the factions who want to teach those Thich bastards a lesson. Making sure you have the right equipment is the least I can do.¡±


    Right, they had lost a granddaughter when the Thich attacked us.


    ¡°I am sorry for your loss.¡± It was all I could say at the moment. I hadn''t known Michaela Kline well enough to say anything more consoling and we had already shared everything about her death during the council meeting.


    Gilbert only nodded and clapped his hands together. ¡°Well, let''s not fret over things we cannot change. People die every day in this hellhole of a world. All the rest of us can do is to keep going and keep those alive who are still breathing. And I admit to having other ulterior motives, like getting to know someone who has the ears of my fellow elders. It''s not every day that the Frosts blow up a promising alliance to take in a stray.¡±


    He bade me follow and went over to a workbench. On top lay my damaged spetum.


    Sullivan raised a hand. ¡°If it''s no problem, I''ll be heading out and pick him up later. I wanted to see whether your stores have something new.¡±


    ¡°Take your time, Sullivan.¡± The elder dismissed the weapon master with a wave and returned his attention to me. ¡°I''ve taken a look at your weapon. Decent metalwork, if a bit crude, but it does the job. Sometimes you are better off with a sturdy tool than with ornamental crap. Still, I had to question whether simply repairing the spetum was appropriate.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I admit, I got fond of the weapon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but a simple fact remains, it broke on you. Either you are outgrowing the weapon, or using it wrong,¡± Gilbert explained.


    ¡°I speared a changeling broodmother several times my size with it,¡± I commented. ¡°It was either that or allowing the creature to get to my partner. I doubt any material would have withstood the force of me using it as a jumping pole.¡±


    ¡°There are things stronger than pure steel out there. Like organically grown monster parts which incorporate metal and carbon nanotubes into almost fantastical compound materials,¡± the elder mused. ¡°Things Earth could only create in theory because you would need a molecular 3D printer. It was one of the reasons why Earth tried to colonize this world and why they retreated after they had what they wanted. Makes no sense to entertain a research facility on-site if you can just take all the monster parts back home. They probably still have enough materials to research for centuries to come. Tell me, were there any noticeable technological advances within the recent centuries?¡±


    I stared at the elder and blinked, then shook my head. ¡°I am sorry, but I am no history buff. The only things people complained about back on Earth are the elite getting longevity treatments and body enhancements which are suspiciously similar to some of the mutations from this world now that I think about it.¡±


    ¡°Doesn''t sound surprising,¡± Gilbert commented. ¡°They are hogging the good stuff for themselves.¡±


    After a moment of thought, I continued. ¡°I can only say that I have encountered some mind-boggling mutations and creatures in this world. They do things that violate my understanding of physics. The zippers seem to be able to teleport. Creatures that can influence your mind. Or that worm which dug a hole through the mountain, somehow annihilating excess material.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the worms.¡± Gilbert nodded. ¡°Teleport might be closer to the truth. They have a huge, immensely complicated creature core inside them. We, the elders, took one apart once and its inner workings looked very similar to a miniaturized version of the wormhole tech that was used to send us here. It''s too bad the cores don''t operate outside their hosts.¡±


    This was startling news to me. ¡°The wormholes need an immense amount of energy! Where would it be coming from?¡±


    Gilbert smiled at me sadly. ¡°Is it enough to say that several of our people died of radiation poisoning after we cracked the worm open?¡±


    I swallowed and my mouth watered involuntarily at the thought of finding out more about this mystery. ¡°Do you know what''s going on with the cores? I studied one and it looked more like a biotech heart, or more a membrane pump than an organ. Are there more creatures with special cores? It''s almost as if those things were designed.¡±


    Gilbert shrugged. ¡°The general rule is that the larger a monster, the more likely it is for it to have some strange core organ within it that can mess up your day. As for the theory of an intellect designing this world''s biosphere, it isn''t the first time I''ve heard about it. Sadly, I have nothing to offer you which would support or deny the theory. People have lived here for hundreds of years, and I''ve never heard of something smarter than a human which could be responsible for such a feat. No ancient ruins of some lost civilisation. Nothing that builds the creatures, as all of them have documented life cycles. All we have to go on is the fantastic biology. Sometimes, we ran into things that could be mistaken as aliens, but so far it always turned out to be of human origin. Like the poor mutated bastards you encountered on your trip here. A once human population which deviated from the rest of us to create a new species.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    The elder''s speech took a little bit of the enthusiasm out of my sails. Maybe it had been a little bit presumptuous of me to think I had been the first to suspect there might be something more to this world''s fauna and flora.


    ¡°As for deviating from the rest of the species, I am not sure whether we still have the right to talk,¡± I commented.


    Gilbert tilted his head and grinned. ¡°There are some historic hangups that come with the definition of race and species. I prefer the old dictionary one.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°Race ''A'' fucks race ''B''. If they get offspring, they are the same species. If not, they are different species. It''s very simple to remember, so that''s why I prefer it. In any case...¡± Gilbert turned towards his tools. ¡°We have to get started if we want to be finished by tonight.¡±


    ¡°Tonight?¡± I asked. ¡°You will have my equipment made by tonight?¡±


    Gilbert scoffed and retrieved a box with a set of different coloured lenses. ¡°Of course not! I meant taking your measurements. Planning what might fit you. Making sure nothing impedes your mutations. All that will take time.¡±


    He placed two of the lenses on top of each other and held them out. ¡°Tell me how it looks. Both with your normal sight and your second one. Nightstalker vision can be a bit quirky when you pick the wrong materials. We want there to be no weaknesses in your helmet.¡±


    So, the first thing I had to do was get tested for the right glasses.


    I quickly learned that Gilbert was no ordinary smith.


    He was a denizen of this world who had centuries to hone his craft into more than mere art. When it came to armour and weapons and using the natural resources of this world, he was a scientist. One who had the wealth of this entire colony at his fingertips if need be.


    To protect my eyes, he had to layer several materials, like bulletproof glass with an organic material close to plastic behind it. This was to prevent splinters blinding me should something manage to break the glass.


    It would go into a Roman-style helmet similar to the one which I had gotten from the Frost''s armoury ¨C just more modern without the bloom on top. Unlike the roman version, this would be full-body armour with a face mask to prevent the glasses from fogging up.


    Gilbert quickly sketched out an inhuman and menacing-looking thing with four vision slits, taking my nightstalker mutation into account. Even if he spent just a few minutes on the raw sketch, it proved artistry and skill I hadn''t expected from a political leader.


    ¡°Does it have to look so... evil?¡± I asked.


    The elder looked up from his work and scoffed. ¡°Exiles... this isn''t your Earth with some timid citizens who you have to nudge towards their luck with pretty words. This is a largely hierarchic society with a system that favours the powerful. And we are designing battle armour. The people behind you have to see at a glance that you are no joke. And those in front will know they are facing death. Intimidation is half the battle, child.¡±


    There was a dangerous glint in Gilbert''s eyes, so I didn''t dare to say more.


    Then came measurements for the rest of my body, including the range of movement.


    By this point, he had me convinced that giving him more information about myself would only result in one thing: better equipment. And better equipment equalled a better chance at survival.


    So I shared the little trick I had been working on. Which was to use my filaments as a buffer between my body and the armour I wore. It had saved me from a nasty blow by the changeling matriarch.


    Gilbert got really into it when he realized I had been hiding my filaments beneath my clothes, and that they were already long enough for a special style of armour which was popular with people who had the treemonae mutation.


    It also showed me that, once more, my little trick wasn''t as unique as I thought.


    It was then and there that I swore to myself to no longer underestimate these people. They had lived and survived in this world for centuries. Not having access to the resources required to create a fully functioning industry didn''t mean they were stupid or hadn''t come up with their own solutions.


    The singular pieces for my new armour wouldn''t be connected. Instead, Gilbert would add flattened tubes to the armour''s inside through which I could fit my filaments and hold the armour in place.


    Like this, it was possible to achieve a similar degree of protection to a full body armour without losing any mobility.


    But when it came to the new spetum, the elder seemed reluctant. ¡°You know...¡± He balanced the spetum on one finger while he looked at me conspiratorially. ¡°Having a full metal weapon is fine and all, given your electricity. You can electrocute anyone stupid enough to fight you with another metal weapon. As soon as the blades make contact, Zap! And they drop their weapon.¡±


    ¡°It was the idea behind having a metal staff instead of a wooden one,¡± I admitted.


    ¡°But I was wondering,¡± the elder mused. ¡°What would happen if I used the non-conductive bones of a steelmarder as a base with a magnetic core. We then wrap your new spetum in a metal coil for you to send your electricity through. You could magnetically polarize your weapon. Imagine how that would fuck up your opponent''s day when his sword suddenly bounces away without making contact, or better, gets stuck to your blade.¡±


    He giggled madly.


    This resulted in some really dirty experiments and filled papers with quick calculations to hash out a prototype coil system. Just to see how much force such a contraption could generate.


    Incidentally, the first two attempts resulted in a quite effective heating system for the weapon.


    Though, I wasn''t so certain whether it was necessary to additionally burn and cauterize something that had been already cut or stabbed.


    But Gilbert was all for having the option, though he warned me not to overdo it. Repeatedly heating and cooling a blade would destroy its tempering and cause it to weaken over time.


    To control the different functions, Gilbert would add pads at different gripping positions through which I could channel my electricity.


    ¡°Are you sure you can make this without weakening the weapon?¡± I asked during a moment of doubt.


    ¡°It will take a bit of experimentation,¡± Gilbert admitted. ¡°But I like fiddling with new ideas. If it doesn''t work out, I can always return to a more basic design. Be assured, I won''t give you something that doesn''t withstand the forces you can wield.¡±


    ¡°You know...¡± I hedged, knowing it would be more work than the weapon. ¡°It would probably be better to place the coil system beneath the armour, instead of on the weapon. Beneath the armour plates, they are protected and there is no flex which induces stress on the various materials.¡±


    I knew I had him when Gilbert crumpled the page with the design for the magnetic spetum and threw it over his shoulder.


    ¡°You aren''t making this easy on me,¡± he grumbled. ¡°It would be so much easier to accomplish, but I have to add insulation so that you can''t cook yourself when you channel energy. The waste heat would be a concern.¡±


    ¡°But since I will be holding the armour pieces with my filaments, I can hold it away from me to cool off if it gets too much,¡± I pointed out.


    Gilbert sighed. ¡°You know, I''ve already started working on an armour set for your Astra, and now I have to throw it away and start from scratch. It would be a waste to give her something lesser.¡±


    I grinned, glad that the elder was willing to put so much effort into this. If I hadn''t partnered up with Astra, I likely would have never gotten an opportunity like this.


    ¡°Which leaves us with one more task.¡± Gilbert got up and led me to a free part of his workshop. It looked like a training ring and was separated from the rest of the workshop with a net made out of steel wire. The wall held a multitude of different weapons.


    Gilbert went over to the spear section and hummed while he chose one that held similarities to my spetum.


    Then he lazily threw it at me sideways ¨C which was the only reason why I managed to catch it. The impact nonetheless made me stumble backwards and huff.


    ¡°I need to see how you fight,¡± the elder explained while he walked up to a barrel that held countless sticks, each about a finger in width and one and a half meters in length. ¡°The spear you are holding should be similarly balanced to the spetum you are used to.¡±


    He retrieved a stick and swung it like a sword before he turned to face me. ¡°Come at me.¡±


    I looked between his stick and the quite real weapon I was holding. It would get me into trouble, but I had to point it out. ¡°You have just a stick.¡±


    The elder laughed. ¡°If you manage to nick me, I will put twice the effort into your gear than I would have otherwise.¡±


    Well, there was no way I wouldn''t take that particular bet, so I supercharged my muscles and stabbed while I flashed forward.


    And everything went perfectly.


    Except, the elder''s shoulder wasn''t where it was supposed to be.


    Gilbert had moved quickly, but nowhere as fast as me. The difference was he had started moving before I even executed my attack. His shoulder barely dodged the spear''s blade and pushed it aside once the shaft extended past it.


    Thanks to my enhanced senses, reflexes and split mind, I could watch it in slow motion but do nothing, since I was committed to the attack.


    Then the stick whirred through the air and hit the joints of my fingers ¨C one of the few places where I had no muscles.


    ¡°Fuuuck!¡± I screamed as pain exploded through my hand and I jumped back to create some distance.


    I shook my hand and glared at the red welt that was already forming across the first joints of my little finger and up to the middle finger.


    When I looked back at the elder, Gilbert raised his nasty weapon and gloated with schadenfreude. ¡°Come on... I''ve just a stick. One of the first tools and weapons humanity ever had.¡±


    ¡°Does that thing have a metal core!?¡± I exclaimed.


    Gilbert frowned at his stick. ¡°Nope. It''s made from a treemonae''s trunk. Probably some type of carbon fibre combined with some heavier elements. I would love to have something like a spectroscope to analyze it. But alas, we no longer have such tools.¡±


    I used his inattention to flash forward once more, trying to take a swipe at his feet. But Gilbert swayed and stopped the spear with the sole of his foot by stepping on it. Again, he had begun to move before me, knowing exactly what I would do.


    Two more times the stick hummed through the air, followed by two whacking sounds!


    I dropped the spear, now concerned about my knuckles and my ear. ¡°Aaah! Stop it! How are you doing this!? How are you moving like an old goat and still dodging me!?¡±


    Gilbert laughed and intoned something I hadn''t expected him to know. ¡°The force is with me!¡±


    ¡°Don''t cite antique movies!¡± I glared and knelt to pick up the spear without taking an eye off Gilbert.


    ¡°You still have to learn that speed isn''t everything,¡± Gilbert explained with a grin. ¡°What you are seeing, is the power of fully mastered Precognition. Something you should also have. I know what you will do before you know it yourself, but I digress.¡± He walked over to the weapon rack and chose a different spear. ¡°Try this one. We will be here for a while to find something that''s right for you.¡±


    After that, I returned to the basics of spear-fighting and used my weapon''s reach to keep the evil man as far away from me as possible. I no longer desired to win the bet he had offered me.


    It worked, to a degree. I still left his workshop with swollen fingers and bent like an old man several hours later. Not only my hands had been targeted. Gilbert went for any body part that wasn''t covered by muscles, like knees, ears, forehead, spine... and evil incarnate that he was, he never missed.


    ¡°Looks like you had a nice spar,¡± Sullivan commented once I entered the carriage with him.


    ¡°That wasn''t a spar,¡± I complained. Even if it had been a good lesson in spear fighting a superior opponent with a shorter weapon, I wouldn''t admit it was anything less than pure sadism.


    ¡°At least you learned an important lesson,¡± the weapon master pointed out.


    ¡°Which is?¡± I asked.


    ¡°First, the elders are in a different league. And second, the Patels let you get away.¡± Sullivan waved for the carriage driver to get going.


    The drive home passed in silence, which gave me time to brood over the implications of this revelation.


    At home, I dragged myself back to my private quarters where I found Astra in the living room.


    She jumped up when she saw me. ¡°Magnus! You are back, and I see that you''ve had a fun time with elder Gilbert.¡±


    ¡°Fun?¡± I asked and raised my fingers to show her. It was a wonder none of them were broken!


    Astra smiled. ¡°Isn''t he a treasure? Listen, I''ve managed to take a look at the ''thing''. Just as you''ve told me and it said: ''Maintenance Access'', and ''Power Saving Mode: 1000W''. What does that mean?¡±


    I blinked and my earlier troubles and pains were suddenly forgotten. ¡°It means it''s still somehow connected to the colony''s power grid without any of you knowing. And it means someone shut down all non-essential functions, but 1000W is too much energy draw for mere idle standby. The thing is running some program.¡±


    Astra blinked. ¡°Which means?¡±


    ¡°That either the people who shut down the colony didn''t do so properly, though I can''t imagine why, or that something is foul within the clan,¡± I explained before I had an idea. ¡°Are there any other computer systems it could be communicating with it? Sensors, cameras? Anything like it?¡±


    Astra shook her head slowly and gestured at the empty ceiling. ¡°Not to my knowledge. Some stuff still works, like my music player, but nothing I know of which can be connected to a computer. I know for certain that the sixth strata ripped out and recycled all non-essential systems even before I came to this world. The only old tech they are maintaining is the power grid for the ventilation system. The computer network should be completely un-installed because copper is so valuable. Maybe the fifth strata has some functioning tablets and computers in their vaults? Though, I doubt they switch them on for anything else than to transcribe digital knowledge to paper.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± I grumbled. ¡°A mystery then. I am not sure whether we should waste our time on it. We will find out anyway once we log into the computer.¡±


    ¡°Oh, regarding wasting time, there is still something I haven''t shown you,¡± Astra took my arm and turned me around, guiding me somewhere.

 Ch 50 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Astra led me away from the family mansion and towards the twelfth''s living quarters. It only then occurred to me that ¨C so far ¨C I had gotten to see less of my own strata than any other.


    This was at least partly remedied when my partner led me through some nice living quarters which had similarities with the public areas in the central living cavern.


    According to my fairy guide, the twelfth possessed huge warehouses which were filled to the brim with the spoils of their hunts. The twelfth would provide these resources to the other stratas in exchange for services and refined goods.


    Her explanations revealed that due to Tirnanog''s nature, the twelfth was considered the wealthiest strata when it came to raw material resources. It wasn''t surprising, since a decently powerful person simply had to step outside a settlement''s fortifications and swathes of creatures and murdery wildlife would come flooding in, ready to be slaughtered.


    As long as someone was proficient enough at surviving and killing things, it literally was wealth throwing itself at you.


    Aside from using their hunting and gathering skills to make a living, the twelfth''s people would take on mercenary jobs given out by the other stratas. In some cases, there wasn''t much difference between hunting a monster or a human.


    If a monster attacked the clan and couldn''t be directly handled by a strata''s defenders, the twelfth would provide the necessary troops to deal with the incursion. Though, the attacking critter had to be especially nasty to call for the twelfth''s assistance.


    Astra pointed out that such a thing rarely happened. Aside from some very specialized mutation sets aimed at certain professions, people of all stratas were looking out to be powerful in their own right. The Tates were one of the few ruling families who sacrificed combat potential in favour of mutations which helped with their healing arts.


    My recent experience with Gilbert was the best proof that a craftsman wasn''t necessarily weak. On the contrary. The older a person was, the warier you had to be of them.


    Lastly, the twelfth could boast extensive training grounds and libraries concerning their chosen profession. It was practically unheard of for someone to call him- or herself a proficient warrior without having spent a few years within the twelfth''s educational facilities.


    The tour came to an end when we entered a promenade intended for recreational purposes with its wide, arching hallways and countless plants. Someone had gone so far as to transplant this world''s version of grass to give people the impression of a park.


    Though, I wasn''t keen enough to test my skills as a fakir if it wasn''t necessary.


    The light was provided by the fluorescent flora, giving the promenade a distinctly alien look combined with the architecture of the archways. It was sobering to see how the Aerie had carved out this little pocket of civilisation with unspeakable monsters waiting just outside their walls.


    But this wasn''t why we were here.


    Astra guided me to an old elevator where we received blankets and thick-furred mantles from a stall next to it. Then the elevator brought us upwards on a slow trip which took about twenty minutes.


    Of course, I questioned my partner about our final destination, but she refused to spoil the surprise.


    On the way up, the temperature quickly dropped ¨C which had me thankful for the additional layer of insulation. Thanks to her filaments, Astra was mostly fine once she had wrapped herself up like a mummy.


    For the first time, I didn''t hide my filaments and instead used them to create a ski mask against the stinging cold.


    When the elevator opened, we stepped out into a huge observation lounge which had been cut into the side of the mountain. And in the area just ahead of us was a window-front sporting the thickest glass I had ever seen.


    Considering the wildlife outside, I still would have called it unsafe if it hadn''t been for several metal bars providing reinforcement. Each was half a metre in diameter and ensured larger beasts wouldn''t enter the lounge even if they somehow managed to break the glass.


    ¡°The initial snowfall has stopped,¡± Astra commented as she brought me up to a bench from which we could observe the ice and snow outside. ¡°Before today, there wasn''t much to see aside from snowflakes, but it cleared up last night.¡±


    She placed a blanket on the bench before she had me sit down. Then she joined me by sitting between my legs and pulling the blanket around us.


    I mentally tallied up how many days had already passed since our arrival.


    Between recuperating from the long journey, training, our descent to the twelfth''s hunting grounds and return, then exploring the third, almost a month had passed.


    I still remembered the foreboding cloudbanks which were the first sign of winter following us right on our heels up to Mount Aerie. And how relieved everyone had looked once we reached the outpost.


    ¡°Four weeks of snowfall?!¡± I exclaimed, drawing glares from the few other people who were enjoying the panoramic view in relative silence. I only then noticed the altar to our left with the priest of Gaia sitting in front of it in the lotus position. It was one of the few elderly-looking people I had seen so far, judging by the white beard which was covered with ice crystals, formed due to his breath.


    His hands were in a praying position and he was glaring at us with one eye open while the other was closed.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I whispered. I wasn''t necessarily a believer, but I was well aware nothing could create as many enemies as disrespecting certain religious fanatics. I already had enough problems, and aside from a first misguided encounter, I didn''t know enough about this Church of Gaia to judge them.


    To think I even had a stupid nightmare because of it.


    The thought had me chuckle as I turned my attention to the scene outside.


    Beyond the window, a white desert of snow and ice stretched out as far as the eye could see. In the distance to the left, I could make out a mountain range that was angled away from Mount Aerie, while some smaller peaks adorned Aerie''s immediate vicinity.


    Astra indicated the mountain range and spoke in a moderated tone. ¡°You see that? Third peak to the right? That''s the mountain top from which you got your first look at Mount Aerie.¡±


    ¡°Just how is anything surviving out there?¡± I questioned. It was apparent everything was covered in several metres of snow. There was so much of it, down in the plains, the storm had formed snow-dunes.


    Astra shrugged. ¡°Not sure. Some creatures are hibernating, while others survive thanks to being opportunists. I figure it''s not so different from Earth.¡±


    I hummed and allowed myself a rare moment of silent contentment with the world while I watched the white landscape with my partner in my arms. Astra''s insistence on reaching Aerie before winter fell was no longer surprising. It would have been impossible to travel on foot through the snow.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Would we even have had enough food to survive the winter if the snow had caught us in one of the shelters? Maybe Astra and Thalia hadn''t mentioned it because it would have demoralized the group.


    Astra took my hand and inspected my swollen fingers.


    ¡°I''ve still a lot to learn about this world,¡± I mused.


    ¡°It''s not that bad,¡± Astra replied while she tested the joints. ¡°Nothing is broken, so I figure Gilbert likes you. He wants you to come back.¡±


    I forced myself to smile while I looked at our reflection in the glass. ¡°Well, I may avoid visiting him too often after this.¡±


    ¡°Don''t complain about receiving a lesson.¡± Astra huffed. ¡°It''s not like I haven''t told you not to challenge an elder or one of the older paired warriors. You have to take better care of yourself.¡±


    ¡°It''s still confusing to me,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Bruce Patel is an asshole, but now I understand he let me get away. But why? I mean, he used his goon to mess with my head, but let me go after a good whacking? I''ve built this image in my head of the Patels using their strata for some sinister purposes, but it doesn''t fit together with letting me go.¡±


    It took some time before Astra answered.


    ¡°I believe you still haven''t gotten accustomed to some of the clan''s unspoken rules,¡± she began once she had arranged her narrative. ¡°Remember how my parents told you to let them take care of the other elders? It''s about ranking and power, and being a strata''s supporting pillar. If the elders would indiscriminately attack weaker members of other stratas, we would end up living the law of the strongest for real.


    ¡°Instead, the elders hold themselves and other powerhouses in check. For an elder to lay hand on a weaker opponent from another strata would leave the others free to do the same. It would be a dangerous precedent, a line nobody wants to be crossed. When Bruce had his subordinate mess with you, it was fine, because someone who was presumably on your level attacked you. When you rebuffed their subordinate and escaped without a scratch, it would''ve looked bad for the Patels if they had personally stopped you. It was lucky their guards didn''t manage to catch you. Giving you a beating before allowing you to run was borderline at best.¡±


    ¡°So, I am relatively safe as long as I stay in public and don''t challenge them directly,¡± I translated.


    Astra sighed and leaned back into my chest. ¡°Just don''t overdo it. You''ve made Bruce really angry. I bet he would have done more than just giving you a beating if Travis hadn''t held him back.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry,¡± I assured her. ¡°I''ve no plans of returning to the third any time soon.¡±


    I embraced my beautiful partner beneath the blanket and stole a few squeezes, but she quickly stopped me from doing anything untoward in this holy place.


    There was no question, I had to be content with my hands on her hips or suffer the consequences of her ire. When everything beneath the belt or above the belly was a forbidden zone, I laid my hands to rest on the only remaining place.


    ¡°Has my constitution allowed you to fortify your padding?¡± I joked when I realized Astra''s usually toned belly had developed a little bit of fluff above her musculature.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± my partner grumbled and stopped my groping fingers with a few filaments before moving my hands to where her navel was located. ¡°It''s natural for a woman in my state. That''s the other thing I wanted to talk about ¨C aside from the panoramic view.¡±


    ¡°Your state?¡± My mind came to a stuttering halt before it froze, now closely resembling the landscape outside. ¡°You mean...¡±


    I measured her belly with both palms, trying to compare the size to my memory.


    This wasn''t well received and answered with a hissed rebuttal, ¡°Are you serious? You should be well aware by now that it''s almost impossible for us to get fat.¡±


    ¡°H- how do you know?¡± I asked.


    Astra sighed. ¡°I''ve been overdue on my cycle for a week.¡±


    ¡°But...¡± This was worrying me. ¡°A week is too short. It should take much longer for anything to be noticeable!¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I think you are overreacting,¡± I grumbled, but Magnus didn''t have it. He was carrying me princess style towards the clinic, not even bothering with a carriage since he could run faster. From time to time, he even flashed forward a few dozen metres with flash step.


    Once I had shared my suspicion, I had been picked up and removed from the ''hostile'' cold environment.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how fast an embryo is supposed to develop?¡± Magnus questioned while he pantingly overtook a slow-moving carriage.


    ¡°No.¡± I rolled my eyes while I gestured at the side-walk with spread fingers. ¡°Do you see any pregnant women or children?¡±


    ¡°Well, to answer my question: me neither.¡± Magnus forewent the obvious answer to my question and instead replied to his own. ¡°But I do know there shouldn¡¯t be anything noticeable after a week, or two! What if it is growing too fast and you are hurt? You are the one who told me those horror stories about getting children in this world!¡±


    I crossed my arms. ¡°I hoped you would take it as positive news and cheer me up instead of envisioning the worst-case scenario.¡±


    Magnus grinned stupidly. ¡°I¡¯ll celebrate once Thalia or Sienna give us the thumbs up. And look, I doubt many married women are being carried to the hospital princess style. Most only get the three steps from the doorsill to the bed.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there was such a thing back on Earth.¡± I hummed appreciatively as some old childhood memories of movies came to mind. ¡°Now that you mentioned it, it is nice to be carried around. At first, I was a little conflicted, but this feels satisfying on a certain level. I am just a little surprised about your endurance and your ability to navigate the tunnel system. Please make sure not to overdo it.¡±


    ¡°I always had a lot of endurance,¡± Magnus replied, sounding a little offended. ¡°Though, taking you with me using flash step is admittedly a little taxing. And I took the time to study the tunnel network with Parallell Mind. At least the main connection tunnels. Turns out, it is a lot easier to memorize things if several me¡¯s are doing it at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a neat idea!¡± I clapped my hands together, determined to think positive thoughts if Magnus was already playing the Devil¡¯s Advocate.


    Although, I had a feeling the quick advancement of my pregnancy wasn¡¯t all he was worried about. ¡°I¡¯ve to try it too.¡±


    A short time later, we arrived at the hospital and Magnus practically manhandled a nurse into letting us visit Thalia¡¯s office. If waving around the presumably sick scion of an influential family could be called manhandling.


    Luckily, Thalia was indeed working.


    She looked up with raised eyebrows when Magnus practically kicked down her door.


    ¡°Thalia, you have to take a look at Astra!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± My friend¡¯s eyes focused on me. ¡°Are you sick?¡±


    Instead of sharing in my partner¡¯s overreaction, I tried to channel some positive vibe when I answered in a chipper tone. ¡°I think I am pregnant!¡±


    ¡°She says it¡¯s been about a week, but it''s already noticeable!¡± Magnus clarified the reason for his freakout.


    Thalia had dropped her pen at my proclamation and raised her hands in celebration, but when she heard Magnus¡¯s words, she sobered up and pointed at the nurse who had followed us into the office. ¡°Get Sienna!¡±


    A few minutes later, I was on a reclining chair with Thalia, Sienna, and a third Tate hovering over me like anxious grandmothers. Magnus was standing at the door and wringing his hands with beads of sweat on his forehead.


    He really shouldn''t have run so fast.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, girl,¡± the new woman by the name of Kiera assured me. ¡°We will know in a minute what¡¯s going on with you.¡±


    ¡°I am not worried,¡± I rebuffed the doctor who was specialized in pregnancies according to Sienna and Thalia. ¡°Maybe you should rather check Magnus. He looks like he overdid it by carrying me here.¡±


    The whole fuss was slowly getting on my nerves. I had intended to tell Magnus the good news and then spend some romantic time watching the scenery while we made plans. Being able to have kids would have our status within the clan rocket to the skies.


    Now, there were entirely too many people hovering over me.


    As if the universe had heard my plight, a fifth person entered the room to make it worse.


    ¡°I heard something is up with Astra?¡± Iv asked, looking around with interest. ¡°Did she catch something during her little outing with my brother?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Thalia corrected her. ¡°We think she is pregnant!¡±


    Iv formed a silent ¡®o¡¯ with her lips before she turned on Magnus. ¡°What did you do? I am too young to become an aunt!¡±


    Magnus pulled down the corners of his mouth. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? She is my wife and so far I haven¡¯t heard about any effective contraceptives.¡±


    ¡°The most effective contraceptive is not doing it!¡± Iv complained. ¡°Or using other orifices!¡±


    ¡°Iv!¡± Magnus reprimanded his sister in a stern tone.


    ¡°Could you two be silent for a moment?¡± The new doctor asked while she used a bottle to apply a generous amount of some transparent goop to her hand. ¡°I will be using a sonar mutation to take a look into Astra, and people having arguments next to me doesn¡¯t help.¡±


    ¡°Do you have to-¡± I didn¡¯t get to finish my question before she slapped her cold hand onto my belly. Instead, I shrank back and drew in a sharp breath.


    Meanwhile, the doctor moved her hand around and hummed appreciatively. ¡°It looks like everything is in order aside from the unusually fast development. I suggest another check-up in a few more days to monitor the situation. Maybe we can even tell the genders by then!¡±


    Magnus became a lot more attentive at that. ¡°Genders? As in, multiple?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes! I can sense three embryos!¡± the woman proclaimed in a euphoric tone. ¡°It¡¯s truly a day to celebrate!¡±


    ¡°Th- th-¡± Magnus stuttered and paled before he reached for the wall next to him, then sank down to the ground. It looked like a shock reaction.


    ¡°Hey, bro? You alright?¡± Iv kneeled next to him and poked his cheek, but Magnus just stared off into the distance. ¡°You know, men are supposed to do that when the kids pop out. Collapsing right now is a little premature.¡±


    I could only roll my eyes while I pointed for Sienna and Thalia to take a look at my partner. ¡°I told you to check him out. He carried me all the way here from the promenade. I bet he has a circulatory collapse.¡±

 Ch 51 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I watched the great tidewalls of Venice in a daze, as I was caught in a rare moment of tranquillity while the sun slowly set. It painted the horizon in a red hue and announced the nighttime for the visiting tourists who explored this living museum of a city.


    The walls had been built over a thousand years ago to counteract the increasingly unpredictable weather which came along with global warming. They protected the city from disappearing beneath the ocean''s waves and were considered one of humanity''s architectural wonders.


    But why was I here, sitting at a caf¨¦ and watching the ocean? Wasn''t I supposed to meet with another agent of the organisation?


    A waiter came along and placed a coffee and a salad with turkey breast in front of me.


    My mouth watered at the sight of real food and I picked up the fork.


    Real food? No, I wasn''t supposed to eat uncooked food. Too dangerous. Especially when the meat had been fried haphazardly!


    Then I remembered, and the fork fell out of my fingers.


    Out of nowhere, a red-haired beauty was in the chair across from me. With a dazzling smile, she leaned over and took my hand, stroking it lovingly. Her tight business dress fought to restrain the generous bosom which desired to spill out of the dangerous v-cut.


    ¡°We finally meet again,¡± Gaia, or Gestalt, tittered. ¡°I already feared your moment of lucidity was a one-time thing.¡±


    I quickly used my free hand to sign the Catholic cross by touching my forehead, sternum, and shoulders. ¡°Light, dear light. Dissolve, this night...¡±


    Gaia frowned but kept smiling. ¡°Is everything alright?¡±


    Okay, a prayer from St. Peters didn''t help, so maybe Buddhism? I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to remember what I had looked up in the Frost''s library. ¡°May I be a guard for those who need protection. A guide for those on the path. A lamp in the darkness...¡±


    When I peeked with one eye Gaia was still there, but her smile had turned forced. ¡°Are- are you trying to banish me?!¡±


    I let out a sigh full of disappointment and dropped the act. ¡°I guess you are no demon or ghost after all-¡±


    ¡°Get away from my man!¡± someone screamed hysterically.


    Suddenly, a chair blocked my field of vision as it slammed into Gaia''s beautiful face. It had enough momentum to force the Gestalt''s avatar backwards, tilting her over together with the chair she was sitting on. Because of the table, she disappeared beneath my line of sight, leaving only two perfect legs in high heels and black stockings for me to admire.


    The banishing ritual worked!?


    A teenage girl, no older than thirteen, stepped up to follow her victim. She brought her chair up and down, causing Gaia''s still visible legs to twitch.


    I had no clue what was going on.


    But I knew what had happened the last time Gaia had been hit within my dream world.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± I shrieked in abject terror and jumped out of my seat, barely managing to disarm the teenager before her improvised weapon could descend a third time.


    ¡°What are you doing, Magnus!?¡± the girl complained and went for another chair. ¡°She dared to touch you illicitly! She was trying to seduce you by showing off those melons of hers! And the way she held your hand!¡±


    ¡°Astra?¡± It was a little late, but together with the girl''s words and her resemblance to my wife, I managed to piece some things together. This was probably how Astra saw herself while she was still on Earth.


    I quickly stopped her from picking up another chair and we entered a tug of war. ¡°That''s because she has a few screws loose. J- just don''t hit her. Bad things happen when you hit that woman! And why do you look like a child?¡±


    ¡°You don''t exactly look like your real self either.¡± Astra let go of the chair and poked a finger into my belly. ¡°And what is this place? Are we caught inside a mindflayer''s illusion?¡±


    I looked down at myself, realizing this was the old me. The one who had a little inbuilt lifebelt.


    ¡°What''s wrong with you people!?¡± Gaia screamed suddenly, drawing both of our attention as the Gestalt''s avatar floated up into the air. She righted herself, emitting a golden halo as fire surrounded her like a burning rosebush. Apart from her bedraggled hairstyle, she was completely fine. ¡°The first time, he hits me. The second time, he tries to banish me like some demon of lore! And now the other tries the same!¡±


    I stepped in front of Astra, hoping that blocking Gaia''s line of sight might appease her somewhat. ¡°You can''t blame us if you are the one haunting our dreams! How do you expect us to react? The first time, I thought the mindflayer had gotten us, or I had gone insane. I am still not one hundred per cent convinced. Makes much more sense if someone is messing with my head. Or some parasite causing hallucinations.¡±


    Gaia''s face scrunched up as if I had hit a sore spot. ¡°I am not a parasite!¡±


    Astra stepped around me and linked arms with me ¨C which felt all kinds of wrong, given her current appearance.


    ¡°Why don''t you explain what''s going on, lady? Besides...¡± Astra gestured, trailing Gaia''s outline with a finger. ¡°... you have to work on your performance. It isn''t as imposing if you are still sitting in a chair while you go all floaty-floaty.¡±


    The flames winked out of existence and the halo disappeared. The next moment, Gaia landed on the ground and turned back to the table while correcting her hair. ¡°Sit.¡±


    ¡°Why should we-¡±


    I interrupted Astra by quickly pulling a chair next to where I had been sitting previously. Then I picked my partner up, which was easily possible thanks to her new appearance, and placed her in the chair.


    The people around us had paid the whole interaction no heed, proving this wasn''t the real world.


    Astra was indignant about the treatment, but I didn''t care as I sat down next to her.


    Gaia clapped her hands together and smiled. ¡°Wonderful! Why don''t we start anew? Astra, you are currently sleeping next to your husband and having a lucid dream. Both of you are in the hospital after you received the magnificent news of becoming parents. Magnus had a little cardiac arrest because he remembered our previous meeting where I prophesied something like this to happen. It was a little overwhelming for him. Follow so far?¡±


    Astra blinked. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Now to me. I am a part of the Gestalt, an energy consciousness that lives off the energy field produced by all living things connected to me. Some might call me a god, but Magnus doesn''t like it, so we may as well go with non-human sentient energy entity. You can call this iteration of me Gaia and I am in charge of managing Tirnanog''s humans. I like to think of myself as a guardian angel. The Gestalt has always existed alongside life ¨C with humans only being my most recent creations. I am currently having a philosophical disagreement with some other energy beings who are using natural energy fields to support their consciousness. They think I am an abomination and are trying to kill me. So they created Tirnanog as a research and test facility to find a permanent solution for me, since eradicating all life on Earth already failed several times. But now they found a troublesome solution and are using the Thich to test it. Which is why I employed Magnus to wipe out those abominations.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Astra blinked again and opened her mouth, then closed it, but finally managed to come up with a response. ¡°I have a few questions.¡±


    It took the better part of what felt like half an hour of back and forth until Gaia managed to get both of us up to date, which included a retelling of my first lucid encounter with the dream whisperer. Only Gaia herself knew whether it was true that she had been whispering into my ears since I had been a babe.


    ¡°So, Gaia is like a ghost,¡± Astra concluded in the end. ¡°She can mess with people and whisper stuff into our ears when we sleep, but she can''t change anything physical in the world. And whether people truly follow her ''suggestions'' is mostly up to the person.¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten about her making babies inside you!¡± I hissed. ¡°That''s a darn dangerous superpower if you ask me!¡±


    Both women looked at me.


    ¡°As I understood it,¡± Astra pointed out in a measured tone. ¡°Gaia wouldn''t have been able to do anything if I hadn''t provided fertile soil and someone else hadn''t sown the seed.¡±


    I looked between Astra and Gaia and realized I was the minority here. A man had to choose battles he could win. ¡°I retract the argument.¡±


    Astra returned her attention to Gaia. ¡°But he is at least partly correct! Three!? Do I look like a breeding tank to you?¡±


    Gaia twiddled her thumbs. ¡°I am sorry, but your mutations are... beneficial to me.¡±


    ¡°Ooh,¡± I laughed and pointed a finger at her. ¡°Didn''t you want to say tasty? Or nourishing? Do you want to start a new breeding farm?¡±


    Gaia looked exasperated. ¡°Fine, I want to ensure your phenotype spreads. Go forth and multiply and all that. Please, stop thinking of me as something evil. I am connected with all life. You are the cells. I am the mind. It''s highly unorthodox for me to be able to hold a conversation like this one.¡±


    Her expression turned troubled as she muttered to herself. ¡°It''s like arguing with two of my brain cells. Is this what humans call schizophrenia? Am I turning insane by allowing this? Maybe having more of you is a bad idea after all...¡±


    This felt like a dangerous avenue of conversation, so I thought it best to divert the topic to other matters.


    I pointed an accusing finger. ¡°Whatever! It didn''t stop you from threatening me with my sister''s continued well-being should I not follow your agenda. Don''t think I''ve forgotten.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°You have to admit, your life''s history confirms you are stubborn and despise higher authorities. Without an incentive, you would try to find a way to finagle out of the deal. I had no choice but to offer you a bargain once you became lucid.¡±


    ¡°You threatened to cut my sisters loose because they are corrupted or something! Which you still didn''t explain in detail,¡± I hissed. ¡°That''s not a bargain. It''s blackmail!¡±


    Astra touched my shoulder. ¡°Magnus, calm yourself. I know you would do anything for your sisters. Sadly, it seems like in this case your emotions are getting in the way.¡±


    I leaned back and crossed my arms. ¡°What sort of cooperation could we even have with a creature like Gaia, assuming she''s telling us the truth about this corruption which is cutting her off from the Thich. She is vastly more powerful and intelligent than us. She is negotiating with ants to deal with an anthill.¡±


    ¡°An apt comparison, but maybe not entirely correct.¡± Astra smiled. ¡°Maybe it''s because I am more used to thinking in terms of biological dependencies, but I firmly believe no matter her power, Gaia is desperate. This is the first time she''s sick.¡±


    I scowled but allowed Astra to go on. Not only because I valued her opinion, but because Gaia''s expression had turned slightly annoyed.


    Gaia sounded almost omniscient. Our only hope was for this being to be unable to play us like instruments.


    But no. If Gaia hadn''t lied about us being the first humans she could talk to directly, then her social abilities should be beyond abysmal.


    Anyway, my paranoia would change nothing at the moment so I returned my attention to Astra.


    ¡°This alien administrator introduced a genetic sequence into clan Thich which cut them off from Gaia. Try to imagine it from her point of view. This isn''t just about two ant-hives fighting each other. This is about you learning you have cancer, and nobody has an affordable treatment. Or like losing a limb. Only, it isn''t just that. It''s like your hand suddenly going rogue and attacking the rest of the body.¡±


    I looked towards the Gestalt''s avatar.


    ¡°Gaia has to stomp out the Thich infection before it spreads to the rest of her body,¡± Astra concluded. ¡°Which means, our cooperation is worth a lot to her. Maybe we should see her more as a symbiont. A partner. It looks like we want the same thing after all.¡±


    Gaia sighed. ¡°What do you want? And please stop treating me like some symbiont or parasite.¡±


    Astra turned her attention to the Gestalt''s avatar. ¡°First, I need you to be more respectful towards my body. I had the intention of having a lot of kids if it turned out to be possible. But having three at once is a bit much.¡±


    I nodded enthusiastically. Exactly what I was saying earlier!


    Gaia rolled her eyes. ¡°If you are concerned about the dangers of childbirth, I have corrected that little evolutionary mistake with you two. You don''t have to worry about the process. Let''s just say your fertility has been adjusted to the zippers. Which means you will be fertile during the winter.¡±


    ¡°How else can you assist us?¡± Astra asked, apparently quite pleased with what she heard.


    I shook my head, wishing she had sued for a reduction in numbers.


    The avatar shrugged. ¡°I am doing what I can with your mutations, but you are the ones who have to use them correctly. Apart from that, you are on your own.¡±


    ¡°Any hints?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°Let''s just say,¡± Gaia raised both index fingers and touched them together, ¡°Both of you now have extraordinary mental abilities combined with control over electricity. Why aren''t you already abusing this?¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at the avatar. She was a little cryptic, but I could see a few ways in which this was meant to play out.


    ¡°Can you give us information about the Thich?¡± I asked. ¡°You must be the perfect spy.¡±


    Gaia slowly shook her head. ¡°Like I said, almost the whole clan is corrupted by now. I can''t touch them, or your sisters. The problem is, the corrupted people are like non-entities to me. I am blind to them. To put it into human terms, I guess it''s like being paralysed.¡±


    ¡°Then how are you going to save my sisters?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can cleanse Iv of the corruption once she partners up with someone who isn''t corrupted, now that I have my attention on her. I can take charge of her partner''s side and try to fix things.¡± Gaia''s lips curled in disgust. ¡°And even if she can''t be cured, I might be able to ignore the corruption in a few selected people as long as it is ensured it won''t spread.¡±


    My expression darkened as I thought of the implications. Thankfully, this wasn''t an immediate issue. ¡°What about Evanne? What if she is forced to ''partner'' with a corrupted Thich?¡±


    The avatar shrugged. ¡°There''s nothing I can do about that. It only emphasizes you are on a clock in more than one way.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Astra asked.


    Gaia raised an eyebrow. ¡°The Thich have been running these experiments since the Gestalt retreated from Tirnanog. I am nought but a mere remnant that remains to monitor the situation. Sadly, we only noticed within the last few decades that something was seriously wrong. It took some time until the Gestalt became aware of a few thousand people who weren''t connected to it anymore. Normally, I would have noticed earlier, but the regular opening of the wormhole between Tirnanog and Earth dulled my senses.¡±


    She gestured towards me. ¡°And given my limitations, it also takes time to steer people towards certain dispositions. Magnus''s lucidity within the dream is something utterly unprecedented. It''s the first time for me to be able to tell someone clearly what I need. Till now, the Gestalt was forced to split off shards like Gaia to appear in people''s dreams and ''preach'' to them in hopes of influencing their waking decisions.¡±


    Gaia stopped herself and thoughtfully touched her cheek. ¡°In any case, the Tates already uncovered some of the boons which the corrupted mutation is bringing the Thich. You just haven''t followed the logic chain to its conclusion.¡±


    Astra tilted her head. ¡°Thalia and Sienna think it enables two partners to choose certain combinations of mutations which would be ill-advised otherwise. It gives the Thich a lot more flexibility and means access to more combinations.¡±


    ¡°Which allows for a wider variety of selection,¡± Gaia continued. ¡°All the clans are experimenting with new mutation paths. The goal everyone is looking out for is to find something powerful which can still breed viable offspring. In the Thich''s case, more variety allows for more viable combinations once they are found. And more viable breeding pairs result in a population boom.¡±


    Astra''s eyes widened in shock. ¡°How many Thich are there? How many people do they have?¡±


    The avatar tilted her head from one side to the other. ¡°Right now, not too many. You would have heard of a population boom from the Caravaners if the Thich had already succeeded. As I said, it''s been a generation at most since I lost track of the Thich''s actions. But humans can breed fast if they need to. Give it another forty years and they might be able to overpower any of the major clans with numbers alone.¡±


    My partner let out a sigh of relief and looked at me. ¡°Gaia is right. If more viable breeding pairs are a side effect of the corrupted mutation, then Clan Thich might be able to take control of Tirnanog within a few generations. What held the clans back so far are our low numbers. We are barely able to keep our populations up. It''s the only reason why we are still recruiting promising exiles.¡±


    ¡°What about the other clans?¡± I asked. ¡°Can you influence them in our favour?¡±


    ¡°I will do what I can.¡± Gaia made a helpless gesture. ¡°But you are aware of my limitations. I can''t take away their free will and have them join you on a crusade.¡±


    Astra suddenly reached over and stole the turkey breast from the plate with salad in front of me. Without hesitation, she bit into it. ¡°Oh, it''s so good!¡±


    ¡°Astra!¡± I exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°What?¡± My wife spoke with a full mouth. ¡°This is a dream, so nothing can happen. Gaia, you have to visit us every night from now on.¡±


    The avatar''s lips curled. ¡°I am not your chef!¡±


    ¡°From now on, you are,¡± Astra affirmed. ¡°There is a lot to talk about. More than we can manage in a single night. You have to explain how the Thich are connected to Earth. And at the very least you can inform us about what''s going on within the other clans.¡±

 Ch 52 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Magnus asked while lying in the hospital bed next to me. We had awoken some time ago and the discussion had immediately turned to the shared dream.


    Guess my confusion upon learning it was no dream at all. Well, it was a dream, but not a dream at the same time. Arrgh! Damned not-dreams and godlike energy beings! As if my life wasn''t already complicated enough!


    I blew a raspberry and calmed myself. ¡°I think we need to go home and get something to drink. Maybe we could raid dad''s office and steal all of his sorrow medicine.¡±


    ¡°Please don''t drink while you are pregnant,¡± Magnus commented and hummed. ¡°Come to think of it, I haven''t seen your father since that little incident.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry. I am sure he just got what was due.¡± I waved a hand to dismiss the matter. ¡°The one time I remember Teresa getting mad at him, he hid from the rest of the family for a week. I am sure he will survive.¡±


    ¡°And what''s your impression of Gaia?¡± Magnus asked.


    ¡°Hmm... let me think.¡±


    I folded my fingers, unable to come up with an answer on the spot.


    Waking up and finding out we had the same dream was certainly a shock. But the memory was too fresh in my mind to discount it in the same manner in which Magnus rationalized his first encounter with Gaia.


    Gaia was no god, but there was no doubt in my mind this being was responsible for humanity''s tendency toward religions. I honestly wasn¡¯t sure what to think. Was the Gestalt a threat? Something to venerate?


    The next time we met, I would have to ask her whether she was somehow related to the Church of Gaia! How could something so important have slipped my mind!?


    Either way, being on the Gestalt¡¯s bad side was something to avoid ¨C for now.


    I wondered what it would be like to live an existence like Gaia¡¯s. What was an entity like the Gestalt doing with its free time? There was no doubt the avatar was doing a good job at interacting with us, but Gaia''s disconnection from the world outside people''s dreams couldn''t be denied.


    This became blatantly obvious once we started interrogating Gaia in detail about political matters and people. The longer the discussion went, the more obvious became Gaia¡¯s limitations and ignorance.


    Oh, she knew a lot, but her point of view was skewed because her perception of humanity was filtered through the lens of people''s dreams.


    Just like a human would be unaware of what most of his cells were doing, Gaia had a similar problem. Outside her immediate charges, the avatar was almost completely ignorant of what individual people were planning or thinking. When asked about the Patel''s disposition towards us, she could only promise to pay more attention to such matters in the future.


    Figuring out individual people and their relationships simply wasn''t how the Gestalt thought as a whole. Gaia was more flexible, but also had blinders on when it concerned people and events she wasn¡¯t directly influencing.


    This became apparent when she began to evade certain answers, like who she was messing with. This could have only one reason. Gaia didn¡¯t want to admit to being weak. If she was capable of influencing a significant number of people, instigating a war against the Thich wouldn¡¯t have been a problem.


    Maybe a handful of people were her limit, a few dozen at most.


    At least Gaia explained in principle how she operated.


    When a human desired to change society, he or she would have to take social problems and political factions into account, then find a way to apply pressure and influence future developments accordingly.


    That wasn''t how Gaia worked.


    When the Gestalt wanted to steer humanity in a certain direction, it would simply split off a sub-identity like Gaia and task her with the subconscious indoctrination of a promising group or person ¨C like Magnus. The person would then go on and take care of all the complicated social stuff the Gestalt couldn''t be bothered with.


    This method was far from perfect.


    In many cases, the goal wasn''t achieved. Not everyone had what it took to become an influential politician, a freedom fighter, or a magnate with the power to steer international companies and influence countries.


    But if the Gestalt always had one thing, then it was time. If one human couldn''t achieve the desired goal, then hundreds or thousands might do the job. If one failed, then the next one would be conscripted.


    Concurrently, the Gestalt would create more sub-identities like Gaia as needed. If Gaia was to be believed, then a few hundred thousand humans were necessary to support an avatar of Gaia''s level. Our greatest problem was that the Gestalt had apparently retreated from Tirnanog and left only Gaia behind. The energies of Tirnanog''s population were barely sufficient to support her.


    Gaia was also slightly out of date regarding most things I asked of her. For example, when recounting the story behind the Thich¡¯s corruption, she retold the events of the great clan-war and the Thich''s consequent self-isolation as if it had happened yesterday. Gaia had little to no clue about the current disposition of factions like the Caravaners or the Hochberg.


    At least she managed to forewarn us that the Thich had made some troubling political connections with the Vier. It was mind-boggling how such an ignorant creature like the Gestalt could steer humanity''s fate. But when faced with the results, I could hardly deny that the entity''s methods worked well enough for it.


    According to Gaia, the Gestalt had successfully kept humanity from reaching for the stars, which would have likely triggered another extinction event.


    I didn''t truly understand why these aliens were so intent on erasing the Gestalt from existence. But then again, the Gestalt clearly didn''t understand its humans either.


    The world government''s suffocating choke-hold on Earth''s population was only a means to an end for this creature. The human experiments were a path to improvement.


    I always had to remind myself of the monstrous indifference the Gestalt had towards humans in general. Something which would be dangerous to forget.


    Comparing humans to cells was an apt comparison in this regard.


    Did I care overly much about a scratch killing off millions of skin cells? Or about cells dying and being replaced every day? Most of the time, I didn''t even waste a thought. Heck, the mere act of exercising with Magnus was probably comparable to a minor catastrophe on Earth.


    Maybe humanity''s wars and constant strife were nothing more than bodily exercise for the Gestalt.


    The only thing I would care about would be losing a finger. And in a way, this was exactly what the Gestalt was facing with the Thich.


    ¡°I believe we can trust Gaia to a certain degree. The avatar seems to be limited and as close to a human personality as something like the Gestalt can get. She may be a little smarter than a normal human, but her flaws are obvious. Whether through incapability or ignorance doesn''t matter ¨C for the moment. If we tell her what to look for, she could become the best spy we have. It''s just sad that we don''t have thousands of her and that she seems somewhat limited in how many people she can monitor directly. What I don''t trust is the Gestalt as a whole. We will have to be doubly careful about our goals. But as long as we remain the Gestalt''s main weapon against the Thich, everything should be fine.¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°I think you are right. We''ll have to double-check our role in this play every step of the way. The Gestalt''s goal is to stomp out the Thich''s corruption. We are a complete non-concern to it, apart from being the tool of choice.¡±


    He paused for a moment. ¡°How do we explain this to your parents? We''ve learned a few things the clan should know. The population issue sounds like an important argument to steer the clan''s future.¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°Some mindflayer mutations are bizarre, but being connected to a semi-godlike entity stretches it a little bit. I think we should face relatively few questions if we stick mostly to the truth. We should omit the existence of Gaia.¡±


    After a few moments of pondering over the problem, I gave a proposal, ¡°How about telling my parents we uncovered a new aspect of Parallel Mind? It allows our sub-identities to ¡®Mindstorm¡¯ while we are sleeping, giving us certain insights.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Sounds a little bit like prophetic visions,¡± Magnus mumbled. ¡°But fine with me if such a story can fly. Did you notice how the Gestalt''s avatars sound very similar to our new Parallel Mind ability?¡±


    ¡°No, not prophetic visions,¡± I clarified. ¡°Just logical insights, deductions based on known facts. And I did notice. Gaia refused a clear answer, but I am almost a hundred per cent certain it was by design.¡±


    There was a knock on the door and Magnus and I shared a look. This early in the morning it was an ungodly hour for Sienna and Thalia to visit us.


    Always the gentleman, Magnus got up and wove his filaments into something akin to shorts and a shirt. He gave me a questioning look and I replied with a thumbs up. It wasn''t anywhere close to my skills with imitating clothing, but he was improving rapidly and this was passable.


    Then he went and opened the door ¨C just to be shoved aside by Teresa who imperiously strode into the room.


    ¡°Mom!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°How could you not tell me!?¡± Teresa quickly walked up to the bed. ¡°Imagine how it feels to get a message from Sienna in the early morning hours, telling me that you are pregnant and in the hospital! Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I did my best to sound cavalier about the matter. ¡°You see, it wasn''t planned this way. Originally, I intended to share the news with Magnus first and have some romantic time, but he picked me up and carried me directly into Sienna''s arms. And then they told me to stay here since it was already late at night...¡±


    ¡°At least your partner has some sense about these matters,¡± Teresa reprimanded me as she grasped my hand. Then she threw Magnus an approving look. ¡°From what Sienna told me, the speed of the pregnancy gives reason for concern.¡±


    I waved it off. Sadly, I couldn''t share the reason for my assurance. ¡°Don''t worry, Mom. I feel fine! I''ve a good feeling about it. Very soon we will have three little ones in the house. Besides, there is other news we have to share.¡±


    Seeing that Etan was also peeking through the doorsill I sat up. ¡°Dad! You have to come in too!¡±


    Etan stepped into the room and Magnus stared at him with a look of incredulity.


    Dad was sporting the largest black eye I had ever seen on someone. It was swollen shut and looked like two plums were attached to his face.


    He nodded at me. ¡°Astra, we had to see you as soon as we heard. It¡¯s good to see you are fine. If- if you feel concerned about your pregnancy, you can always talk to us.¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡± I cleared my throat to interrupt the awkward moment. It was probably wisest not to mention the eye. ¡°Anyway... Magnus and I have uncovered another application for our Parallel Mind ability.¡±


    I quickly continued to share our new ¡®powers of deduction¡¯ with my parents and followed it up with an edited version of how the Thich''s mystery mutation might lead to more viable pairings, resulting in a population advantage.


    Given their age, my parents were a little more used to thinking decades ahead instead of just considering their immediate future.


    Etan was the first to speak up once I was done. ¡°We have to point this out to the Tates. If they can reinforce this argument with some supportive statistics it might be the argument we need to decide the vote in our favour. It doesn''t matter whether the Thich''s research is reality or not. The mere possibility might explain everything the Thich have done so far. Their extraordinary greed for all the women they can get their hands on would be explained.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°What if they already know some powerful and fertile mutation paths? Depending on the fertility we could be facing an unbeatable army forty or fifty years down the road. Every fertile woman they can get their hands on now may increase their numbers exponentially.¡±


    I wasn''t so sure whether my father''s interpretation was entirely correct. It still didn''t explain the need for sisters or twins, but there was no need to correct semantics right now.


    ¡°Well, at least our daughter''s fertility seems to be no problem,¡± Teresa patted my shoulder encouragingly. ¡°Sienna said you are trying for three at once?¡±


    ¡°I admit I was a bit shocked too,¡± I hedged. ¡°But I bet the family will be looking out for them, just like it was for me.¡±


    ¡°They will be lacking nothing,¡± Mom assured me.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I listened while the conversation drifted off to other topics. Meanwhile, I was careful not to stare at Etan, but I eventually noticed his gesture to follow him.


    We stepped onto the corridor outside the hospital room and allowed the women to have their mother-daughter moment.


    Once the door was closed, Etan spoke in a measured tone, ¡°I have to apologize. My wife vehemently pointed out that old age may have gotten me a little too used to a certain modus operandi. And while I must insist I wasn''t actively trying to kill you, my bitterness about the failed alliance caused a certain... neglect... in my actions. Neglect which isn''t befitting for the leader of a strata. A leader who sends a novice into the lion''s den for a test is no leader, but a fool. And if something dire had happened to you, my daughter likely would have killed me.¡±


    He offered me a hand. ¡°I will be honest. I still don''t like you, but I promise to do my job properly in the future.¡±


    I blinked at the offered hand, a little dumbfounded. The ball had been thrown into my court and I wasn''t sure what to think of it.


    Well, no matter my feelings, I had to work with this man in the future, so I took the offered hand.


    ¡°I appreciate the honesty. I don''t like you either, but I guess I can''t choose my father in law. If we can work together, then there will be no future trouble from my side. Astra explained how I may be a little short-sighted toward the clan''s social structure. Though, I still can''t find fault with throwing that asshole out of the elevator.¡±


    Etan sighed in dismay. ¡°What is done, is done. The news of your ability to withstand mental manipulations made the rounds, which means people won''t try this trick on you anymore. Or they will send someone a lot more capable. Whether that''s a good or a bad thing is for you to decide.¡±


    ¡°I understand what you mean,¡± I replied earnestly. ¡°But seriously, I left the mansion just a few times and was already messed with twice. People would have found out sooner or later. I prefer them knowing the consequences of trying and failing.¡±


    Etan considered me before he shrugged. ¡°It isn''t my way of thinking, but to each his own.¡±


    I was a little startled when I tried to take back my hand, but Etan didn''t let go.


    He leaned forward, invading my space. ¡°Gilbert told me you are abysmal with weapons?¡±


    ¡°Did he?¡± I smiled and refused to back down. ¡°Astra thought he liked me. No broken fingers and all that.¡±


    He huffed.


    ¡°From tomorrow onwards, you are going to report to the mansion''s training hall in full armour at 7 a.m. sharp,¡± Etan stated. ¡°Tell Sullivan to give you the armour you had during your hunt, without the support straps. Gilbert probably made it sound like putting on traditional treemonae armour is no different than switching shirts.¡±


    Etan finally let go of my hand.


    ¡°Traditional?¡± I asked. And wasn''t the armour Etan spoke of off-limits? Belonging to his great grandfather and all that?


    Etan sighed. ¡°Back when Earth abandoned the colonies, those who stayed behind quickly lost access to the old technologies. Because the computer systems were switched off, chaos reigned. The installed infrastructure no longer worked and society fell apart. Within weeks, most of the original colonists lost their lives.¡± He gestured at the hospital around us, likely meaning the colony as a whole. ¡°It took the clan centuries to reclaim all of this. Even now we struggle to keep it running. Have you ever tried to hard-wire a machine controlled by a microchip?¡±


    I seriously considered the question. ¡°I would probably rather throw the thing away and build a new one.¡±


    Etan nodded. ¡°Anyway. Back in the days of reclaiming the colony, the Frosts couldn''t craft worthwhile armour, but they learned to use their filaments to hold objects in place. Like bones, shells, or rocks. They came up with a complicated way of weaving the filaments around themselves to abuse them as external musculature. I am sure you already noticed how they are pretty useless when it comes to lateral force. But they can pull or push very well.¡±


    He grinned evilly. ¡°I won''t let you wear any armour before you have mastered the technique.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Thief***


    ¡°It''s weird,¡± my partner in crime commented while we dragged the large suitcase up the narrow airshaft.


    ¡°What''s weird?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Stealing documents from one strata, just to place them secretively in another''s archives?¡± he snorted. ¡°Come on, even you must realize something strange is going on. And when you walk through the other stratas, you can practically feel something brewing between the elders. Those in power are holding their cards close to their chests ever since the recruitment team returned with a few people short.¡±


    This was dangerous.


    I wondered what I should do, but my morality demanded to try at least once to set him right.


    He wasn''t wrong, but it was the wrong attitude to ask such questions. ¡°We weren''t paid to ask questions. We were paid extremely well to do a job. Namely, to get these documents into the Patel''s archives and that''s it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± my comrade replied with a smug expression as he came to a stop in front of one of the large ventilators which ensured constant airflow between levels. The narrow tunnel allowed us ''just so'' to kneel next to the ventilator and wait for our opportunity.


    ¡°But my question is this: Why would the Patels pay people to secretively deposit stolen documents in their public archives? Maybe someone is preparing a setup?¡±


    I eyed the ventilator blades while we waited for them to slow down. Roughly every four to five hours, the generators would be taken off the grid for a few minutes due to maintenance work. The large blades would slow down, allowing a particularly nimble person to pass through.


    This passage was an open secret among the third''s population. Spies, thieves and assassins had used these shafts to get around unseen from time immemorial.


    My old grandpa had shown me this shaft when he introduced me to the shadow trade.


    ''Kid,'' he always said. ''Always try to be the best at what you are doing, but see to it that someone better than you is watching your back.''


    He was right. I was a fool for taking some idiot with me on this mission just because he had a little reputation.


    ¡°What I am saying is this,¡± my comrade continued, unaware of me not paying attention to his grand plan. ¡°If we make this right, we can cash in double the rewards and-¡±


    I reached over and pushed his head sideways.


    Because of my leverage advantage, there was little my comrade could do.


    On the next pass, the ventilator blade took half of his face with it, painting the tunnel walls in a splatter of red.


    I quickly switched my grip to his collar and pulled the limp body away so that the ventilator blades wouldn''t get damaged unduly.


    The mess forced me to gag. Normally, I only stole stuff. But I eventually managed to pull the case out of his dead fingers and hugged it against my chest.


    ¡°Sorry, pal, but you reached a little higher than you should.¡±


    I stared at the whirring ventilator, hoping the maintenance crew would stick to their schedule, so I wouldn''t have to sit next to the body for too long. Sooner or later, the sphincter would loosen and the smell become unbearable.


    The pay for this job was good, too good in fact.


    My idiotic comrade had deduced correctly that there was another strata involved. The core of a wyrm was enough to start a new life, and a price only a strata could offer. It was nothing to get greedy over. There was no doubt my comrade would have tried to approach the Patels to make a deal with them. But once the Patels knew, there would be no getting out of this job unscathed.


    Like grandpa always said, ''Never get between the stratas or you will end up being toyed with.'' No matter how one turned it, playing one side against the other was a fool''s game. Someone would feel slighted and bring down the hammer.


    So I would finish this job and cash in big. Maybe take up residence in the central living cavern. Now that I didn''t have to share the spoils, I would have enough to find myself a good partner and settle down for a decade or two. It was enough to learn a new trade and start a different life. Maybe even apply for another strata, preferably one or two ranks higher than the third.


    One shouldn''t set the goal too high.


    ¡°Why wouldn''t you just do the job and take the payment?¡± I asked, but the body didn''t answer.

 Ch 53 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°This is no fun,¡± I grumbled and forced down the heartburn which had made its way up my throat and threatened to encroach on my tongue.


    I had been suffering through the downside of my newly acquired eating habits for the last two weeks. My pregnancy had been advancing rapidly, giving Thalia and Sienna reason for concern.


    Despite the unnatural speed at which my belly was growing, I felt fine apart from the need to stuff myself with all the food I could eat.


    I was in top health. Unfortunately, Thalia could only mitigate the obvious side effects of eating like a firehorn.


    ¡°I told you to stay at the hospital if you don''t feel up to it,¡± my mother commented. ¡°You don''t have to force yourself to sit in on these meetings.¡±


    ¡°I am not sick,¡± I insisted. ¡°It feels wrong to back out of my new job no sooner than starting it.¡±


    Teresa let out a frustrated harrumph but allowed me to follow her into the Hall of Law where I sat down next to her while the elders took their positions.


    The meeting began with some of the lighter themes concerning mere management issues. Recent reports indicated that the previously discussed generator was about to be completed. If everything went according to plan, the old generator would be replaced within the week.


    There was a strange side-note.


    Someone had died while crawling through the ventilator system and the smell had caused the inhabitants of one of the lower levels to complain. It wasn''t a pretty affair, but it happened now and then. The ventilator shafts were a famous smuggling route for the clan''s less honourable citizens.


    Unfortunately, it was impossible to shut down illegal access. The ventilation system''s nature required it to be everywhere. It was a labyrinth within the clan''s already labyrinthic tunnel system. Some passages were so old that nobody alive knew of them. It was practically impossible to guard every entrance, so the elders didn''t even try.


    I heroically suffered through the boring administration issues.


    Things became more interesting when Sienna and her partner, Richard Tate, presented a highly convoluted extrapolation of possible ramifications that resulted from the mystery mutations.


    The other elders were already familiar with the topic of Iv''s unique mutation, but this would be new to them.


    While the Tates began presenting the case, I sat straighter and paid careful attention to the elders'' reactions. Especially those who joined the faction against war. It was unlikely to happen, but I hoped to glean some insights into the dispositions the various strata held.


    My parents had advocated having the Tates present our fears to the other stratas and Sienna did a magnificent job at slowly guiding the assembly through one logical conclusion after the other, supporting each argument with statistics and experimental evidence she had gained from analysing Iv''s biology and by questioning the other two former Thich who had been conscripted into our strata.


    It was impossible to hide that we had no definitive proof, but Sienna did a decent job of obfuscating the lack of hard numbers with a chain of logical arguments.


    Some assumptions had to be involved, so Richard presented each conjecture in degrees of being likely and unlikely. The beauty of their presentation was that even if assuming best-case scenarios it left the listener with the bad feeling that it was still very likely for clan Thich to leave the rest of Tirnanog in the dust if their research ever succeeded.


    It took three-quarters of an hour until the elders were finally presented with the conclusion.


    ¡°... to sum it up,¡± Sienna finalized her presentation. ¡°Even if we completely mistook the experiments'' goals, our deductions will be one likely outcome. To make sure we wouldn''t present false findings we''ve spent weeks questioning Ivona and the others before we shared this with you. I am convinced the training program is actually a test setup.


    ¡°None of the people with Ivona''s violet mutation got the same evolutionary pathway! This means the Thich are still searching for more possible combinations. The number of people who got the same set of mutations is comparatively small according to Ivona''s recount. With around 10% of their candidates, this looks more like a test group which delivers known results!¡±


    Richard took over, ¡°I have personally questioned Ivona, and her lack of medical education is blatantly obvious, yet, what she described is a classic setup for experimentation on living subjects. Even if you accuse her of spinning a tale, there is no way she could have come up with this on her own. Nor did she have contact with people who could have instructed her on what to say.


    ¡°At this point I am certain the goal of their mystery mutation setup is to find more viable mutation combinations. More viable combinations mean more possibilities for powerful, fertile partnered pairs. More powerful, fertile people mean more births and more people in general. There is no getting around it. The only question is whether it is already happening, or whether it will happen sometime down the road. And as my wife has shown you, our time window for action will close within decades.¡±


    There was the noise of many people talking to each other as elders conferred either with their partners or with their scribes.


    Juliana Rumen got to her feet once she had given the gathering an opportunity for a private exchange. ¡°I understand if some of you see this as a reason for concern, but we shouldn''t be hasty. As you know, this would be the final vote on the matter of war. There would be no going back without violating our laws.¡±


    Her partner, Skye Rumen, looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone. ¡°We need a month to mobilize the fleet, so there is no point in forcing a decision before the snow starts melting. I gather that many of you would need time to digest this news anyway.¡±


    I leaned over to my mother and whispered, ¡°Shouldn''t we insist on a vote right now? What better chance could we have than with a presentation like this fresh in people''s minds? Humans already went to war for less than purely economical concerns.¡±


    Teresa raised a hand in a denying gesture and shook her head. ¡°The people in this room need more to have their current disposition swayed and we have a few more irons in the fire. After the first vote was burned prematurely, patience helps more than hastiness. Juliana is right. There''s no point in forcing a decision if it wouldn''t affect the future. Even if we decided to act now, the clan would still be forced to inaction for a few more months.¡±


    I pouted, but there was no point in arguing about known facts.


    The Rumen''s fleets departed the mountain every year to hunt for skywhales and young leviathans. They would be ready for war either way, but only once the snow was gone. It was a well-known fact that the ships wouldn''t fly beforehand. As long as snow still covered the ground, the weather was far too unpredictable.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Thanks to the floating sponges which absorbed light gasses from the atmosphere and stored them on their own, our airships could circumvent a lot of the problems which doomed the same technology on Earth.


    The sponges generated buoyancy almost for free which eliminated an airship''s cost factor to a large degree. All the sponges needed was water and fertilizer. But the ships were still giant gas balloons and therefore vulnerable to storms and strong winds.


    If an elder judged it would take a month to ready the clan for war without any of the other elders objecting, then I wasn''t the one to tell them otherwise.


    Xina Lloyd, elder of the fourteenth strata, raised a hand and Skye Rumen nodded, giving her the floor.


    Once she had the gathering¡¯s attention, Xina looked at me with a smirk on her lips.


    ¡°To speak about something celebratory for once. We heard rumours about our electric couple. It is said that Astra recently spent a lot of time in the hospital and I couldn''t help but steal a few glances today. Either our Astra put on some weight or...¡±


    She allowed her voice to trail off. The question was obvious.


    I found myself smiling with a frozen expression. The topic had to come up at some point, but I had hoped for a longer grace period. While Magnus and I had been a fresh couple, I had hoped for our union to stand beneath a lucky star because of the attention and influence it would bring. Anyone who could have children automatically jumped up a few ranks in the clan''s social strata, so to speak.


    But right now, with everyone staring at me with hopeful gazes, I suddenly wasn''t so eager for the attention. It drove home how few people could have kids.


    And even if it worked out, like for Kyra and Alex Mora, the child would sometimes end up with a set of mutations that were a tough match. Add a bad choice to the mix and misfortune turned into misery.


    Teresa used a filament to lightly slap me in the side beneath the table, waking me from my stupor.


    I cleared my throat, not wanting my voice to squeak or break at the wrong moment. ¡°That''s right. I''ve been told it would take time for things to work out, but it looks like Tulkas and I hit the jackpot.¡±


    ¡°Three jackpots! She has triplets!¡± Sienna added. ¡°The pregnancy is advancing a little fast, but I attribute it to the zipper mutation. The little monsters can breed very fast and we always see them with their first clutch of eggs ready when winter is over. I assume Astra''s biology changed to mirror theirs since it¡¯s her partner¡¯s primary.¡±


    There were several ''ohs'' and ''ahs'' among the crowd and people started clapping as the mood turned more congratulatory.


    Hayne Ortega, elder of the fifth strata, raised a hand.


    ¡°Doesn''t this mean we could boost our numbers and stay competitive without engaging the Thich in open warfare? If Astra''s evolutionary path can be replicated we could use the zipper mutation to start our own program.¡±


    I involuntarily pressed my lips together, knowing it wasn''t good if people latched onto this line of argumentation.


    Thankfully, Sienna was quick to respond. ¡°I don''t think we should base our actions on unfounded hopes. Astra''s state is a lucky windfall for our clan and if it turns out the zipper mutation is indeed responsible, all the better. Unfortunately, we won''t know until Astra gives birth ¨C repeatedly. Until then, it could be a fluke and we should treat it as such.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Even if what you are implying holds, we would still have to start up our breeding program, mirroring the Thich. I don''t know about you, but I certainly don''t want to replicate their methods!¡±


    Sienna looked around the room. ¡°Leaving people to their own choices, taking risks with your kids in hope of giving them better survival chances, or replicating well-known mutation paths. These are one thing.¡±


    She threw out a fist and hammered the blackboard which she had used for her presentation. ¡°I just gave you the recounts of three eye-witnesses of what the Thich are doing to their exiles! Ivona Elrod, Kastor Ramo, and Dafna Singh, all told the same story of how the Thich''s education camp works! People are being force-fed their mutations without a choice or say. If the latest experiment doesn''t work out, the subject is cast-off to one of the work camps which are nothing more than penal workforces if Kastor and Dafna are to be believed! With the number of people going into the education camps and the number of rejects, there is no question! The Thich are wildly trying untested combinations on people who don''t know what is done to them.¡±


    The doctor''s fiery eyes searched out every elder in the room. ¡°Even if Astra''s mutation path is a solution, we would still have to match the Thich''s variety. Which will undoubtedly be a result of their methods. If we want to match them, there would be no getting around replicating their methods. Setting up industrialized human experimentation is abhorrent and the Tates won''t be a part of it!¡±


    Hayne Ortega looked properly chagrined when several judgemental stares were directed his way.


    Sienna Tate wasn''t leading the richest or most powerful strata, but when someone made the doctor angry it tended to draw some stink-eye from more powerful people.


    Casey Ortega cleared her throat apologetically. ¡°I am sorry for my partner''s ill-considered suggestion. I am sure he didn''t mean to replicate the Thich''s immoral system and was unaware this would be what it takes to mirror their results. Clan Aerie can hardly say we wouldn''t do what it takes for survival, but I believe we aren''t quite desperate enough to copy the Thich.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t think of involuntary experiments on new exiles,¡± Hayne clarified himself quickly. ¡°More of volunteers. I guess the thought escaped my mouth before it was finished. I am sorry. We would have to use the zipper mutation on the few natural-born children we have, meaning it would be almost impossible to create the same effects as on Astra because the children would have a combination of their parent''s mutations. To get more zipper mutations as a primary, we would need blank slates, exiles, and the Thich are far ahead of us in that regard according to your representation.¡±


    Sienna seemed appeased by the apology and the meeting wound down after the heated exchange.


    Soon after, we got to leave and we took a carriage back home.


    Thalia and Sienna would have preferred it if I spent as much time as possible at the hospital to monitor my state.


    But I wouldn¡¯t have it.


    It was fine to visit them every second day, but staying in a hospital room was out of the question. I didn¡¯t want to think of myself as spoiled. Being within my own four walls just felt better, homely, and secure.


    Being anywhere else was becoming a little nerve-wracking now that I thought about it.


    An instinct maybe?


    I wasn¡¯t anywhere close to freaking out like Hector, but there was a little bit of anxiety and angst involved when I left the mansion.


    Once we were home, I instantly relaxed and went to my quarters where I almost stumbled over a body lying in the living room.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Magnus, what are you doing on the ground?!¡±


    ¡°Wallowing in my misery.¡± He imperiously waved a hand. ¡°You may go now, wench. I am utterly exhausted thanks to your father¡¯s gentle administrations.¡±


    I huffed and placed my hands on my hips. ¡°I will take that as a joke ¨C since I am most certainly not a ¡®wench¡¯! You may address me as princess in the future.¡±


    Our love for silly bantering was admittedly a little childish, but we had found a mutual interest in it. Two kindred souls, so to say.


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna!¡± he moaned.


    ¡°Get up. We still have to finish our training,¡± I instructed and poked him with a toe. ¡°Or should I lay on top of you?¡±


    ¡°Please no!¡± He quickly got to his hands and knees and took the Lotus position. ¡°Given your current circumstances, it would be quite threatening to life and health.¡±


    Ever since Gaia had given us some hints regarding our new abilities, we invested at least half an hour in honing them every day.


    ¡°You may be overdoing it a little today.¡± I narrowed my eyes at him. Pointing out my increasing weight was a low blow. But I also got down to the floor when he grinned.


    We mirrored each other and I offered him my hands, palms out.


    Instead of taking them, Magnus leaned in and placed his hands on my chest before he sighed and gave them a gentle squeeze.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I needed that after today. Having to deal with that geezer all day long...¡± He exaggeratedly shook himself in play-acted disgust. ¡°And, is it just my imagination, or did you get bigger?¡±


    He frowned and slowly massaged them as if judging their size.


    I Karate-chopped him on the forehead. ¡°Enough is enough! And Dad may be stupid at times, but he definitely doesn¡¯t look like an old geezer.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever heard about the saying, ''It¡¯s the inside that matters'' ? I was just trying to stroke your ego by complimenting your inferiority complex.¡±


    ¡°I feel like you are getting to know me a little too well.¡±


    He finally took the exercise seriously and took my hands, interlinking his fingers with mine.


    I relaxed and did my best to block out all the senses I was intricately familiar with. Instead, I directed all of my attention towards my second sight and the feeling of electricity tingling through my palms. The prickling energy was transferred in waveforms ¨C almost like sound waves.


    ¡®So, what should we talk about today?¡¯ Magnus asked without moving his mouth. ¡®I still think we should try it with other body parts too. Like boo-¡¯


    ¡®Don¡¯t say it, or I will chop you for real this time!¡¯ I admonished him. ¡®We can try with just touching filaments next.¡¯


    He shook himself. ¡®Can you remember what happened the last time we tried to play with our filaments? It took hours to unknot ourselves. I think boobs are a much better idea. They are round and soft and squishy. No danger of entanglemen-¡¯


    I chopped him.

 Ch 54 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Etan''s halberd glanced off my face-shield.


    Together with the scraping of steel on iobeetle shell I also felt the sharp snap of one his filaments strike my knee with the force of a steel cable under a few hundred kilos of tension.


    My own filaments acted as a buffer between the armour and my body and prevented heavy injury, but they couldn''t change physics.


    I roared as I was taken off my feet yet again. The power of the impact was enough to force me into an involuntary sideways somersault while I swung the spetum in an act of pure defiance.


    Etan raised his forearm and blocked with his bracer which shot out and deflected my weapon before it could come close. The elder''s filaments immediately pulled the piece of armament back into its proper place.


    It was his go-to move to minimize physical contact with me as much as possible.


    Since we started our daily training routine, I only managed to taser him into submission once ¨C right at the beginning of our training lessons. He had quickly wised up and no longer gave me any openings in that regard. Sadly, Etan had no problems enduring my electrocutions when it was just a short contact.


    In return I had gotten a thorough beating ¨C excuse me, training.


    But it had been worth it to see him lying on the ground, twitching. If offered the chance, I would do it again.


    ¡°You have to use your armour more actively!¡± Etan preached as his halberd came back for another swing.


    I rolled away and catapulted to my feet by using my filaments to push off with my shoulder pauldron instead of using an arm. My hands never left my weapon as I stabbed forward at the same time, fully intending to gut my father in law.


    ¡°Oops!¡± Etan dodged just in time by comically bending at the waist and parrying my spetum. ¡°Never stop listening to your instincts. You can defeat faster and stronger opponents thanks to Precognition. Are you sure you deserve my daughter?¡±


    ¡°If I wanted to, I could fry you with a few lightning bolts! I would like seeing you try to be faster than light,¡± I complained. ¡°But I believe Astra would have something to say about getting her Dad back lightly smoked!¡±


    ¡°Then try it!¡± Etan mocked. ¡°The first time you got me by surprise-¡±


    I held out a hand and formed a fist before I channelled all the power I could muster, aiming it right at Etan. An electrical discharge would always seek the path of least resistance, but I had found out some time ago that by combining the purely electric discharge with my evolving electromagnetic field technique, I could somewhat direct the attack.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Etan threw his halberd forward, hacking it into the ground just in time to use it as an impromptu lightning rod to ground out the arm-thick lightning bolt I had thrown at him.


    Before he could speak up, I launched another, just to show him that provoking me had its limits. Two full power attacks were enough to heat the halberd''s metal reinforcements to the point of glowing red. The wood first smoked, then ignited.


    Etan shook his hands from catching the edges of the first discharge and quickly ran for the rack with the blunt training weapons.


    I flash-stepped, appearing between him and his goal, already swinging the spetum.


    The elder actually caught the blade between the palms of his hands and tanked a short moment of electrocution before his filaments snapped and took me off my feet.


    Again!


    By the time I managed to get back up he had reached the weapon rack and grabbed himself a spear. The training weapons were all real metal, but dulled.


    He was already in position when I readied my training spetum. It left no question. He wasn''t fighting seriously.


    ¡°That''s actually a potent trick,¡± Etan lectured. ¡°But have you noticed that you are still a little disoriented when you use that flashy movement trick of yours? It leaves openings in your stance which you don''t have normally. You are also always moving in a straight line, which makes it predictable.¡±


    ¡°Then how about this!?¡± I engaged, this time utilizing my speed to stab four times in the blink of an eye.


    Etan blocked the third strike with his spear, moving just fast enough. The other attacks all got diverted by snapping filaments. They shot out from between his armour plates before snaking back in.


    The unexpected parry had me surprised. I hadn''t known he could do that!


    Another sharp ''snap'', and I was spinning once more, landing awkwardly on my hip because he had aimed for my ankles this time around.


    ¡°This is starting to hurt,¡± I complained, but rolled back to my feet nonetheless.


    ¡°Then let''s rest and go over your alignments once more,¡± Etan suggested. ¡°There is no point in training if you lose focus.¡±


    I sighed and slowly unwove my filaments to show Etan that the weaving he had taught me was still in place.


    Even with my new mental abilities it had taken some time to master the weaving technique which turned the Frost''s special armour into an exoskeleton with the filaments acting as its muscles.


    My filaments were just long enough at this point to use the technique.


    ¡°Show me the strider stance,¡± Etan instructed.


    I rewove my filaments and flexed the ones at the base of my spine awkwardly. This caused the armour''s extensions at my calves to slide out, giving me half a metre of additional height and adding a third joint to my feet.


    As it turned out, I had only worn half the armour when Sullivan gave it to me the first time.


    With the full set I now looked like a mixture between a futuristic biomech and medieval warrior. The impression was magnified by the strider stance, which was supposed to allow for faster running by making energy conservation more efficient. It was like having those spring-legs which were normally only provided to invalids with para-Olympic ambitions.


    Sadly, I had yet to master my sense of balance when using this technique.


    Etan waited until I stopped wobbling and pointed at the other end of the training hall. ¡°Run as fast as you can and come back. Don''t hit your head on the ceiling again.¡±


    I grumbled, but did as I was told, starting slowly this time. It wasn''t easy to find just the right balance between tautness and relaxation to give my filaments the necessary tension to act as springs, which was necessary for this type of movement.


    Once I reached the end of the hall, I didn''t stop. Instead, I jumped and landed with both feet on the wall. Thanks to strider stance, I bounced off without losing much of my momentum.


    I rolled off and got right back to running until I reached Etan and slowed down.


    It was the first time I hadn''t made a total fool of myself by face-planting into the ground or jumping high enough to nick the ten metre ceiling with my head.


    ¡°Better,¡± the elder acknowledged. ¡°Normal stance!¡±


    I slid the extensions back in and returned to feeling like a normal human and not some alien warrior.


    ¡°It works better if you use just the balls of your feet, like a dancer,¡± Etan instructed. ¡°Also, don''t try to force contact with the floor. Let the weave do the work for you when you are running. It''s just about redirecting the force into forward momentum when you take a step, instead of adding your own force to it. Also, pay attention to the filaments supporting your hips. If you do it right, you can practically sit inside your armour while the filaments do all the work.¡±


    I nodded and tasked several sub-identities with paying special attention to Etan''s suggestions. It was the first time for me to struggle with a new skill since I had gotten Parallel Minds.


    ¡°How am I doing?¡± I asked. ¡°On a scale of terrible to passable.¡±


    ¡°Not bad actually.¡± Etan''s reply was surprisingly positive. ¡°Most filament users need years of training before they can be trusted not to injure themselves with the art of armour weaving. You are already almost there, and with another month, you might actually be good at this. I assume your new mental ability gives you a huge boost with learning?¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± I confirmed.


    ¡°Sirs!¡± a shout interrupted us and I turned to find one of the female guards jogging towards us. ¡°We have an assistance request from the tenth! Farming cavern twenty-two was breached by a swarm of ratkin. The farmers evacuated everyone they could and sealed the access for the time being. The tenth doesn¡¯t believe they have the people to deal with the problem without suffering unacceptable losses.¡±


    Etan rolled his eyes but froze when they landed on me. ¡°This might be an opportunity.¡±


    He turned to the woman. ¡°Assemble a strike force of one hundred of our best. We will join up with them right away and take care of this.¡±


    ¡°Sir?¡± The guard looked slightly confused. ¡°I am sure the hunters can manage if you just sign the dispatch order.¡±


    ¡°I am sure,¡± Etan replied jovially. ¡°I believe it doesn''t hurt if the people get to see my daughter''s partner in action. He also has to see how we are doing things ¨C given he is intended to take a future leadership role. Nobody would say no to having an elder as backup if things get dire.¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± the guard confirmed.


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡± Etan made a shooing gesture. ¡°I am sure the troops don''t gather on their own.¡±


    I frowned beneath my faceplate while I regarded Etan in his armor ¨C which was a much fancier version of the one I wore. Compared to my rather dull black, his was a cobalt blue which was almost black, and there were intricate silver inlays which marked him as someone in charge.


    ¡°I still don''t have my own armour, or a weapon.¡±


    ¡°You can keep this one until Gilbert finishes yours.¡± He waved a hand dismissively. ¡°As for a weapon, I am sure Sullivan has an appropriate spear in his armoury. Unless you want to fight with a training weapon?¡±


    Of course, I didn''t want to fight with a dull weapon!


    I returned the rod of metal to the rack and we went to get additional gear from Sullivan.


    Not knowing what to expect, I went with the standard equipment. A pouch with metal balls and my throwing spears. Only, this time I didn''t need the quiver to hold the spears, and instead used my filaments to hold them to my back. I also grabbed my knife and a short sword as secondary weapons. As the main weapon, I chose a halberd with similar weight distribution to my old spetum.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    When I met back up with Etan, I was surprised to find he had chosen a spear and a tower shield.


    ¡°A shield? Seriously?¡± I asked. ¡°People warned me against any fighting style which requires standing up to a monster.¡±


    Etan only grinned in reply. ¡°A hunter has to choose his tools according to his prey.¡±


    We left the armoury while he explained. ¡°You may have already noticed that the ratkin defy the normal naming tradition which is predominant with most other native animals. That¡¯s because the ratkin are a self-sustaining group of deviants. Humans who went down a bad mutation path and escaped extermination.¡±


    I looked at him.


    He shrugged. ¡°Coming from Earth, I know what you are probably going to say, but there is no saving them. They retain a basic form of intelligence which allows them to swarm and use basic tools, but they are mostly instinct-driven. There is no way to cooperate with such creatures.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that a lot,¡± I commented. ¡°The changelings too. Astra didn¡¯t even want to discuss the matter of their grasp of speech.¡±


    Etan shrugged, looking unconcerned. ¡°You will learn that many creatures on this world are uncannily close to human level sentience. Too close for comfort. But even back on Earth there are birds who can mimic speech, or apes who use tools. Nobody would put them on the same level as humans. I am sure that if we ever manage to tame this world, there might be people who want to ¡®coexist¡¯ with these creatures. But right now, we simply don¡¯t have the luxury for idealism if we want to survive. As I see it, if there is no way to talk them out of killing us, killing them will put them out of their misery.¡±


    He walked faster, signalling the discussion of this topic was over.


    I nodded, still wondering whether there was some type of social taboo regarding such matters.


    We reached the manor¡¯s exit and found a group of one hundred people already waiting for our arrival. They barely fit into the entrance cavern, but had formed up in ranks nonetheless. There were also ten large wagons which should be able to transport ten people apiece.


    The elder clapped his hands together, looking proud. ¡°Ah, there we are. Who is in charge of the operation?¡±


    A woman who hadn¡¯t joined the ranks approached us and bowed to Etan. ¡°First hunter, Conla Leece at your service, Sir!¡±


    She looked human and was wearing light armour. The extremely long, pointed ears screamed elf, though the image was somewhat destroyed when Conla swivelled them around like antennae ¨C which looked just bizarre.


    ¡°Good, good.¡± Etan gestured at the much smaller family carriage. ¡°Everyone, mount up. Conla, you might join us. We have to discuss our involvement.¡±


    The hunters mounted their transports while Etan, Conla, and I chose the Frost¡¯s luxury version of a carriage.


    ¡°Conla, may I introduce you to my son in law, Tulkas. He is Astra¡¯s partner. I want to get him used to working with larger fighting groups. It seemed like this would be a good opportunity to get him some real combat experience.¡± Etan gestured at me with a jovial smile.


    I nodded at Conla, who was apparently a decorated hunter. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    Conla smiled but didn¡¯t seem pleased over having additional complications added to the operation. I could only guess what was going through her head. It was probably something along the line of having a VIP dropped on her head right before entering a hot zone.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you give Tulkas a short introduction on how we conduct business?¡± Etan suggested.


    For a moment, Conla¡¯s mask of professionalism slipped and she looked at Ethan as if he had lost his mind. Right now, my status was surely downgraded to VIP who wasn¡¯t even familiar with combat protocol!


    She sighed when the wagon rocked into motion and gathered herself before she began, ¡°We operate in teams of ten, with commanders and combat-roles clearly defined. The ideal composition of a team is two sensors who take the roles of team commanders, support and combat medics. Then we have three close range specialists, referred to as tanks. The remaining five are ranged combat and referred to as scouts. You can probably imagine that it¡¯s the tanks¡¯ job to intercept charging beasts while the scouts support from the rear and take care of reconnaissance. If we are lucky and get assistance from the ninth, we like to add two dedicated healers as focused combat medics, bringing group strength up to twelve.¡±


    Conla thought for a moment before she continued, ¡°I¡¯ll take the role of overall group commander for this mission. If I may ask,¡± she looked at Ethan, ¡°How am I to treat the two of you? It¡¯s a little much to incorporate someone new into team strategy right before going into battle.¡±


    At least she was nice enough not to call me untrained. It was also admirable that Conla was willing to speak her mind in front of a superior instead of just going along with his whims.


    Etan chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I wouldn¡¯t drop such an unreasonable task on you. We will join your command group as observers and you may use us as juggernauts if you deem it necessary. Don¡¯t hesitate to use Tulkas. The lad needs experience fighting monsters.¡±


    Conla looked a little relieved. ¡°That makes more sense.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a juggernaut supposed to do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A juggernaut excels in any form of combat compared to the average clanner,¡± Etan explained. ¡°Juggernauts are paired warriors whose mutations elevate them above the normal hunter. Their task is to go in and fuck shit up. If everything goes right, Conla will never have to call upon us. But if things go awry, she might send you in so her people have the chance to reform the line and change tactics.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that,¡± I commented drily. The role of a juggernaut sounded like it was only taken by the clan¡¯s strongest people. Things would have to be dire to send a juggernaut to the front-line. ¡°How likely is my involvement and what do I have to expect from these ratkin?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s likely for me to use you as a relief force,¡± Conla explained with a contemplative expression on her face. ¡°If you forgive me, I would rather use a resource at my hand than not use it and lose people.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± I acquiesced.


    ¡°As for what to expect,¡± she continued. ¡°The normal ratkin should be nothing more than an average unpaired warrior. You can expect clubs, sticks, teeth and claws. The trouble lies in their numbers and general disregard for the lives of their brethren when they swarm. Occasionally, there are variants who are much larger and stronger than the normal ones. These are close to the level of a paired warrior and I will probably send you in immediately if one shows itself ¨C instead of having normal hunters fight it.¡±


    Conla answered a few more of my questions ¨C like how likely it was to have access to a juggernaut.


    Not likely, as it turned out. Juggernauts were generally people close to an elder in combat power. Such a personage wouldn¡¯t have any trouble making a living on their own.


    It was only natural for them to accumulate resources quickly and gain a lot of influence. Someone like Etan couldn''t be bothered with the clan¡¯s weekly troubles and would only be called upon or contracted when there was a verified need for it. At most the clan had a few hundred people who could take up the role.


    Risking such powerful people in daily combat was also looked down upon. Not even the most powerful were immune to bad luck and losing a juggernaut to something like a ratkin invasion would be regarded as a blow to the clan¡¯s future. Juggernauts would only be called upon when the settlement faced an existential crisis.


    The vast majority of issues could be dealt with by hunting parties composed of specialists like Conla, who was a pure sensory type. Conla would have trouble dealing with a single ratkin, but her extraordinary sensory abilities gave her an amount of overview over the battlefield few others had without technology.


    Clan Aerie preferred to have people like her in leadership roles when it came to combat situations. In the heat of a fight, the time necessary to relay commands could often cost lives.


    Our time spent in the carriage felt much too short before we had to dismount in front of a large blast door, not too dissimilar to the one which had protected the last checkpoint before leaving the clan.


    The hunters dismounted and quickly stood to attention in ten rows of ten.


    Conla walked in front to address us.


    ¡°Okay people! This is a ratkin incursion. Should be a fairly standard breach job. From what we know, they invaded farming cavern twenty-two by digging a tunnel right into the agricultural sector. All the farmers who could do so got out, but there are sixteen people unaccounted for. With luck, they may have taken shelter somewhere. We will find out. We will go in there and clean out the cavern, then push on through the breach. A pioneer task force from the seventh is already on the way and it would be nice if everything is ready for them to bring in the machines and plug the hole asap. We can count ourselves lucky. The honoured elder and Tulkas, Astra¡¯s partner, are joining us today in the role of juggernauts. Are there any questions?¡±


    Nobody had any, but I was painfully aware of the gazes some of the hunters directed towards me ¨C almost as if in worship.


    Conla hadn¡¯t joked when she spoke about the high social status a juggernaut received.


    She gestured towards the blast door while she retrieved a foldable map from her thigh pocket. ¡°Team ten and the juggernauts stay with me. We have about two hundred metres of connection tunnel ahead of us. I want team one to four take the main tunnel. Advance slowly. Team five, take the parallel service tunnel to the left. I want nothing coming through a hole in our backs. The rest is reserve and takes the rear.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s gear was somewhat unique, which made them look like a ragtag group of mercenaries, but they moved like the experienced veterans they were supposed to be. The tanks took the lead and opened the heavy blast door while the scouts readied ranged weapons like bows and crossbows.


    Conla cursed when the tunnel beyond revealed pitch black darkness. ¡°They took out the lights!¡± She gestured. ¡°Team six, bring the support carriages and drop some glowmoss every few metres.¡±


    Slowly and silently, the group advanced and I decided to get myself some additional intel by activating Second Sight. To see over the heads of the leading teams I also went into strider stance.


    Twenty metres into the tunnel we encountered our first ratkin. Four of them were fighting over something and didn¡¯t even bother with the approaching humans.


    This quickly changed when a crossbow bolt sprouted from a ratkin¡¯s eye, followed by several more projectiles. One more creature fell to the initial barrage and the remaining two charged the tanks who cut them down with relatively little effort.


    Once the front-line groups had advanced over their foe, I could take a look at what the ratkin had been fighting over.


    A badly mangled human body, looking more like roadkill than a human being was lying on the ground. The ratkin had gnawed on him ¨C or her. I couldn¡¯t recognize the gender. The poacher Astra and I had rescued from the changeling broodmother¡¯s belly had looked only slightly worse.


    ¡°Poor bastard didn¡¯t run fast enough,¡± Conla commented. ¡°Just a few more metres. Must have been a let down when they closed the blast door right before his eyes.¡±


    I turned my attention towards the ratkin who looked nothing like the mutated humans I expected them to be. Covered in thick fur, their limbs were strangely elongated.


    With a lot of imagination, I could recognize human features in their faces ¨C or snouts. It was like someone had taken a 3D model of a human face and stretched it out to achieve the necessary anatomy for a snout with impossibly warped jaws filled with sharp teeth.


    The five fingers still looked human-ish, but were tipped by scythe-like claws.


    They also had a furry tail which was armed with a spiky tip at the end.


    ¡°It¡¯s the fucking Vermintide!¡± I commented while walking past one of the bodies.


    ¡°What?¡± Etan looked confused.


    ¡°Nothing relevant!¡± I sighed. ¡°I really need to find someone to talk to who took his second major in historic pop culture.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t made my secondary Master to gain acknowledgement or better job prospects. It had simply interested me and was supposedly a free mastership ¨C if only because nobody thought it to be worth any effort.


    We advanced further into the tunnel and more blood on the floor dimmed any hope of finding survivors.


    I didn¡¯t bother to ask where the bodies had gone.


    Seventy metres down the connection tunnel, we arrived at an intersection and stopped. Conla sent team seven into the side tunnel which was supposed to lead to a storage depot for unprocessed food-stocks.


    ¡°There is no need to advance before we know our backs are free,¡± Conla commented.


    Five minutes later, the sensors warned us of incoming hostiles. Then the attack came, a seemingly endless wave of ratkin flowed out of the main tunnel, only to be blocked by the front-line tanks.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of them.¡± Conla wasn¡¯t surprised and ordered her remaining backup to the front. Her ears twitched and she pointed down the side corridor. ¡°Tulkas, please go and support team seven. They are in trouble. Come back once they manage to sort themselves out.¡±


    I didn¡¯t ask questions and instead started running. Conla seemed like she knew what she was doing.


    The tunnel was long and straight, allowing me to bridge the distance quickly with a few flash steps.


    Team seven was really in trouble. My second sight allowed me to pick up on what I was charging into before I arrived.


    They were facing a similar wave of attackers, but three tanks weren¡¯t enough to reliably block all the ratkin. The tanks were forced to make a fighting retreat while the scouts picked off what made it past them.


    I selected a throwing spear from my back. My filaments handed it over my shoulder, placing the spear directly in my hand.


    When I charged past the two sensors in the rear of the overthrown formation, I hurled it at the group of ratkin who were piled on top of the slowest tank. There was really no way to miss the huge mass of tightly packed fur.


    It punched right through the soft targets, causing more screams of anguish down the tunnel.


    Another flash step took me past the scouts and retreating tanks.


    I swung my halberd like an axe at the monsters who were trying to crack open the downed tank¡¯s plate armour. I half expected them to dodge, or make some impossible move to block me like Etan always did.


    It didn¡¯t happen.


    I roared as the halberd chopped through the mob, severing limbs, torsos and heads with seeming ease.


    One of the creatures jumped me once the weapon had made its pass, but I reached in with a free hand and got the monster at the throat while one-handedly chopping at another.


    The monster¡¯s claws scratched ineffectively at the iobeetle armour before I shook it. There was an audible ¡®snap¡¯ and the creature went limp.


    I threw the body at the encroaching mass and pointed a fist, channeling a full power lightning strike.


    The snap of light and thunder, together with its impact on the front row of ratkin was enough to make the closest ones drop. The rest who got a taste of the electricity shrank back, which stopped the tide for the moment. It probably wasn¡¯t often for these creatures to meet something which made them pause.


    A short lull in the fight ensued and I used the chance to help the downed tank who was now beneath the pile of bodies which I had created.


    I grabbed him at the scruff of his plate armour and pulled him out before I sent him skittering over the tunnel¡¯s floor behind me.


    His comrades could see to him.


    Then I turned back to the ratkin. With the enemy in front and allies behind me, a smile stole itself onto my face and I started to chuckle, then laugh. It had been some time since I had this feeling of being the one with the power. I had first felt it after arriving on this world and coming to terms with my new body.


    I had lost it somewhere along the line as I was faced with increasingly stronger foes.


    But these ratkin weren¡¯t elders who could beat me up on a whim. With them, I was the predator and they the prey.


    I charged.

 Ch 55 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Etan***


    ¡°How is he doing?¡± I asked Conla while I eyed the hunters who were holding the line against the ''vermintide'', as Magnus had called it. It was a disturbingly apt description to come up with for someone who had encountered the ratkin for the first time.


    The sensor''s ears twitched. ¡°Disturbingly. I''ve never before seen ratkin hesitate to attack someone, aside from yourself, honoured elder.¡± She pursed her lips while she monitored my son in law through her superior senses. ¡°Thooough¡­ why is he laughing while he is fighting for his life? Is he mentally unstable?¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to worry,¡± I assured her. ¡°Thalia Tate screened him and gave him a pass. My son in law will be a boon to the clan.¡±


    He better be¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want to have a second argument over him with my wife.


    ¡°If you say so, honoured elder,¡± Conla acquiesced. ¡°We certainly need some positive news to make the rounds. My folk were a little distraught when this season''s economic statistics were published. Last year, we lost about three hundred people, but we had only around one hundred births, while the number of fertile pairings dropped beneath three hundred. A few more bad decades like this one and the clan is done. We''ve been in a downwards spiral and people are beginning to notice.¡±


    She interrupted to order the tanks who were holding the line to switch out with the rested reserve. ¡°Switch positions if you get tired! Fight properly or I will mark you down in the mission report. Just because we have an elder looking over our shoulders today doesn''t mean you can slack off in the second row!¡±


    I didn''t comment on Conla''s outburst, figuring she would know best when to dress down her people. Having me at their backs was an assurance against being overrun by the ratkin, but not against a claw unfortunately finding a gap in someone''s armour.


    Life was cheap in Tirnanog and it reflected on how the people dealt with high death rates.


    Losing people was unavoidable when the fauna constantly invaded our territory. Incursions like this one occurred daily and normally the various stratas dealt with most of them on their own.


    My people were only called upon when there was a great risk of losing an unreasonable amount of civilians.


    Conla returned to our original discussion, ¡°His skillset is well rounded. The ratkin seem not much of a challenge. Once it gets known that Astra landed such a powerful match, people will start talking.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I hummed in consent.


    There was no point in publicly validating Conla''s concerns, so I didn''t call her out on her obvious attempt at drawing information out of me.


    It was better if a subordinate felt comfortable with pointing out problems. Too many leaders had fallen into the trap of listening to yes-sayers who were too afraid to speak up. ¡°Please tell me when the situation turns dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Playing babysitter?¡± Conla asked.


    I sighed. ¡°Yes. My wife would gut me if something happened to him. And I suppose Astra would never speak to me again.¡±


    Conla looked slightly concerned. ¡°The sensors from team seven reported that there is a larger variant with the swarm they are facing, which is why I had them retreat and sent Tulkas. Should we call them back to minimize risk?¡±


    ¡°I am babysitting him, but I am not going to guide his hand while he fights beasts which should be his match,¡± I clarified. ¡°If there are two variants, you can warn me. He can deal with a single variant in close combat while a team assists from the rear.¡±


    ¡°Is it true that Astra is pregnant?¡± Conla switched topics yet again, apparently testing how far she could go with her questions.


    I looked at her. ¡°We are very informal with our highly accomplished hunters, but some things will only become public knowledge once the elders announce it.¡±


    ¡°Of course, honoured elder!¡± Conla was quick to turn the discussion back around. ¡°Tulkas pulled the tank who was being overwhelmed out of the fire. Are you sure I shouldn''t order them back? Having them retreat will cost us time, but it will be much safer to fight the ratkin with our combined force in the main tunnel.¡±


    ¡°There''s no need,¡± I denied the suggestion. ¡°The more witnesses to his capability, the better. As you said, the people need some positive news and he needs to establish himself as someone who can be relied upon as a leader.¡±


    She clicked her tongue a few times, giving team seven the command to re-establish their formation and to support Tulkas from the rear. The sensors with team seven would have no problem translating the instructions.


    The hunter code was a secret language taught only to sensors. It had been developed during the time of the clan wars and was frequently changed ever since.


    In a world in which a properly reared sensor could pick up on called commands from hundreds of metres away, a language which the enemy couldn''t understand was a necessity.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    The ratkin shrieked as I stomped down on its head, silencing it forever. Then I flowed to the side and back, slicing open another one of the creatures. The ratkin weren''t much of a challenge once I had gotten used to fighting them. They looked fearsome, but they were much too slow compared to me.


    Once my mind managed to see past the claws and teeth, I also realized they came in different sizes, but so far only the human-sized versions warranted caution. They were the ones who would jump the opponent while all the little ones, the kids, would rip into the victim.


    Fighting them had quickly turned into a rhythm.


    One step forward, slice ''em up!


    And retreat before the others could jump me!


    Let them stumble over the corpses of their brethren.


    And rinse repeat.


    If things got dicey, I didn''t hesitate to throw a lightning bolt to startle them.


    Meanwhile, team seven had picked up their downed tank and was advancing behind me while finishing off the injured Ratkin on the floor. Occasionally, I let one or two of the creatures slip past me to give them something to do.


    I saw it coming before it happened, but I was already too used to the grisly work to react in time.


    A huge bastard of a rat came bounding down the tunnel. It was knocking over ¨C and in some cases stepping on ¨C its kin just to get to me. Muscles rippled all over its body, making it seem like the thing had eaten three bodybuilders for breakfast.


    I readied the halberd, but the monster bounced sideways and pushed off the wall, making it impossible to swing the halberd at it with full power. The sudden change from mindless zerg-tactics to an opponent who acknowledged the existence of my weapon took me by surprise.


    All I could do was to bring the halberd forward and awkwardly stab at the monster while it barrelled into me.


    The halberd''s pointed head bit into the ratkin''s shoulder and was torn out upwards, mangling the beast. But it cared neither for the wound, nor the electric shock coursing through its body.


    It grunted while a clawed hand closed over my face. Then it tried to pluck off my head like a ripe berry. Thankfully, the weave made this not as easy as the creature imagined it to be. Several thick cords of filament were connecting every part of my armour. A single filament was strong, but it could be torn. Several of them could hold the strongest of opponents.


    My enemy realized this and tried to bash me into the ground while it pushed the halberd to the side.


    I didn''t let it.


    Snarling, I closed my legs around its torso and fumbled for its face with one hand while I freed the short sword from my belt. We struggled for a moment before the ratkin used its spiked tail to batter my side, which the armour blocked barely. I still expected to greet some new bruises once I took off my carapace.


    It was bizarre, but I could see everything through the flesh of the ratkin''s hand thanks to my Second Sight. The beast was lit up like some network of oriental chi-pathways which coalesced in several cores all over its body.


    This was no new development. I had noticed how some of the larger creatures looked different from the average animal I had hunted so far. But it was the first time I was getting close to something living that had cores.


    Then the beast tried to bite me, but I trusted my armour and rammed my entire arm down its throat ¨C an outcome it hadn''t expected as it began choking on my fist. From then on, all its attention was on trying to dislodge me.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Its distraction finally allowed me to free the short sword from its sheath and I rammed the weapon in between the ratkin''s ribs without hesitation. The blade had just enough reach to stab the largest mass of light inside the beast''s chest.


    The light, the core, winked out like it had never been and the ratkin froze as its eyes widened in a manner which was too close to a human''s for comfort.


    I chuckled and shoved my arm even deeper down its throat while I dug through the soft flesh inside it. My goal was one of the smaller cores which lay close to where a human would have his collarbone.


    My fingers caressed a hard bulge while the monster shuddered and choked.


    All of my attention was on the minute energy signals which coursed through the creature''s body.


    A feeling of anticipation slowly rose within me. My communication training with Astra might earn some unexpected results. Results which could be applied to other fields.


    It was something I had been curious about ever since learning about the cores!


    ¡°Hold it!¡± After fighting his way through the smaller ratkin, one of team seven''s tanks reached us and stabbed his broadsword into the mutant''s eye, all the way to the brain.


    All of a sudden, the monster relaxed and the energy coursing through its body went erratic.


    I realized there was nothing more to gain from this experiment and cursed.


    My fingers closed around the core and I ripped it out of the ratkin''s throat. It was a small one, its function a total mystery to me. As I watched, the mechanical organ stopped moving despite me trying to replicate the electric signal which had instructed it to do its thing ¨C whatever ¡®it¡¯ was.


    The tank who had ''saved'' me looked startled when he saw what I had been digging for.


    ¡°Why do ratkin have cores?¡± I asked. ¡°Aren''t they former humans?¡±


    ¡°How should I know?¡± the tank retorted. ¡°Do they look like humans to you?¡±


    Well, he had a point. Something had gone seriously wrong with the ratkin, making them more like the natural inhabitants ¨C animals ¨C of this world. I would have to ask Gaia about this at the next opportunity.


    I dropped the core and allowed the tank to help me up while the other hunters dealt with the last ratkin. It looked like the monsters had depleted their numbers right when the largest decided to try its luck.


    Seeing it was over, I re-sheathed my sword and picked up the halberd by using my foot to flip the weapon up into my hand.


    We won ¨C for the moment.


    Just a few metres further ahead lay the entrance to the food depot which was in utter chaos.


    I led the way inside and had to gag as foul air hit my nostrils like a brick.


    One last ratkin, much smaller and only reaching my hips, charged me and I backhanded it.


    The creature''s head evaporated in a shower of blood and bone.


    A sensor entered the large hall behind me and gagged before she retreated. ¡°Those filthy creatures! They shat everywhere!¡±


    She wasn''t wrong. Whatever had been stored here was no longer edible. The ratkin had broken all the crates without actually eating the green and white roots which were stored inside. I recognized them as the same radish-like plants which were always used to top up the standard stew.


    The Aerie had advanced their culture in several ways different from earth, but their culinary skills had shrivelled to a dried-out husk thanks to using only a very limited amount of ingredients in food preparation.


    The smell was nauseating and I didn''t even suffer the fate of enhanced olfactories.


    Just how much must this stench impact someone who enjoyed the benefits of enhanced smell?


    I scanned the hall with my Second Sight, but couldn''t see any signs of life. ¡°I see nothing with nightstalker vision.¡±


    The second sensor braved the room while covering her nose and mouth. She looked around and tapped her spear onto the ground three times before she fled and reported from the outside. ¡°No heartbeats. Airflow and echo suggest this is a dead end. No breach!¡±


    ¡°Conla says we should close the door and lock it, then return,¡± the sensor who had tried her luck first informed us.


    I left the depot ¨C also no longer able to stand it. Together with one of the tanks, we closed the heavy access door which sealed off the depot. A wheel and some gears levered a steel shaft into place which locked the door for good.


    One of the tanks approached me and handed me the throwing spear which I had fired down the hallway earlier. ¡°Thanks! I thought I was a goner when they piled on top of me. Can''t say I looked forward to these monsters slowly nibbling through my armour.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± I returned the spear to my back. ¡°It was fun, letting loose for once.¡±


    ¡°Fun!?¡± The tank opened the visor of his helmet and regarded me with an aghast expression. ¡°You had your entire arm down that beast''s throat to pluck out one of its cores. Are you trying to invent a new live-harvesting technique?¡±


    I pursed my lips beneath my helmet before I realized he couldn''t see my bemused expression. ¡°Something like it.¡±


    ¡°Conla says she wants you back with the main party,¡± one of the sensors said. ¡°Just go ahead. We will go slower and check the bodies, just to be sure they are all down for good.¡±


    I looked around before I nodded. ¡°If you think it''s necessary? They all look dead to my nightstalker vision.¡±


    I excused myself and jogged off.


    Since I didn''t know their protocols, I forewent a cheesy salute. So far, I hadn''t seen any military protocol aside from Conla bowing to Etan when she introduced herself. Maybe it just wasn''t their thing.


    Team seven followed me at a slower pace, but they weren''t overly diligent in checking all the corpses after I had pointed out that anything still living would be like a light-bulb to my vision.


    Shortly afterwards, I reached the main tunnel where the other teams had mopped up the ratkin horde. To my great relief I couldn''t make out any dead hunters, but a few tanks had retreated to the back and were nursing injuries.


    Seeing Etan and Conla waiting for me, I joined up with them. ¡°All done?¡±


    I eyed the tunnel which was covered knee-high in ratkin corpses. They had done a lot of work while I was on my support mission.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Conla motioned for her people. ¡°Advance slowly. We have to find the breach.¡±


    We proceeded down the tunnel until it widened into a wide hall with glowmoss on the ceiling and fertile soil on the ground. It was a field like any other ¨C just underground.


    Before the ratkin had vandalized it, it must have been meticulously pruned and taken care of. There was farming equipment lying all over the place, dropped where the farmers had abandoned their work.


    My eyes fell on the other side of the hall, where the wall had collapsed and a group of ratkin were eyeing us. They were guarding a jagged rift, a dark hole which didn¡¯t look like it belonged there.


    Three variant ratkin were towering over the rest of their brethren. The biggest one had a humongous club and was sneering at us with drool running down its snout.


    ¡°Advance!¡± Conla ordered. ¡°Scouts, fire at will.¡±


    The tanks didn''t charge their foe as I had seen in so many medieval movies but slowly walked towards the ratkin while keeping the formation. The scouts prepared their compound bows and pump-action crossbows but didn''t fire yet. The ceiling was much too low to rely on ranged arching fire.


    ¡°Can I take a shot?¡± I asked and retrieved a throwing spear from my back ¨C a new one. Sullivan had handed out the special poisoned variety today and I figured a used spear wouldn''t have the same effectiveness.


    Sullivan had advocated for poison on all of my equipment ever since he found out I had a high resistance to the most common toxins.


    Conla looked at me as if judging the worth of allowing me to play around before she returned her attention to her subordinates. ¡°Hunters, kneel!¡±


    At once, all the people in front of us knelt, not even questioning the order.


    I took a leaping step forward before I threw. My hand blurred as I put all the force I could muster into the throw.


    The largest ratkin moved its club to block, but my projectile hammered through the organic material and the ratkin''s torso before it buried itself in the wall behind the creature.


    I clicked my tongue, figuring a single small wound would at most hinder a beast that large.


    The monster regarded its destroyed club which had split down the middle before it stepped forward, pushing aside its kin. Right when I thought it would charge, it teetered and fell over like a felled tree.


    ¡°Holy heck,¡± I mumbled. ¡°What did Sullivan put on those spears?¡±


    Conla looked between me and the felled ratkin. ¡°Why didn''t you mention that you are a walking, human-sized ballista! Keep going!¡±


    I readied another spear and took a shot at one of the remaining large ratkin, but my target wasn''t so accommodating this time. The creature dodged and hissed, but I got some of the smaller ones. There was no way I could miss a group that was so tightly packed.


    Etan cleared his throat. ¡°Now, this is something to work on, Tulkas. You need speed and precision when it comes to ranged fights. Those throwing spears of yours might be nice to take out large, dumb targets, but they are a little too hefty when it comes to these middle-sized opponents.¡±


    He hummed. ¡°Maybe I should give a demonstration to remind everyone what an elder is capable of?¡±


    Conla bowed her head. ¡°It would be too kind of you to do some of our work for us.¡±


    Etan nodded and pointed a finger as if aiming a gun. All filaments on his body went taut.


    ¡°Careful now.¡±


    Two simultaneous twangs heralded a gust of explosive air. It was like someone had fired a high calibre sniping rifle with overcharged ammunition right next to my face.


    At the same moment, two lines of destruction were carved through the grouped up ratkin.


    One of the variants took Etan¡¯s attack right to the chest and exploded, its arms flying left and right while the head hopped upwards.


    The other was hit slightly off centre to the left of the hip. The explosion caused by the transferred kinetic energy tore off its leg and left the creature spinning to the side with a mewling howl. It had survived, but I had no illusions about it bleeding out sooner rather than later.


    Etan frowned and looked at his finger before he mumbled, ¡°That was supposed to hit the chest. Did Sullivan sneak me one of the copper flechettes again? He knows they don¡¯t weigh enough¡­¡±


    It took a moment before he looked at me, and I realized I was staring at him like some idiot.


    ¡°What are you waiting for! I still see eight more spears on your back!¡±


    After four more spears, the remaining ratkin, now bar their leaders, had enough and retreated into their hole without further conflict.


    ¡°I thought they would charge us,¡± I commented.


    ¡°They have some sense of self-preservation remaining in them,¡± Conla explained. ¡°There were less than forty left and we have ninety people here. With the ratkin, it''s all about numbers. They have more than you? They charge. They have fewer? They retreat and multiply until they can test you again. I suppose the only reason they stayed for so long was because of the fields with all the food. They hoped to intimidate us and keep their conquered territory.¡±


    She had the hunters advance and soon we stood at the jagged opening in the wall. It led into a tunnel which descended into the mountain at a steep angle.


    While the sensors checked out the tunnel my attention was drawn to the huge ratkin.


    It was still alive, if only barely.


    I grinned, seeing another chance to further my studies.


    While Etan and Conla were discussing how to proceed, I walked towards the seemingly lifeless body of the ratkin ogre. I drew my sword and stabbed it into the creature''s spine, severing it, just to be on the safe side.


    It didn''t even twitch, but through my Second Sight, I noticed its heartbeat increasing.


    With this, I was probably on a timer. I had to use my entire body to shoulder the ugly thing onto its back.


    Then I hacked into its chest. Getting through the ribcage was gruesome work, especially with the chosen tool, but I was afraid that using the halberd would do too much damage.


    Once the wound was sufficient, I went to my knees and dug in. This time, I aimed directly for the large core at the creature''s centre.


    When my fingers touched the beating, biomechanic organ I could feel the signals coursing through the monster''s body. Earlier, I didn''t have enough time to explore them, but now I could search for a pattern as I tasked as many sub-identities as possible to pay full attention.


    It took me maybe a minute of rummaging through the ratkin''s torso until it felt safe to proceed. Thankfully, the monster''s resilience was enough to prevent it from biting the dust like my first test subject.


    Once my sub-identities reintegrated it was like having an epiphany. There was no other way than to try, so I ripped the core out.


    This time, I used several filaments in addition to my hand and snaked them into the core, touching where I had felt the monster''s nervous system connect. It helped that this time it was one of the strange bio-mechanic pumps and I knew exactly what it was supposed to do.


    The core stuttered, but once my filaments took over, the steady pumping motion returned.


    I watched it for a good thirty seconds before I was sure it wouldn''t just suddenly stop beating. Feeling a rush of excitement, I held the core aloft and did what I had promised myself to do if this insane experiment should work out.


    ¡°Look! It''s moving! It''s moving! It''s alive! Mwahaha!¡±

 Ch 56 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I was just channelling my inner Dr. Frankenstein!¡± Magnus explained while the family was sitting around the mansion''s dining table.


    Normally, I had always been sitting next to my parents, but with Magnus¡¯s arrival, the sitting order had been changed up to avoid mistakes with the food.


    In the middle of the huge table, we had a pot with stew from which everyone could eat. In addition, Magnus and I had our separate selection of meats while Mom and Dad had their own across from us.


    Magnus¡¯s prize, the ratkin core, was also on display ¨C a macabre trophy which ruled tonight¡¯s topic.


    ¡°You could have told me what you were trying to do!¡± Etan complained. ¡°Instead, you just went and mutilated a corpse like some madman! While everyone was watching you!¡±


    I lifted the fork and took a bite from my medium raw hornhop steak. It was a welcome addition to my dull meat diet thanks to partnering up with Magnus. While the others bickered, I chewed slowly and enjoyed the show.


    ¡°Technically, it wasn''t a corpse, or I wouldn''t have been able to monitor the necessary nerve signals to keep the core running. The creature''s nervous system is giving off a constant ''I am alive'' notice. Without it, the cores just shut down. Assuredly to prevent outsiders from using them,¡± Magnus explained. ¡°And I have to say it was quite the overreaction when you slapped the core out of my hand and swore everyone to secrecy.¡±


    ¡°The pioneers from the seventh were about to arrive!¡± Etan exclaimed. ¡°I don''t expect the information ban to hold for more than a week before rumours begin making the rounds. Do you have any idea how big this is?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°If we can utilize a dead creature''s core... it could jump-start our way back to high technology! And you went and demonstrated it in front of a hundred people!¡±


    ¡°Hold your horses.¡± Magnus raised a hand. ¡°First, it was an experiment. I didn''t even know whether it would work. And if I understood correctly, then you guys don''t even know what half the cores inside a monster do. These heart-pumps are obvious, but I don''t get what the smaller ones are for. Not at all.¡±


    ¡°Did it ever occur to you to think about what it would have looked like if the experiment hadn¡¯t worked?¡± Etan narrowed his eyes. ¡°I remember you asking questions about cores! Hasn¡¯t anyone told you about the worms? If you could take one over-¡±


    ¡°Of course, I have,¡± Magnus rebuked him. ¡°I also remember Gilbert mentioning lots of your people dying due to the radiation afterwards. I am not going anywhere near those things unless you find one dying of old age.¡±


    Mother rubbed her temple and winced. ¡°You said that you would take him out to gather some reputation among the hunters. Not start a rumour mill about him being either the greatest prodigy our strata has or a total nut-job. Have you at least closed the breach?¡±


    Etan waved the matter off. ¡°The pioneers closed the ratkin¡¯s tunnel without further problems.¡± Then he turned on me. ¡°Astra, say something! He is your partner.¡±


    I slowly swallowed my meat before I spoke. ¡°Actually, I recognized the reference for what it was. I vaguely remember watching Frankenstein with my biological parents back on Earth.¡±


    ¡°See?¡± Magnus patted my head. ¡°I honestly thought about calling out ''Heureka!'', but figured it wouldn''t fit the situation. My other line was ''Kali Ma!'' from Indiana Jones. Or ¡®Kano wins!¡¯, but I thought it even less likely for anyone to get the reference.¡±


    ¡°Either of those would have made you sound like some creepy cultist,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Nine out of ten people wouldn''t have understood it. Maybe none at all. I am glad you chose to quote Frankenstein.¡±


    Mother groaned. ¡°Don''t encourage him, Astra!¡±


    I lightly chopped his forehead. ¡°Bad Magnus! You should have understood that Etan was trying to build up your reputation and acted all proper.¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°I can live with going down in the annals of history as the one who gave cores a better purpose than mere feed for a smelter.¡±


    I thought so too. Magnus and I had to do some extraordinary things if we ever wanted to step out of my parents'' shadow.


    But Etan''s and Teresa''s point of view was also understandable. ¡°Mom, Dad, I understand where you two are coming from, but maybe you are seeing the situation a little too much from an elder''s point of view. You two are essentially immortal. Even if you are trying to raise us as potential successors, it will be quite some time before we have to take over. At least I hope so. In the meantime, we have to forge our own path to gain recognition.¡±


    I turned to my partner. ¡°Magnus, I think it wasn''t quite the publicity disaster my parents are making it out to be. One bad rumour about you won¡¯t change much in the long run.¡±


    He smiled lovingly at me.


    ¡°But don''t do something like that at a public announcement like the annual festival where thousands of people would be watching you. Or I will strangle you myself,¡± I added, deadly serious.


    He stopped smiling.


    Teresa let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I suppose you are right, Astra. We don¡¯t even know yet what types of rumours will come out of this. Maybe the tale of his prowess will outweigh his odd behaviour.¡±


    ¡°I also would like to point out that we can use this.¡± I reached for the cleaned ratkin core on the table and inserted my filaments just as Magnus had shown me.


    It started pumping flawlessly once I began supplying it with power and added the code sequence which gave the ¡®alive¡¯ notification.


    I returned my attention to my partner. ¡°Magnus, I think with this and my pregnancy we have enough political capital to share ¡®it¡¯.¡±


    My partner frowned and looked at my parents before he returned his attention to me. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I am certain, Magnus.¡± I turned the core in my hands. ¡°This is huge and it''s something nobody can take away from us. Maybe we can even incorporate this into the weave and make ourselves even more powerful once Gilbert finishes the armour sets. The potential alone will make the elders hesitate to steal anything from you or me. They would have to be afraid of what we might become in the future. At the same time, we are also not yet in a position to threaten anyone. This would be the perfect time for negotiations with the elders on equal terms ¨C to not cause any unnecessary animosities between us. We will still have to live here, even after forcing their hands.¡±


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Mother dropped her fork and groaned. ¡°What did you do, Astra?¡±


    I didn¡¯t tell her anything but instead waited for my partner¡¯s approval.


    Magnus took my hand and smiled while he communicated with our new secret technique. It was something only the two of us knew about. ¡®If you say so. I trust your judgement in this, Astra.¡¯


    I turned to face my mother. ¡°I want you to know that, at first, we held this information back not only to protect you two and keep our cards close to the chest but also because we didn¡¯t know its value. To a large degree, we still do not. It was so you two would have the protection of plausible deniability if something slipped out. And-¡±


    They had to understand why I had chosen to withhold this.


    ¡°It¡¯s also Magnus¡¯s ace to force the clan to help him rescue his remaining sister. And before you complain, it was my idea not to share the information with anyone before we could confirm its worth.¡±


    Etan raised an inquisitive eyebrow.


    Once I had their full attention, I dove in. ¡°We told you about Magnus¡¯s history with the organisation. What we didn¡¯t tell you is that he managed to smuggle a nanolight storage chip with him when he left Earth. It contains all the step by step information to lift Tirnanog to Earth¡¯s technology standards.¡±


    My parents only blinked and stared on in incomprehension, so I decided to drop the final bomb before they could understand what this meant.


    ¡°Additionally, it has the master password to reactivate the colony¡¯s central supercomputer and some days ago I verified it¡¯s still working and connected to our power grid. With it, we should be able to read all the information on the chip at the very least. Maybe, we can even use it to reactivate some of the old tech we have in storage.¡±


    ¡°Supercomputer?¡± Teresa asked, confused. ¡°Where do we have a Supercomputer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an industrial high-end device,¡± Magnus explained. ¡°Practically impossible to destroy, since its original purpose was deep-sea mining. All the original colonies received one. The government sent it with the first colony some three hundred years ago, probably because repurposing the device was cheaper than designing something new. It¡¯s the big obsidian podium on which the gathering¡¯s chairmen are sitting.¡±


    My mother looked into the distance and scratched her cheek. ¡°So that¡¯s why Astra was suddenly so eager to be my scribe. I didn¡¯t know. How is it possible that we were sitting on such a thing all this time? I was born and grew up in Aerie. What I don¡¯t understand is why the Ortegas didn¡¯t transport it into their vaults. They are supposed to archive all the old tech for the good of all.¡±


    Etan snorted. ¡°Have you seen how big that podium is? You would have to break open the entire entrance to the Hall of Law. The original settlers must¡¯ve let it down through one of the large airshafts when they built the place. And if Magnus is right, then the families and stratas didn¡¯t exist at the time. I bet the original colonists simply abandoned the device when Earth shut down all the computer systems. And then they got gradually replaced with newcomers and we forgot.¡±


    He looked at me. ¡°You said it still works? How¡¯s that possible after all this time?¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not surprising. The mining platforms which these devices were built for were intended to be submerged in the ocean and forgotten. They would independently mine the ocean floor for decades or centuries and the investors would reap the benefits. The computer was built with a Type III specification. This means it¡¯s completely hermetically sealed and its components have a military rating with backup systems. Having it in the air in a dry space puts practically no stress on it, extending its lifetime. What I don¡¯t understand is why it would still have power. My people expected it to stand forgotten in some corner if it hadn¡¯t been destroyed by force. The greatest worry was that we would have to find a way to power it.¡±


    ¡°That surprised me too,¡± I added. ¡°I expected someone to cut the power line if it isn¡¯t in use. The wires and metals should be too valuable to be left alone.¡±


    Dad tilted his head. ¡°That¡¯s only true in part. Nobody would have destroyed the Hall of Law to loot some old cables. When the systems went down people surely had other worries than switching off and disconnecting all the old power lines to devices they thought to be inactive anyway. I must admit I am not well versed in this topic, but I also figure nobody had the ability to check where most of the energy went once they managed to rig up the new power generators. I know, the Torres like to make it sound like they have everything in order, but the truth is that they still don¡¯t know where all the power lines are installed. The architectural plans for the colony were lost together with everything else when the systems shut down¡­¡±


    We discussed the topic further but concluded that the only possibility to find out for sure was to log in to the computer system. Etan thought it likely enough that the computer still had some old, long-forgotten power connection.


    According to him, the Hall of Law had been the colony¡¯s central control hub once. Beneath the marble floor lay a Gordian¡¯s Knot worth of cables and other stuff.


    The maintenance crews from the third pulled out old stuff now and then, but since it was the Hall of Law most of the surrounding infrastructure had been lying untouched.


    Once we concluded dinner, I took Magnus with me to my next check-up at the hospital where we met up with Thalia.


    ¡°You want me to cut a microchip out of you?¡± Thalia regarded Magnus with a mocking expression. ¡°I know you are some kind of spy, but this is movie material. I suppose I am not allowed to tell my parents about it?¡±


    ¡°Just tell them that I will explain during tomorrow¡¯s gathering at the Hall of Law,¡± I told Thalia.


    ¡°So it¡¯s something big,¡± my friend concluded.


    I had no illusions about her and her parents sharing everything sooner or later due to their unique mental abilities. But it was unlikely for the Tates to cause any trouble if they were promised their questions would be answered at the next meeting.


    ¡°Fine, but I will need some special equipment for this.¡± Thalia gestured for us to follow her.


    ¡°Special equipment?¡± Magnus asked worriedly. ¡°Just cut it out and be done with it. We are just here because Astra refused to do it herself.¡±


    I cleared my throat. ¡°Magnus, I am good at dressing game, but I¡¯ve never operated on someone ¨C and have you seen yourself in a mirror recently? When you told me where the chip is located, I knew we would need to ask the Tates for help.¡±


    ¡°Where exactly did they put it?¡± Thalia asked.


    ¡°Right at the back of my left thigh where all the fat tissue is. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem to cut it out. If I was flexible enough, I would do it myself.¡± Magnus reached down to his thigh where the chip had been implanted. ¡°Oh!¡±


    Having seen ¨C and felt ¨C him naked often enough, I already knew what he hadn¡¯t thought about. ¡°Muscles,¡± I affirmed.


    The zipper mutation was a little peculiar, in that it changed all of a person¡¯s fat tissue into muscles. ¡°Still remember when you got punched to kingdom come and your skin and flesh were gone but the muscles remained unaffected?¡±


    ¡°That might be a problem,¡± my partner admitted sheepishly.


    Thalia eyed us contemplatively over her shoulder while she was walking. ¡°I suppose I better find some pliers.¡±


    Half an hour later we had Magnus complaining while lying on his belly on an operating table. ¡°It twinges.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby,¡± Thalia replied while she pried apart dark, fibrous muscle tissue. ¡°I gave you the most powerful local anaesthetic I had on hand. More and I would be afraid of killing you. Your poison resistance is monstrous.¡±


    I watched the operation in silent fascination while I held two pliers for my much weaker friend.


    ¡°Wirecutter!¡±


    I handed Thalia the dubious medical instrument. ¡°Why would you people have a wire cutter in your surgery toolbox?¡±


    ¡°You two aren¡¯t the only ones with resilience enhancements,¡± Thalia hissed while she snapped one of the muscle strands to free the chip.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Magnus called out and hit the metal operating table with his fist, denting it.


    ¡°Hey! Control yourself,¡± Thalia reprimanded him and cut out another strand before she finally managed to retrieve the chip with a tweezer.


    She placed the chip in a surgeon¡¯s bowl and added the removed muscle to the others on a Petri dish before she began sewing Magnus up with practised movements.


    The chip was a flat piece of what looked like murky glass with rounded edges. It was two centimetres in length and about eight millimetres wide. If it weren¡¯t for the golden lining on one side, I would have taken it to be any old piece of glass. But according to Magnus, it was the world¡¯s best method for permanent information storage.


    Once Magnus was cleaned up and turned back around, his eyes fell immediately on the Petri dish. ¡°Did you vivisect me!?¡±


    ¡°Just a little,¡± Thalia admitted. ¡°It will grow back. I have to take a look at these muscles. I have a theory that they are some form of hybrid between a battery and a capacitor for them to be able to deliver such a high power output in relatively short time intervals. In any case, this operation at least confirmed my suspicion that your musculature is no longer purely organic.¡±


    She brought them over to a microscope. ¡°These look like countless little capacitor cells if you ask me. When you look at the cross-section where I cut, they look like a winding element which can be statically charged.¡±


    Magnus sighed and rubbed his thigh.


    I smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek to make the pain go away.


    ¡°Anyway¡­ shouldn¡¯t Iv be around here somewhere? I haven¡¯t seen her today.¡±

 Ch 57 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Thalia fidgeted as she led us towards the part of the hospital where Iv was normally providing her blood donations and daily examinations.


    My friend tried to overtake my partner. ¡°It''s exaggerated to check on the girl like an over-protective hen. Why don''t you wait in the lobby and I will get her once she is done. You really shouldn''t stress your foot right after the operation! Oh my, when I took those samples I didn''t expect you to run off right away.¡±


    Magnus just kept hobbling forward.


    ¡°Magnus, if you could just sit down for a few minutes? I will go and get her. You are making me feel bad with your stubbornness.¡± Thalia placed a hand on Magnus''s upper arm and looked deep into his eyes with a doe-like expression.


    I knew what she was trying to do, but unfortunately, she had done a little too good of a job at training my partner''s resistance against mental attacks.


    ¡°It''s really fine, Thalia. It just feels like a bad cramp''s all,¡± Magnus argued while he hobbled forwards, unerringly seeking out his sister. ¡°And now I am more certain than ever that I have to find out what''s going on.¡±


    Thalia clicked her tongue and circled Magnus in her efforts to sway him, but he couldn''t be deterred.


    At least she had managed to make him use a crutch for the time being.


    ¡°Hold this.¡± Magnus threw me the data chip and I caught it before quickly storing it away inside a pocket which I formed with my filaments.


    Magnus''s Second Sight had likely picked up on the same thing I had. Thankfully, he hadn''t yet recognized the second energy signature which was with his sister or he would have blown up like a volcano.


    But I had. Though I couldn''t fathom how such a thing was possible. I had my suspicions, though. Thalia had mentioned a new treatment for the Mora scion.


    I followed the two without saying a word. Thalia had been my friend ever since I arrived in Tirnanog and she was exceptional with people, but she never managed to hide her feelings all that well. Magnus could sense her insecurity like a firehorn smelling blood and he was now determined to find out what his sister was doing when she disappeared into the hospital every evening.


    My partner bashed open the door to the hospital room and gasped in horror when he saw his sister.


    I managed to take a peek over Magnus''s shoulder at Ivona and Hector lovingly hugging each other and kissing. She was attached to a blood bag which was hanging on an IV-stand, while he still had his arm in a sling.


    ¡°Ivona Elrod! Get away from that piece of trash!¡±


    Magnus''s outraged words struck as if they had belted the two lovers, causing both to jump in surprise.


    His reaction surprised even me. I hadn''t known that Magnus could get so emotional when he was angry. Even when he got emotional while within my presence, so far, he had always retained a certain level of reason.


    His sisters were apparently a topic which could make him lose control.


    ¡°M- M- Magnus!¡± Ivona stepped in front of Hector. ¡°It''s not what it looks like!¡±


    ¡°What it looks like?¡± Magnus screamed. ¡°You are seventeen and he is Astra''s age!¡±


    ¡°Thirty-one,¡± I coughed ¨C unhelpfully.


    Personally, I didn''t see the pairing as a problem age-wise.


    But I understood where Magnus was coming from. Back on Earth, a partnership between a seventeen-year-old and a grown man of thirty-one would have raised eyebrows. A difference of fourteen years certainly made it sound like Hector was robbing the cradle.


    And Magnus was pretty old-school on topics such as these. When I had taken him as a partner, the seven-year difference between the two of us had him concerned. Fourteen certainly blew the kettle for him.


    ¡°S- sister!?¡± Hector''s head spun between his lover and Magnus. ¡°S- seventeen? Didn''t you say you are nineteen?¡±


    That probably didn''t make it much better.


    I took a dainty step backwards, having no intention of getting caught in the crossfire.


    ¡°So you admit it then!¡± Magnus dropped his crutch and charged Hector while Thalia threw herself bodily at Magnus and hugged him around the waist.


    The added weight of an entire human being, combined with Magnus''s injury, and Ivona playing interference gave Hector just enough room to dodge my infuriated partner.


    Though, it was a close call.


    Had any of the three things hindering him not been there, Magnus would have caught his prey right then and there. But as it was, and thanks to Hector''s feet being fine he managed to escape the initial onslaught.


    Consequently, the room turned into a madhouse.


    Hector ran from the livid man going after him. He even used the furniture to block Magnus while he was slowly driven into a corner.


    Meanwhile, Thalia was hanging off Magnus''s hips and calling for him to stop ¨C lest he injured himself.


    Iv was screaming hysterically while she tried to get in between her brother and lover.


    I watched the unlikely scene in incredulity until I realized what I found so off-putting. Hector didn''t seem to be mad or emotionally unhinged. No, instead he actively tried to avoid a second confrontation with Magnus.


    This wasn''t something the Hector I knew would do. I only ever knew him as an unhinged psycho who followed whichever direction his emotions swung at the moment.


    Iv abandoned her attempts at getting between the two men and ran up to me. ¡°You have to stop them! He is going to kill Hector!¡±


    I looked down at my bloated belly before I gave Iv ''the look''. ¡°What am I supposed to do? Throw myself between two fighting men in my state?¡±


    My attention was drawn back to the room where a large cupboard had been thrown over and its contents spilled all over the floor. Magnus had caught Hector and was trying to choke the life out of him.


    ¡°Besides, he ain''t gonna kill him,¡± I commented. ¡°If he had tried to go for a quick kill he would have already thrown a few lightning bolts.¡±


    Iv turned around and saw what her short ceasing of rendering support had wrought. She ran back to the two squabblers and tried to pry Magnus''s hands off Hector''s throat.


    No matter Hector''s strange behaviour, I couldn''t find it in me to care for the man. What had me worried though was that Iv seemed to genuinely like him. Just what had happened between the two of them?


    ¡°I am going to make this slow!¡± Magnus threatened as he lifted the other man a few centimetres off the ground while Hector tried to gain some breathing room with his remaining hand. ¡°I will squeeze until either your eyes pop out or your neck gives!¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    All the while, Thalia and Iv were hanging off of Magnus''s arms and screaming for him to stop.


    Hector''s face was already changing colours when he finally decided to do something about being choked to death. His hand turned suddenly pale and icy mist condensed atop his skin as he touched Magnus''s hand.


    A similar effect covered Hector''s throat as a protective sheet of ice oozed from his pores.


    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Magnus ripped his hands away. Some skin stayed behind where it had touched Hector¡¯s ice and flash-frozen instantly. It was like someone had spilled liquid nitrogen.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Thalia screamed.


    I sighed. ¡°Maybe this is getting out of hand.¡±


    There was no love lost between me and Hector, but I couldn''t have the relationship between the Frosts and the Moras deteriorate even further. My parents would lose their marbles if we returned home just to lay the next incident at their feet.


    Allowing my filaments to billow out and unfold, I almost instantly covered the entire room. They had no way to escape the silken entrapment as I wrapped up everyone indiscriminately.


    Magnus and Hector took a few more filaments to hold them, but they quickly succumbed to the method of quantity over quality. Magnus tried to shock himself free, but I could absorb the electricity easily enough without transferring it to Thalia, Iv or Hector.


    ¡°Blessed silence,¡± I mumbled once the hysteria was over and I was left with nothing more than four muffled cocoons. I hadn''t noticed it before, but their antics had caused me at the very least some raised blood pressure.


    I slowly untangled Thalia first ¨C only because I didn''t expect her to get violent.


    Instead of asking questions, I simply smiled at my friend. She knew exactly what I wanted to know.


    ¡°It wasn''t my idea,¡± Thalia defended herself. ¡°And I promise, I did absolutely nothing aside from facilitating the first meeting under controlled circumstances.¡±


    Whose idea was it then?


    ¡°Teresa and Sienna came up with it once the properties of Iv''s blood became known,¡± Thalia explained quickly. ¡°You know probably best of all people how bad Hector was doing. If it hadn''t been for his parents, the clan would have already put him down. And you have seen how well he was doing with Iv. Two days ago, the two of them went on a date in public with lots of people and there wasn''t a single incident!¡±


    I massaged my temple. No matter how hard I tried, the idea of a sociable Hector was just¡­ alien.


    My parents had tried to make me comfortable with my ''intended'' partner since my fifteenth birthday. Which included regular dinners, family visits, and social events.


    When the subtle pressuring culminated in several forced dates which ended with Hector and me coming to blows, I did the only sensible thing I could come up with.


    Being unavailable.


    I filed for a spot on the recruitment team and made myself scarce for most of the year. At first, I hadn''t even actively tried to find a partner, but the older I got, the less acceptable it was to join a traditional event which was intended for young, unattached adults of wealthy families who had no other prospects.


    My filaments righted a chair which had been thrown over and I sat down before I slowly let go of Iv.


    She wriggled free as soon as possible, having had enough of my filaments.


    ¡°I honestly don''t know what to think,¡± I admitted.


    ¡°Maybe it''s not your place to think anything? You are not my mother,¡± Iv pointed out. ¡°I like Hector. We are dating. And no, I won''t partner up with him without careful consideration. I''ve already talked with Sienna about our compatibility.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I am your sister in law. The cocoon there on the ground is your brother. You are a Frost. If not by blood, then in name and that''s everything our house cares about. Doesn''t that entitle us to know when you are dating the scion of another powerful family?¡±


    Iv fiddled with her fingers. ¡°Teresa knows...¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Of course she does.¡±


    She pointed. ¡°Please, let go of Hector. He did nothing wrong.¡±


    I started only with Hector''s head. ¡°Hello, Hector. How are you doing?¡±


    He blinked at me. ¡°Well enough, considering what just went down in here.¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°You are feeling fine? No sudden emotional breakdowns? No rich-kid entitlement?¡±


    ¡°If you want to hear an apology, then fine. I am sorry.¡± He huffed. ¡°I am sorry for what I did to you and how I behaved while I wasn''t in total control of my mental faculties. If I could have done anything differently from my current point of view, I would have. But as it is, I don''t even want to pretend I could fix our relationship. I can only say that if it''s up to me, the old Hector is dead.¡±


    This wasn''t the Hector I knew. The old Hector would have screamed for the guards while spitting curses at me and the indignity of being bound like a mere criminal. He would have demanded satisfaction for being attacked right before ordering any and all within the room to do whatever whim would please him.


    I looked at Thalia. ¡°That''s really strong stuff you are giving him.¡±


    ¡°It''s really just Iv''s blood plasma with the therein contained relaxants. Nothing else,¡± Thalia pointed out. ¡°Mom hopes that if the two of them pair up, Hector might be permanently healed. No, she is sure of it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I hummed and let him go.


    Hector tentatively got to his feet.


    ¡°And even if not,¡± Iv spoke up while she linked arms with Hector. ¡°It''s not like donating some blood once a day hurts me. It wouldn''t even be as much as I am currently giving. Most of it is used up for Thalia''s and Sienna''s research.¡±


    My eyes fell on Hector''s and Iv''s linked arms. ¡°You know who Hector is? How he is¡­ was?¡±


    ¡°No, I don''t,¡± Iv retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t care how he was without me. All that matters is how he is with me. I''ve only ever met him since he was hospitalized and so far he has been nothing but a real gentleman.¡±


    ¡°You know-¡± Hector raised a finger while pointedly not looking at Iv. ¡°Could we go back to where you told me you were nineteen, and now it turns out you are seventeen? And I didn''t know ¡®he¡¯ is your brother!¡± Hector pointed an accusing finger at the Magnus-cocoon.


    Iv tsked. ¡°I made myself a little older. So what? We are both essentially immortal. Yes, right now some prudes might frown at the age difference. But, tell me, who will care in twenty or forty years? Is it still a problem when I am fifty-seven and you seventy-one?¡±


    ¡°The point is that he cares.¡± Hector pointed again. ¡°And I like my arms bending in the right direction!¡± He coughed and tried to scratch at his neck before he realized he couldn''t.


    Then he peeled away the thick layer of ice like a toby frill. ¡°It would have been appropriate for me to ask your parents to court you. At the very least.¡±


    The Mora were famous for hunting icewyrms, creatures with a fundamentally different physique based on liquid nitrogen. Any liquids in their bodies could turn to ice almost at will which was a powerful defensive ability. Its offensive capabilities also couldn''t be scoffed at, assuming an enemy was forced to stay close enough to suffer severe frostburn.


    Magnus started wriggling somewhat fiercely and I decided to free his head.


    ¡°I forbid it! You are not going to take away my little sister right after I got her back!¡± he fumed. ¡°You are too old for her!¡±


    ¡°On that one, we agree.¡±


    Hector''s reply stopped Magnus in his tracks. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Hector!¡± Iv exclaimed.


    Hector took Iv''s hand in his. ¡°I love you and that won''t change, Iv. You are my best chance at a normal life. But that also means our relationship has to be done right. I''ve lived my entire life as a social pariah and I won''t replace one reason for isolation with another.¡±


    He looked at me. ¡°Could you please untie your partner so we can speak properly?¡±


    Well, it was his funeral. Magnus wouldn''t fall for the ice-trick twice. I undid my partner''s restraints and he quickly got up.


    ¡°Magnus,¡± Hector began. ¡°I have no ill intentions towards your sister ¨C or you. I understand your feelings on the matter and I won''t touch Ivona without her permission or yours.¡±


    ¡°Hector!¡± Now Iv was upset. ¡°It''s not up to my brother to decide this!¡±


    Hector didn''t even look to the side. ¡°As long as he feels responsible for you, it is.¡±


    Magnus looked like he was conflicted on whether he should punch the man or hug him and call him brother.


    Hector offered Magnus a hand. ¡°Can we try this again? Ivona told me about your missing youngest. Once my parents are no longer concerned about my well-being I might be able to sway their opinion in your favour. I heard you need the clan''s help to get her back.¡±


    Actually, I hadn''t thought about that in the heat of the moment! Was this my mother¡¯s plan all along?


    ''Do it,'' I voiced at Magnus.


    Magnus looked like he had bitten into something sour, but rationality won out and he took Hector''s hand. ¡°If you touch her before she''s eighteen, or hurt her, I will punch you for real. And there will be no coming back from that.¡±


    ¡°I am eighteen!¡± Iv insisted.


    ¡°No, you are not!¡± Magnus raised a finger.


    I stood up and quickly stepped in by pushing down my partner''s finger before things could devolve into incessant screaming again. ¡°Why don''t we try talking to each other?¡±


    I looked pointedly around the thoroughly destroyed room. ¡°I am sure everyone can agree that things got a little out of control in the heat of the moment. Let¡¯s write it off as a misunderstanding. Magnus, why don''t you extend some trust towards Iv? She managed to get by so far on her own. All while thinking for herself. I am sure she isn''t someone who would partner up with someone because of hormones and get her life ruined.¡±


    I turned and glared at the young woman on Hector''s arm, hoping she wouldn¡¯t disappoint me. ¡°Iv, why don''t you apologize to your brother?¡±


    ¡°Why-¡±


    ¡°Because!¡± I interrupted firmly. ¡°All this mess wouldn''t have happened if we had known that Hector and you had supervision from Teresa and Sienna! Tempers would have likely flared high, but we wouldn''t have squabbled like little children!¡±


    Thalia looked at the floor and Iv mimicked her by fixating on a convenient wall.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    I smiled and interlaced my fingers with Magnus''s before I decided to give him secret counselling, ''Tell her that you are sorry.''


    ''What? Why?'' he somehow managed to sound indignant.


    ''To acknowledge that she is her own person and to show that you trust her,'' I said. ''Quick now!''


    Magnus huffed. ¡°I am also sorry, Iv. In hindsight, I might have overreacted slightly, but I thought the worst when I saw you ¨C and him. With... this world not having any take-backs... and such... I was afraid I had failed to protect you... again.¡±


    Iv''s stony mien softened. ¡°Thanks for worrying about me. You are still the same oaf I knew from Earth, but you are my oaf.¡± She extricated herself from Hector and stepped in to hug her brother.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I turned them towards the door. ¡°Why don''t we all go home now? I am getting hungry again.¡±

 Ch 58 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Astra was... eating...


    Three men''s worth of food, in fact


    So I decided to make myself scarce.


    My wife''s appetite had increased to supernatural levels. The same was the case for her size, but I was far too smart to even hint I had noticed ¨C or that it bothered me. Every time my tongue threatened to escape the control of my brain, all of my spidey senses tingled thanks to Precognition.


    I knew something horrible would happen if I wagged my tongue, so I said nothing.


    Unfortunately for Astra, her ability to pack away what the family servants sacrificed on the altar of her dinner plate had not undergone the same transformation.


    It would take her some time to satiate herself.


    I figured sitting next to her, watching her while she ate and ate, would pose an entirely different dilemma once she became aware of the situation.


    In a way, I was protecting her by not being at her side.


    It wasn''t like I didn''t need some time for myself anyway. I needed to cool down, order my thoughts, and get my head straight.


    My reaction to seeing Iv with Hector had opened a mental abyss I hadn''t been prepared for. I liked to think of myself as a rational person, so the incident bothered me more than I wanted to admit.


    Thankfully, Astra was there to prevent the worst.


    I blew all my safety fuses when I saw Iv in that man''s embrace. The mere idea still didn''t sit right with me. If my partner hadn''t forcefully ended the fight, I would have killed the guy.


    And then what?


    Should we have gone back to Etan and Teresa and brought them the news of another diplomatic fiasco? That would have been bad ¨C catastrophic even.


    I never thought it possible for me to flip out in such a way. I was the calm and rational type, but ever since I arrived here on Tirnanog, I was beginning to slip.


    It was a problem.


    Unfortunately, I didn''t believe some mutation was at fault. No.


    Thinking back, I believe my slip-ups began when I found Ivona hale enough to reconnect with her. Finding her was like finding a hope I thought lost. Hope that everything I did to get here was worth something. That I could save the few family members I had left.


    Astra was another reason. We had joined forces for all the wrong reasons, but I couldn''t deny I had fallen for the woman ¨C hard. Even if I lost Iv, I couldn''t consider myself alone anymore.


    Before this, I mostly cared about myself. My revenge was my sole driving force. The destruction I left in my wake was an unavoidable consequence. Now my deeds no longer had consequences for only me and my enemies.


    I chewed on my inner cheek while I tried to wrangle the knot of conflicting emotions which had formed inside my chest. On some level, I had gotten used to taking the shortest path to achieve my goals.


    Like throwing that bastard off the elevator.


    But the shortest path was no longer the best.


    I was still a little miffed at how Thalia had handled things. She tried to influence my mind! I should have hit her for that alone. A warning would have been nice ¨C instead of giving me the cold bucket when I opened that door!


    But she probably knew I wasn''t thinking straight when I realized something was off with Iv. There was no doubt. I would have vented my frustrations first on Thalia and then on Hector.


    But she was hardly the only person to blame. Teresa, Sienna, and Thalia, any of them could have approached me with their convoluted plan to get Iv and Hector together and draw the Mora to our side. But no, they first wanted to see how things went. Damn, even Iv could have told me that she had developed romantic feelings for someone.


    Then again, hadn''t she mentioned making a friend in the hospital?


    I ruffled my hair. Now I was frustrated that I hadn''t paid more attention to her earlier!


    Even if it went against my sensibilities, Iv was her own person and as safe as she could be in this world.


    Maybe having her hook up with Hector was the best possible outcome? If the partnering went through, she would be a strong candidate for a leadership position, an elder even. Also, if she became Hector''s partner it would be unlikely for her to run off in search of Evanne and get herself killed.


    Despite all my misgivings, I didn''t take Hector to be the type who would allow his wife to throw herself into danger.


    But who was I to judge? I met Hector twice, gaining one very bad impression of him and one even worse...


    I sighed.


    No. I had to be honest with myself.


    Hector hadn''t done so bad in that second encounter. It was me who looked like a mad dog.


    Though, it still grated on me that the people in this world were fine with having teenagers hook up with each other. When Astra took me aside for ''the talk'', she explained how her parents began hopeful introductions between her and Hector when she was fifteen!


    At least it looked like, while not exactly climbing barricades at the suggestion, people still had some lingering Earth-sensibilities regarding such matters. While it was encouraged among clanners, they weren''t exactly thrilled about such pairings. And as one could see in Astra''s case, the society as a whole wasn''t gone far enough to force her into a partnership like in medieval times.


    But no matter the redeeming points, such a thing was still just wrong to me!


    I huffed.


    It was unlikely for me to be able to change a few hundred years of cultural development.


    My personal feelings on the matter aside, from a purely rational point of view, I had to admit they were... right.


    They needed the children.


    I blinked and returned from my silent musings. My aimless wanderings had brought me into the estate''s gardens. It was the first time for me to spend some time in here. Teresa had shown me through once, but that was all.


    The garden was a big dome with a base area of half a football field. The plants were a random selection of what I had seen when Astra took me on a hunt into the Belly. It was more like one of these miniature biotope gardens with winding paths leading the visitors to points of interest. In between, there some open spaces to relax, maybe even do some training.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I sighed and went to sit on a stone bench to relax and have my brain cool off. Thinking about shit like this just made it worse.


    The one thing I really missed from Earth were movies. Something to just watch and switch off your brain and to forget about the idiocies of life.


    That worked for a little less than a minute before my eyes found the inscriptions on the far side of the garden''s walls.


    I stood up and followed the walkway leading to the wall which was some kind of remembrance monument.


    Someone had spent a great deal of work with engraving a time genealogy. The more recent parts were well maintained, but the further one went back, the more moss and cave ferns covered the inscriptions.


    I began with the oldest section.


    ¡°3392. Aerie City is founded,¡± I read aloud.


    501 years before I was born ¨C one of my sub-identities supplied helpfully.


    I belatedly realized that Aerie must have been one of the first colonies to be founded after Earth created the stable connection to Tirnanog.


    I skipped a few decades'' worths of entries as I followed the walkway which led along the wall. The entries were boring and benign enough, mentioning things like the development of the central cavern.


    Eight decades later, there was a sudden shift in the artistry of the engraving ¨C which was why I paid closer attention. Before, the entries had been machined into the stone. Now, it looked like someone had used a pick to scratch a message. The lack of expertise with which it was done was painfully obvious.


    ''3475. Earth closed the gate! The systems are down! It is dark. We are on our own.''


    I stared at the message from the past and wondered what the first colonists must have felt when Earth''s government suddenly cut their lifeline to turn them into an experiment. Everything must have run on Earth''s technology. Did the colony''s systems shut down when Earth terminated computer support? Did the colonists already cultivate the glowing plants, or did the lights simply wink out?


    Back then, they wouldn''t have had any of today''s body enhancements. Normal humans, suddenly bar their technology.


    My eyes drifted to the spiky grass next to the walkway. Nowadays, I would simply cover myself in a protective layer of filaments and the grass would bend beneath my feet. When I first arrived on Tirnanog, the spikegrass would have turned me into a pincushion.


    For the baseline humans of Aerie City, the closing of the gate must have been a death sentence.


    I drew a deep breath and followed the walkway.


    The messages turned increasingly desperate until they spoke of new arrivals with body enhancements ¨C mutations. From there, the demonstrated skill with the engravings improved again ¨C although the style had changed.


    ''3568. Harold Frost(?3629 k.i.a.) and Nina Frost(?3678 d.t.m.), Founding Elders of the Twelfth Strata!''


    I pondered over the inscription''s meaning and compared it to later entries. Supposedly, Harold Frost and Nina Frost had taken the position of elders in 3568 and Harald was killed in action in 3629, while Nina had suffered... death to mutation? In 3678?


    Going down the path, I found out that a new pair of elders would take over the torch as soon as a member of the previous elder pair died, which was 3629 in the case of Harold''s and Nina''s successors. It looked like losing one''s partner automatically retired the remaining elder.


    Once I had puzzled it out, I began skipping the names which held no deeper meaning to me. What was interesting though, was that aside from ''k.i.a.'', ''d.t.m.'' was the highest reason for deaths. There were a few ''r.i.p.'', but they could be neglected compared to the other two.


    I assumed some people had gotten the elder position without a starfish mutation ¨C and died to old age. It would be interesting to know whether it was a willing choice for some. Forsaking the starfish mutation meant giving up potential immortality, but it freed up a mutation slot for something more powerful.


    I knew that only a few hundred people could even hope to reach the power level of a juggernaut. And I had seen how the average hunter struggled with things like the ratkin. So, at least for the general population, choosing more power might be the right move.


    Another interesting thing I found was that there was always a line joining the two previous elders and pointing towards one of the new ones, accompanied by either a ''b.'' or an ''a.'', which meant ''birth'' and ''adoption'' I supposed.


    The Frosts had a history of simply adopting suitable successors for their family if they couldn''t conceive one the normal way.


    If I understood correctly, then the adoptions outweighed births with six in ten!


    It also looked like the normal half-life of an elder wasn''t all that long. Many lost the position within one or two decades, while some held out far longer.


    I supposed the more powerful they were, the higher the survival chances.


    Then I almost skipped over something important, so I took a step back, not believing my eyes.


    I looked around the garden to make sure I was alone before I ripped a spikegrass stem from the ground and used it to scratch away the moss.


    ''3694. Dominic Frost(?3777 k.i.a.) and Mary Frost(?_________), Elders of the Twelfth Strata!''


    ¡°No way,¡± I whispered. ¡°The crone is 232!¡±


    Older, I had to remind myself. These dates documented when the new elders took over, not when they were born. Ah, and I had to consider that not just anyone would become elder. You had to be powerful, influential, and knowledgeable.


    Mary forewent a few ''great, great, great'' when she introduced herself as Teresa''s great grandmother.


    It was probably safe to assume that Mary had already more than a few decades on her back when she took the position.


    I scratched my neck while I regarded the name and pictured the person it stood for. It was a little morbid to have your name already inscribed on a tombstone before the world was finished with you.


    Maybe I would be a little more respectful the next time I met her.


    The crone outlived four generations of elders, one of them she had personally adopted.


    I finally reached more recent history where someone had found it noteworthy to document a ''War Of The Six Clans 3878-3890''.


    Okay... note to self... these people didn''t fuck around when they decided to kill each other. To fight twelve years of war under survival conditions was insane.


    Maybe they didn''t go all out with the winter posing an obstacle? Then again, humanity proved again and again how insane we are.


    We fight and kill each other while the world tries to kill us and yet we thrive contrary to all obstacles. Going by logic alone, we should be dead ten times over.


    I was already told about this, but seeing this monument made it more real.


    The Frosts alone burned four elders within one decade of war.


    Julian reigned with Carrey until 3884. They had a natural birth, Elsie, who took over with Nielsen. Also, both were killed in action.


    Their natural daughter Teresa followed with Etan Frost in 3888. Which meant they had seen to the end of the war ¨C likely played a huge role in it.


    I hummed while I had my sub-identities juggle the numbers. I had been exiled in 3926. If I wasn''t completely off the track, then Astra arrived on Tirnanog in 3913, twenty-five years after the clan war ended.


    And Etan said it took a long time for the following unrest to cool down and for the clans to establish the current status quo.


    Maybe the five remaining clans had some final peace talks when Astra was dropped into the pond at Teresa''s and Etan''s feet.


    I had asked myself how two elders would be allowed into the Old Camp with all the restrictions going on.


    Etan had shown me the official peace treaty which prohibited the clans from sending paired warriors to the Old Camp. It was furthermore a no-fly zone for airships and the treaty regulated the distribution of exiles, supposedly ensuring that everyone got a piece of the pie so that nobody could gain a population advantage over the others.


    I sighed and dropped the grass stem before I turned arou-


    I stumbled away from the person who wasn''t supposed to be there while inhaling air and gurgling in surprise. It was one of those moments when you desired to inhale in surprise and shriek at the same time.


    ¡°Goodgod! Holy. Fuck. Don''tsneakuponmelikethat!¡± It was embarrassing, especially since I thought of myself as a manly man, but there were simply surprises in life which warranted almost wetting your pants.


    This was one such case.


    Teresa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. ¡°I am sorry?¡±


    ¡°At least try to sound genuine when you are apologizing!¡± I reached for my heart ¨C which had all but stopped when I found my mother in law standing behind me. How the hell did she sneak up on me? I was completely unaware of her presence.


    ¡°It''s hardly my fault when you have your head in the clouds,¡± Teresa replied. ¡°But I am here to apologize. Astra told me that you were very upset when you ran into Hector and Ivona.¡±


    ¡°I was.¡± I glared at her. ¡°Still am.¡±


    Teresa nodded and looked at least somewhat guilty. ¡°It''s understandable. My only excuse is that I wasn''t aware of how far Iv had taken her investment in Hector. Sienna and I had Thalia facilitate a meeting in the hope of mending the relationship between us and the Moras. It would solve many problems. I intended to inform you as soon as Iv had confirmed her willingness. For all I knew, the two would be like fire and ice and nothing would come of it. I-¡±


    She paused before she continued, ¡°Didn''t want to light the stove before I knew there was enough wood to burn.¡±


    ¡°So bad luck? I ran into them prematurely?¡± I fake-smiled at my mother-in-law.


    ¡°I already said that I am sorry,¡± Teresa replied somewhat primly. ¡°I am not a bad person. I had Thalia and Sienna monitor the situation and I talked with Iv about it after her first encounter with Hector went well. When I adopted Iv, I fully meant for you and her to be a part of this family. I take care of mine.¡±


    ¡°But being a part of this family comes with certain responsibilities,¡± I added what she had left out.


    ¡°It''s good that you understand.¡±


    We held eye contact for a long time.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I admitted.


    Everything had a price and it felt like Teresa was genuine. ¡°I forgive you if it''s true that you were watching Iv, but am still angry. If Hector hurts my sister in any way, I will punch his head off.¡±


    Teresa tilted her head. ¡°Fine. So we are good?¡±


    ¡°It would be better if I would get Evanne back too,¡± I pointed out ¨C which was admittedly a little childish. ¡°But we are good.¡±


    Teresa nodded. ¡°Then let''s use tomorrow to lean a little on all the levers we''ve set in place.¡±

 Ch 59 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Juliana Rumen slammed her palm several times onto the table. ¡°Everyone! Return to order or I will start throwing out anyone who talks out of order! They will lose their vote for as long as they are banished from the Hall of Law and any decisions we make in their absence will be final!¡±


    The chairwoman¡¯s threat worked like a charm on the other elders and their assistants. Within seconds, the room returned to absolute silence. It reminded me of a class of naughty kids who had been brought to heel when they suddenly faced an authority person.


    I found it somewhat reassuring to see the elders behave just as I expected it from politicians.


    At least when they encountered something outside their realm of experience.


    They had lost their shit when Astra presented them with our new core-control powers, the proof that mankind could dominate and abuse all of nature ¨C not only Earth''s! It was the first item on our list of several blows we intended to deal today to the anti-war faction.


    Juliana returned her attention to the heart-core which was pumping in my partner''s hand.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Tulkas found out that our control over electricity can be used in subtler ways than just blasting things,¡± Astra explained. ¡°If we monitor the core while it''s still functioning, we can mimic the necessary commands to make it work outside the host. We just found out about it. There''s yet a lot of experimenting to be done, but I am sure you can imagine the boundless potential once we build up a more varied set of cores!¡±


    She looked around the room with a confident expression. ¡°Although, this isn''t the real reason why we called for a meeting. We just wanted to share the good news before moving on to more serious topics.¡±


    Another elder, Kayden Blare, caught on quickly. ¡°You want us to know your potential. To establish the status quo and forewarn us about what we might throw away if we decide to slight you in what''s coming?¡±


    Astra neither confirmed nor denied his observation and instead sat down with a conspiratorial expression while Teresa stood up to take the stage.


    ¡°My daughter just wanted to share the wonderful news and fulfil her duty to the community.¡± Teresa retrieved a hefty stack of papers and handed it to me. ¡°If you would give this to the chairwoman, please?¡±


    I took the documents and carried them over to Juliana while doing my best not to add an excited spring to my steps. This was it. Teresa and Etan finally decided to put our cards on the table.


    If everything went right, we would finally set clan Aerie on a course to rescue Evanne.


    While I walked, Teresa began her unrelenting assault on the anti-war party''s reputation.


    ¡°These documents contain information about how the third committed hundreds of poaching felonies in our hunting grounds. It draws a very concerning picture about how the third has bribed people and infiltrated my strata in a manner unacceptable to fellow clansmen and women. As proof, you have the testimonies of several hunters, plus a poacher who we caught red-handed! She is currently in the custody of the Tates.¡±


    Juliana''s lips drew thin as she looked through the documents. ¡°You can produce these witnesses? Are you regarding this as a hostile act by the third?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I wouldn''t bring this to the Hall of Law if it were otherwise!¡± Teresa spoke with total confidence while I returned to my seat.


    The chairwoman''s eyes focused on Bruce and Travis Patel. ¡°Do you have an explanation? If this withstands investigation, your strata will be facing repercussions.¡±


    Travis stood up while her partner remained sitting. ¡°What can we say? Our strata is known for our back-alley deals. You cannot blame us for honing our skills.¡±


    I almost did a double-take at the woman''s bluntness!


    ¡°Honing your skills is one thing,¡± Teresa interrupted. ¡°Stealing our hunting schedules and manipulating them is something quite different! Let me ask you, Travis, how much sensitive information from other stratas did your people collect? I am not talking about the support schedule for the next carriage run. We are talking about information which can be used to do some serious damage if it got into the wrong hands. You are lucky we haven''t found evidence of murder ¨C or I would have walked into your little throne room and brought the ceiling down. So far, we''ve only found indications of your people killing themselves by poaching in areas which are too dangerous for their skills. This in itself is still concerning.¡±


    ¡°We are elders!¡± Travis shot back. ¡°Are you implying our hands are the wrong ones for clan-related issues?¡±


    Etan leaned forward. ¡°We aren''t asking whether you, as elders, should have access to this information. I am sure that from one elder to another vital information concerning the clan as a whole can be shared. The point is the channel of communication! Why would the third need to establish a permanent information gathering network within other stratas?¡±


    ¡°Other stratas?¡± another elder perked up, showing suddenly a lot of interest in the topic. It looked like it had only now occurred to him that the spy network might reach farther than he thought.


    ¡°Don''t listen to him,¡± Travis exclaimed.


    Teresa blinked innocently. ¡°Why, of course? I can hardly believe you would work so hard to undermine the twelfth specifically. I am not aware of some long-lasting vendetta between us which would warrant such a course of action. This means you should have at least a similar level of investment in other stratas. I wonder what we would find if we had your people''s offices searched right now?¡±


    Travis''s lips curled. ¡°This is a setup!¡±


    ¡°Of course, it is, dear,¡± Annie Kline spoke up while chuckling to herself. ¡°I doubt there''s anyone in this room who wouldn''t recognize it as such. But we know Etan and Teresa. If they are so bold about this, then it means they already have a knife in your back and are ready to twist it. I for one, am inclined to let them indulge in this play. The Thich have to pay for what they did to my granddaughter!¡±


    I followed the exchange, somewhat appalled at how candid the elders spoke with each other. It was only my second time at the Hall of Law, so I hadn''t seen much of how the Aerie managed their business.


    Then again, these people weren''t just any politicians from Earth. I had to remind myself that the elders had likely known each other on a first-name basis for decades. They would know about each other''s quirks and machinations, so there was no reason to pretend otherwise.


    Travis''s wings fluttered in apparent distress as she looked around the room. ¡°Come on, people! You know exactly what we are dealing in! Why make a fuss about this now?¡±


    Another elder from our faction, Trent Torres, spoke up. ¡°The difference is that we are finding ourselves on the cusp of a new war, even if you and your people don''t want to see it. There is nothing to be said about a good dose of friendly rivalry and maybe even unfriendly competitiveness during peace times. The latest revelations brought to our attention by the Tates have already proven that the Thich are up to no good. Another point I find questionable is allowing one strata to store another''s vital information. Too much power in one place is seldom a good thing. Can you honestly say that you didn''t go overboard in stealing from the twelfth?¡±


    ¡°We didn''t steal anything they already had in their possession!¡± Travis defended her case. ¡°We only used their schedules to evade their expeditions.¡±


    ¡°We''ve given them these hunting rights for a reason,¡± Kurtis Smyth from the eighth pointed out. ¡°Mainly because allowing people without the twelfth''s education and training to roam these areas produces far too many casualties to be sustainable!¡±


    ¡°Everyone should see to their security,¡± Olga White, a member of the anti-war faction spoke up. ¡°It''s evidence of incompetence if someone fails to keep their people in line.¡±


    Elena Smyth stood up. ¡°What a load of firehorn crap. We are one clan and I''ve yet to hear about someone being forbidden from switching stratas! Are we supposed to make a background check on everyone who chooses a new profession? To see whether a new employee has a history with certain stratas because we don''t like their policies? Should all of us shun the seventh''s services because they have access to the entire clan and might be able to spy or steal?¡±


    Juliana raised a hand to gain everyone''s attention before she turned her attention to Teresa. ¡°What will I find if I have the Patel''s offices searched?¡±


    Teresa shrugged. ¡°How should I know? From our witness accounts, the twelfth''s complete hunting schedules should be the very least they have in their possession.¡±


    ¡°You want to play this the hard way, Teresa?¡± Juliana asked.


    ¡°I think everyone knows where my faction''s ultimate goal lies,¡± Teresa pointed out. ¡°My people stand completely behind Tate''s analysis of the Thich''s deeds. There is no other choice but to take action now while we still can. Clan Thich''s experiments have to be stopped. At the very least we have to pursue an aggressive course of action which forces the Thich to show us their hand. And that means showing up with a fleet of airships at their borders. I think all of us know the Thich will play for time if given the choice. We see no other course of action.¡±


    ¡°This might lead us directly into a second clan war!¡± Hope Hall from the eleventh called out.


    ¡°It might,¡± Teresa replied slowly and looked around the room. ¡°This isn''t only about actual events. This is about what we didn''t finish in the last war. We faltered in our conviction and now it comes back to bite us! If we hadn''t limped back home to lick our wounds and mourn those we lost, we wouldn''t have this problem today. All of us knew the status quo we left behind after the clan war would only end with the Thich getting bolder. It is our fault for following an isolationistic policy.


    ¡°All of you were there when the clans chose to turn the Old Camp into a neutral zone. Instead of avoiding Earth''s mistakes, we allowed the Thich to pressure the clans into a peace treaty which favoured their ideology. Instead of learning from our mistakes, we created the soil for the next war. And look where we are today. The colonies were never intended to operate alone, but we still created rival city-states ¨C countries! Do I have to explain to you where this will lead us a few centuries down the road?¡±


    Bruce Patel placed both hands on his table and stood up. ¡°War. Two large groups of humans will always end up warring with each other when they compete for resources. But do we have to be the ones to start it? Without more than insubstantial proof, I cannot start a war with good consciousness. Not even when I am being blackmailed!¡±


    ¡°Blackmailed!?¡± Juliana exclaimed. ¡°Who would be stupid enough to blackmail an elder? And how?¡±


    Travis hissed and pulled at her partner''s sleeve, but Bruce pulled his hand away.


    He gestured in our direction. ¡°Can''t I call it blackmail when they use their uncovering of our operation to sow distrust among our faction? On a level, I can forgive it. What''s worse! They stole my cards!¡± Bruce pulled a sheet of paper from a folder on his desk and showed it around.


    Someone had used the paper to stitch together a message from... glued cardboard?


    I squinted and gasped when I recognized the origin. Someone had cut up magic cards and used them to create a stitch letter! Who would commit such sacrilege? Not to mention the cringe-worthiness! It was like someone had watched a few too many bad mystery thrillers!


    A glint of triumph entered Bruce''s eyes when he saw my reaction.


    Hopefully, he hadn''t misunderstood something?


    ¡°Vote for war and admit your crimes, or I will burn the Time Walk and waterboard the Black Lotus! This time, I used only the cheap cards to make this message, but next time I might cut up the Sneak Attack! I hope you can see my conviction through the nature of this message!¡±


    Next to her partner, Travis face-palmed. ¡°I said not to mention it, you dolt! You are embarrassing us with your card-mania again!¡±


    Bruce shook the letter. ¡°This is about a way of life! Either you are a collector, or you are not! Am I ever complaining about your mineral collection? Compared to your dirt, I''ll likely never be able to get original MtG cards again! What if he had stolen your black diamond?¡±


    ¡°Crystals and gemstones are a completely different matter!¡± Travis hit her partner on the thigh.


    I slowly leaned over to Astra while the two Patels began an argument over which of their collections had more worth.


    ¡°What''s happening?¡± I asked, questioning whether I had somehow landed in the wrong movie.


    It was Teresa who answered instead. ¡°It''s their mutation. It comes with an instinct to collect certain things and bring them to their nest. That''s why their place is all shine and bling wherever you look.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I winced and nodded in understanding upon remembering the over-dimensioned geode in which the Patels had made their home. It was the most opulent thing I had ever seen ¨C rivalling my experiences on Earth. ¡°They are like dragons.¡±


    My eyes wandered over to the two arguing elders.


    When my attention inevitably fell on their feathery wings which they had draped around them like cloaks, I couldn''t help but make an addendum, ¡°Or rather... magpies!¡±


    Bruce, whose black plumage fit the image perfectly, stood ramrod straight and his eyes narrowed on me. ¡°I heard that, thief! Now you are ridiculing me too?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He jumped over his table and approached us with a livid expression and a finger pointed threateningly.


    My snarky side wanted to remind him of what happened to the last person who pointed a finger in my direction. Alas, even with my recent training improvements, I wasn''t certain whether I could deliver on such a threat.


    Better to stay mum and stick to the plan.


    ¡°Bruce, control yourself!¡± Juliana began slapping the table again. The claps reverberated through the Hall of Law, showing the woman''s brutish strength.


    I raised both hands, palms out. ¡°I am so sorry! Whoever stole your cards, it wasn''t me! I know a fellow man of culture when I see one and I would never commit such a heinous act! It''s a blow below the belt.¡±


    ¡°Look!¡± I bent down to the side and retrieved a wooden box from a satchel which I had brought with me ¨C exactly for the possibility of this encounter. The box was a work of art, the lid covered with a ying-yang variant of the game''s five mana symbols. It had taken a lot of time to describe the exact design to Gilbert and convince the weaponsmith to waste his considerable skills on a vanity item.


    I held out the offering and opened it to show off the contents. ¡°Now that I know your true conviction, this can barely be seen as an apology, but I had the second''s best artists make a power-nine cube according to my memories! When I threw the guy, I underestimated my strength. I never expected to hit your table and damage the cards!¡±


    Bruce blinked, somewhat mollified as he looked at the box in my hands.


    Then his eyes narrowed. ¡°You could be lying!¡±


    ¡°I am not!¡± I placed a hand on my chest and channelled my best version of a sworn witness. ¡°You can have a mindreader look into my brain. This is the first time I heard of this thievery!¡±


    Bruce looked around the room, apparently searching for volunteers. He considered the Tates for a moment but abandoned the idea because they belonged to our faction.


    When the people avoided his eyes, I realized what the problem was. ¡°You could have an elder do it too.¡±


    They probably thought it beneath them to have an elder lay hands on someone lesser. On the other hand, Bruce knew sending someone on my level probably wouldn''t cut the cake.


    ¡°I won''t even throw him or her out of an elevator,¡± I said jokingly when nobody stepped forth and added after a moment of thought. ¡°This time.¡±


    Some intense glaring from Bruce followed and Hayne Ortega stood up with a sigh. ¡°Okay, okay. I''ll do it! This is just embarrassing!¡±


    Thalia also got to her feet. ¡°And I will stand judge, so you don''t rummage around where you don''t belong!¡±


    The elder glared at Thalia, but made his way over with her and offered me a hand. ¡°Quick! I don''t have all day. I will have to ask you questions to focus your mind on what I need to know.¡±


    I placed my hand in his and Thalia set hers on top of ours. Soon, I felt the familiar tingle which always came with a psychic ability being used on me. Normally, I would have freaked out at the violation, but it was a convenient tool to prove my innocence.


    And I knew for certain I wasn''t guilty.


    Hayne shot off a few rapid-fire questions which were easily answered with yes or no. Things like, did you throw the Patel''s man out of the elevator? Or, did you steal Bruce''s cards?


    A few moments later, he let go of me and turned to face Bruce. ¡°He is genuinely sorry about the cards, Bruce. He doesn''t know anything about your stolen collection. The apology is genuine.¡±


    Hayne pursed his lips in incredulity before he added, ¡°He isn''t sorry about throwing your guy out of the elevator. He considered it self-defence.¡±


    ¡°It was!¡± I affirmed!


    Bruce deflated at the confirmation of my innocence but still grabbed the box with the counterfeits. It was the next best thing to his originals.


    ¡°I will accept the apology. But then...¡± He turned and searched the other elders with his eyes. ¡°One of you-¡±


    ¡°That''s enough now, Bruce!¡± Juliana finally decided to reassert her authority. ¡°You either get yourself back under control, or you will be the first to be thrown out of the Hall! We are not going to investigate some stolen cards! If you can''t control the instincts which come with your mutations, then maybe you shouldn''t hold the position of elder.¡±


    The winged elder deflated and returned to his seat, but he took his consolation prize with him.


    I let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Teresa and Astra who were eyeing me with suspicion. Thalia also had her narrowed gaze on me.


    Feeling uncomfortable under the gazes of three beautiful women, I began twiddling my thumbs. ¡°See? Told you that apologizing for the cards was necessary.¡±


    Juliana massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°Where were we?¡±


    ¡°We argued about going to war,¡± her partner, Skye, reminded her.


    ¡°Right.¡± The chairwoman looked around the room. ¡°Are there any more ''sensible'' arguments someone wants to bring up? Or do we reconvene to investigate Patel''s spy network?¡±


    Astra raised her hand. ¡°There is one more point to consider. Like the colony''s supercomputer and its activities.¡±


    To her credit, Juliana didn''t even flinch or look surprised. Instead, she stoically stared at Astra. ¡°I''ll forgo the question of why this is the first time I hear about it ¨C for now. Where do we have a supercomputer?¡±


    ¡°You are sitting on top of it,¡± my partner pointed out with a good-natured curdle in her tone.


    Then Astra looked at me. ¡°It might be better when Tulkas tells this tale.¡±


    I stood up and cleared my throat. ¡°Good day! May I re-introduce myself? I am going mostly by Tulkas nowadays, but back on Earth I was Magnus Elrod. Earth exiled me for collaborating with an organisation which the world government regards as terrorists.¡±


    There was no point in hiding my history. Teresa and Etan had assured us that nobody in Aerie had any lost love for Earth.


    So I quickly gave them the short version of my background story and outlined the organisation''s goals before I got to the delicate part.


    ¡°...my main responsibility within the organisation was the investigation of certain disappearances. Often enough it concerned people who became inconvenient to Earth''s government. But in some cases, there was no obvious reason. The only connection between cases was that the abducted were twins or siblings ¨C often young and female.


    ¡°I followed the trail of the perpetrators around the entire world, only to find out that the people were secretly experimented upon and disposed of by adding them to the roster of exiles.¡±


    When I looked around, I was pleased to find that every elder was paying very close attention. They had made the connection between Earth''s experiments and the arrivals of innocent exiles.


    ¡°So my organisation engineered a set of circumstances to allow me to follow them into exile while they continued working from their end. I couldn''t smuggle much with me, but I brought a data chip which contains all the step by step knowledge which is necessary to uplift Tirnanog to Earth''s technology level.¡±


    I let that sink in before I continued, ¡°And it has the administration codes for the colony''s central computing system.¡±


    Everyone''s eyes moved to the obsidian block on which Juliana and Skye Rumen had their desks as the elders'' chairmen.


    ¡°And to shed some more light on the Thich''s experiments, I was very surprised to find out the Thich were the ones who show the most interest in the abducted. Then I learned about their experimental mutation program. So I have to ask... is it a coincidence? Or are the Thich somehow collaborating with Earth by doing their dirty work with human experimentation?¡±


    Juliana tilted her head. ¡°It''s a high tale you are spinning.¡±


    ¡°But if I am right, then you cannot afford to ignore me.¡± I pointed at the computer. ¡°And this thing may hold another piece to the puzzle. So, let me take a look. You can decide afterwards whether you go to war or not.¡±


    It was the first time for someone from the fourteenth, one of the three neutral parties, to raise their voice. Xina Lloyd spoke in a measured tone. ¡°We should throw everyone out of the Hall before we proceed. Who knows what information the computer might hold?¡±


    None of the other elders objected.


    Most of the scribes and guards were expelled out of the room and less than five minutes later I was standing at the computer''s maintenance port with all the elders watching me like hawks.


    Everything was just as Astra had told me.


    I inserted the data chip into one of the proprietary ports and held my breath when the login screen changed to ''Please Wait...''


    If my people had done their job correctly, then the chip should contain an automatic startup routine to hack the login screen and give me access with the master code.


    Instead of a login screen, I was rewarded with a registration form.


    ''Please enter your administration username and password.''


    My hands flew over the small keyboard and typed my credentials twice before I hit ''enter''.


    ¡°What was the password!?¡± one of the elders exclaimed from the crowd.


    Instead of answering, I only looked over my shoulder and made eye contact with Juliana, who was glaring at me. Both of us knew what I had just done, but it was on her to call me out for it.


    She looked accusingly at Astra, but my beloved only shrugged.


    The question was, would Juliana make an issue out of this? Or would she allow me this safety net?


    The other elders seemed to refer to her in this case.


    ¡°Proceed,¡± Juliana declared after a few moments of weighing her options.


    I returned my attention to the maintenance controls and switched the computer back into active mode before I closed the maintenance port. No more power saving for now.


    The obsidian''s entire front flickered and lit up, forming a gigantic widescreen. I took a step further away to see what I was looking at and grinned.


    It had been so long since I had my hands on a genuine computer! ¡°It would be awesome to watch movies with this!¡±


    The comment surely caused some of the prehistoric fossils to glare daggers into my back, but I didn''t care.


    I recognised the OS immediately from my time at the university. It was a fairly standard open-source Nux derivate which was used in most research and production-related devices.


    The latest updates might be missing, but user interfaces hadn''t changed much within the last thousand years. The big OS companies had ruled the market for an aeon, but they could only keep their lead for as long as the hardware changed quickly. Once the development of newer and better hardware approached the bottleneck of physics in the late second millennium, open-source systems caught up and took over the market.


    The operating system was reporting a whole smorgasbord of error messages about systems no longer responding. It was to be expected after the colonists recycled most of the peripherals.


    ¡°It looks like most external systems are down,¡± I commented while I manoeuvred through the touch screen. It even gave a little vibration feedback to confirm my input.


    A few touches and swipes were enough to open an overview of running processes and system resources.


    I clicked my tongue and pointed at the amount of opened connections. ¡°That''s weird. 38593 wireless connections. I thought you guys shut down most of the old tech?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know of any old tech still running, but that''s very close to Aerie''s total population!¡± one of the elders behind me pointed out. ¡°I know the numbers like the hairs on my ass!¡±


    I doubted my ears but didn''t question his wisdom. Instead, I went into the system resources and sorted the processes according to their network activities.


    One immediately jumped to the top. It was solely responsible for the machine''s network traffic.


    ¡°GenExMonitor,¡± I hummed and opened the guilty program from the task menu.


    What appeared on the screen looked like the control interface for some surveillance software.


    Somewhat lost, I clicked around for a bit until I found a database overview from which I selected a random entry.


    What popped up looked like the information sheet of some D&D character ¨C just a hundred times more complicated. There was bio-telemetry and geo-positioning information, plus a log of recent activities like meals eaten, sleep cycles, and other stuff which might be appealing to a medically interested researcher.


    ¡°What is this?¡± someone asked, aghast.


    The Tates all came closer to eye the data entry, so I flung it to the side with a swipe. The screen was more than large enough for several people to work on it at once.


    ¡°This...¡± I licked my lips while I opened another entry. ¡°If I had to take a guess, then I would say this thing is somehow wirelessly monitoring every person within its reach and logging the data. I wondered how Earth''s scientists are getting any of their experimental data back to Earth. But if this thing protocols everything, all they have to do is to open a small wormhole and request an update...¡±


    ¡°How?¡± someone asked. ¡°Did they chip us somehow? This must be most of our population! How did they get their hands on those who were born on Tirnanog?¡±


    ¡°The nanites,¡± Sienna Tate answered from where she was studying the data entry with her family. ¡°We''ve done a lot of autopsies to research various mutations. One thing we learned is that the nanites do a lot more than just gene manipulation. They enhance the musculature of blank exiles and strengthen the bones. For this purpose, they build miniature nanite factories inside the body. I also always found a lattice-like structure in people''s brains and in some cases all the way down the spine. I wondered whether it''s a necessary part of the gene manipulation, but maybe it''s an antenna for a wireless connection?¡±


    I scratched my neck, feeling uncomfortable and somehow violated. Just how far did this surveillance system go? Should we put on tinfoil hats for privacy?


    One thing I was sure of. If anything like this had been done on Earth and people learned about it, the government would have a real rebellion on their hands. Maybe that was why they ''outsourced'' their more inhumane practices?


    After exploring the program some more, I found the control options.


    ¡°It looks like I can terminate the upload process to Earth and mess with a few of the nanite''s settings,¡± I commented before I stopped at something intriguing.


    My finger hovered over the option before someone grabbed my hand.


    ¡°Don''t!¡±


    Juliana pulled me away with surprising strength. ¡°Don''t change any settings before we talk about it!¡±


    ¡°But it says: Unlock Personal User Interface!¡± I pointed out. ¡°What if it gives everyone some control over the nanites inside our bodies? What if we can switch off some of their more inconvenient behaviour? Like using everything we eat as a new mutation?¡±


    Maybe I could eat real food again!


    Juliana glared at me as if I was an overeager child to her. ¡°How would a ''Personal User Interface'' work?¡±


    I shrugged and thought for a moment. ¡°I don''t know. An iris interface would make the most sense to me. It''s standard tech for the well-off back on Earth and is also based on nanite technology. The nanites manipulate the light receptors in your eyes to visualize information. It makes computer screens unnecessary!¡±


    The chairwoman didn''t look pleased with my explanation. ¡°So, how should I imagine this? Some text appears in my vision?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Likely.¡±


    She spoke slowly. ¡°Some text suddenly appears in my field of vision while I am driving a carriage? Fighting some monster? Working dangerous machinery? Working on a power line? I suppose it will happen to the whole colony at once when you set that option!¡±


    I pursed my lips, then sucked them in as I considered the scenario she was painting. ¡°On a second thought, let''s not check any boxes before we haven''t made a public announcement to the colony.¡±


    The morning turned into midday before we managed to protocol and discuss all of the program''s possible settings and the implications which would likely come with it.


    It wasn''t easy. We had no user manual and were messing with something that had control over our bodies.


    After having the time to think about it, I was glad the elder had stopped me from pressing buttons. There was a high chance that making changes from this end of the application would alert our secret overlords.


    The longer I thought about it, the more convinced I was that shutting down the entire surveillance system was the only safe option. Who knew what kind of backdoor access the program might give to whoever controlled this fucked up science experiment?


    If Earth performed another remote shut-down, it might block our access for good.


    By the time we called it a day, it was late in the evening. The elders hadn''t made any final decisions on what they would do, but I was hopeful. The surveillance program had shaken everyone and we hadn''t even begun to dig into the computer''s system.


    Nobody could say what other secrets it held.


    ¡°Do you guys think we are doing fine?¡± I asked once we returned to the estate.


    Etan shrugged. ¡°Before today, I would have given a vote a fifty-fifty chance to end in our favour. Now I am more confident. Your revelation might even cause the formerly neutral parties to take a side. And from the looks on Juliana''s face, the Rumens might even take our side! It would be huge if the first strata joined our faction, like really huge. It would decide the vote because some stratas from the anti-war faction might just switch sides!¡±


    We exchanged a few more thoughts, but nothing of importance. All of us were dead-tired and nobody complained when Astra and I retreated to our quarters.


    I cleaned myself up and joined Astra in our shared bed.


    Before long, she rolled over and circled a fingernail on my shoulder. She edged in closer and swung a thigh onto mine while her filaments encircled us.


    Smiling, I took her hand and kissed it. Some might be turned off by a pregnant woman, but Astra never had that effect on me. ¡°I would, but I am just too tired today, love.¡±


    She didn''t back down. ¡°Confess!¡±


    ¡°Confess what?¡± I tried to keep a straight face, but I felt the filaments draw me close to her. She was like a boa constrictor wrapping up her prey. Filaments as long as hers were just unfair.


    ¡°You had someone steal Bruce''s cards,¡± Astra clarified her accusation. ¡°I saw you adding some additional instructions for the thieves who Teresa employed. Back then, I didn''t know why you would want some cardboard box, but now I do! And you somehow managed to hide it from two telepaths. How?¡±


    My smile froze on my face while one of my sub-identities finally re-integrated with the main ''me'', bringing a whole set of thoughts and hidden plans with it. Plans I had managed to hide from myself by tasking another me with their setup and execution.


    ¡°Whew...hahaha.¡± I wriggled, but Astra had me in her grasp. ¡°Why would I do such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Because you are the only person insane enough to steal a Patel''s collection!¡± Astra rolled on top of me and pulled on my cheeks. ¡°Do you have any idea how stupid that was? If he ever finds out-¡±


    ¡°Hew hill hot hind hout!¡± I slurred and pulled Astra''s hands away from my cheeks to explain.


    ¡°He will not find out because I will never give the cards back.¡± I raised a fist to show my enthusiasm. ¡°Those cards aren''t just meant to play! They exist to be owned and collected! And Bruce is a real collector! I saw it in his eyes even before your mother mentioned his mutation. It was the way he held his cards during our game. He lost the moment he revealed what''s dear to him. By taking away his cards, I have taken his soul! I have defeated him in a way which isn''t possible with mere physical violence! And by giving him the cube, I''ve primed him to become our ally in the future! True collectors are no different from addicts! Take away their spice and make yourself the supplier and they will eat out of your hand!¡±


    Astra blinked. ¡°You are serious?¡±


    ¡°It worked, didn''t it?¡± I grinned.

 Ch 60 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Today Gaia served Astra potato pancakes with smoked salmon, caviar and dill cream. Meanwhile, my wife swooned over the exotic food which was presented to her like a piece of delicate art.


    In the background, the Alps set the mood with an idyllic panorama of forest-covered mountains. There was nothing to see of the high mountain meadows so well known from historic pictures. Global warming had raised the forest limit above the mountain peaks long before my birth.


    It was yet another scene from one of my memories, this time located in an expensive mountain hotel in Switzerland.


    By now I was almost certain that the avatar was somehow choosing the dream''s scenery because every time she visited us we found ourselves either in a hotel, cafe, or restaurant.


    ¡°You are the bestest chef ever, Gaia. Say the word and I will create a new religion in your name.¡±


    The avatar seemed lost for words. ¡°¡­ I kind of have one already. Took me a century to set it up. It¡¯s easier to influence people when they believe their dreams are divine messages.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Then let¡¯s spread the cult of Gaia to the other clans!¡± Astra wasn¡¯t deterred. ¡°More importantly, can you make me more of those potato pancakes?¡±


    Gaia sighed and snapped her fingers, materializing more five-star food as an offering to the new gourmet.


    A certain image of a fertility goddess sprang to my mind ¨C if not entirely accurate.


    The avatar turned to me and grinned smugly.


    On a deeper level, I knew Gaia had just read my thoughts and wasn''t above spilling the beans.


    I shook my head and mouthed the word, ¡®Don¡¯t!¡¯, while I beseeched Astra to see reason and to refuse the snake''s apple.


    If Astra ever learned I had just mentally compared her with the Venus of Willendorf, only broken hearts and bones would follow.


    ¡°What¡¯s your recommendation for dessert?¡± Astra asked, completely ignorant of my inner lamentations.


    Gaia frowned, seemingly giving the matter some honest consideration.


    ¡°Astra, why do you keep pulling the Tiger¡¯s tail?¡± I asked, no longer caring whether I would incite the avatar''s ire.


    I was somewhat frustrated at this point. ¡°I told you, nothing good comes from making a deal with ''her''. I don¡¯t even understand her motivation in dealing with us. She gets nothing from pampering you. It has to be some ploy to lull us into a false sense of security!¡±


    ¡°Oh, shush!¡± Astra ignored me and instead bit into a potato pancake which crunched deliciously between her luscious lips.


    I slapped myself.


    Deliciously? Luscious?


    Why was I coming up with such things? Was Gaia doing something? Then again, the food indeed looked divine.


    Astra shook her head. ¡°You are paranoid, Magnus. Take it cool. For as long as we don¡¯t have any real way to influence the situation, there is no point in fretting.¡±


    The avatar tilted her head questioningly at my antics. ¡°There are studies which confirm that happy mothers have fewer pregnancy complications than stressed ones. I am just doing my best to secure your cooperation and well being. I am a freezing traveller in the dark, desperately shielding a match with her bare hands from the storm around her ¨C hoping it might kindle a fire.¡±


    Astra shrugged. ¡°At least you are honest about us being your fire-starters. Do you have news about the Patels?¡±


    Gaia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve visited their dreams several nights in a row and I am almost a hundred per cent certain they are not conspiring with the enemy ¨C apart from their unfortunate ideology and dislike for the two of you. It doesn''t look like they intend to take it further than political opposition ¨C which is bad enough as far as I understand it.¡±


    ¡°You haven''t noticed anyone switching sides?¡± I asked. ¡°How are our chances after yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Apologies, but this isn''t how interpreting someone''s dreams works. People dream about things they have strong feelings about. Almost all of the elders who oppose the idea of war do so because of a deep conviction. Their dreams aren''t an accurate representation of what they are thinking. You should have first-hand experience with how mad and insane some dreams can become.¡±


    The avatar gestured wildly with her hands to emphasize the problem with my question. ¡°And while they might dream of one thing, they could follow a more logical path of reasoning while they are awake. You two are huge exceptions when it comes to lucid dreaming. You have no idea how frustrating it is to ride along with someone''s dream who is barely, if at all, aware of you. You don''t want to know how much of my time trying to influence people is wasted.¡±


    ¡°What if you are just a figment of our imagination, Gaia?¡± Astra asked. ¡°One that comes with a partly prophetic dream ability?¡±


    I winced. ¡°Please, don''t trigger her.¡±


    The avatar took the suggestion in stride and chuckled. ¡°Oh, I am quite real, my dear.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Which is why I am still sitting in this dream in my old-man form, while Astra already graduated to her real body.¡± I looked around the diner. ¡°It would be funny to visit Earth as we are now. The people would freak out.¡±


    ¡°I told you, you appear in the dream as you imagine yourself,¡± Gaia explained patiently.


    ¡°Hmhm,¡± I nodded. ¡°That''s why our dreams are always located in a place with food. That''s why you can materialize stuff as you wish. I don''t buy it.¡±


    Gaia clicked her tongue in displeasure.


    ¡°Stop being mean, Gaia,¡± Astra chided. ¡°I also happen to like Magnus''s new form better than his old self.¡±


    The avatar waved a hand and when I looked down at myself I was me! I mean... my new me.


    Dreams were so confusing.


    ¡°Did you find anything else noteworthy?¡± Astra asked.


    The avatar nodded and launched into a lengthy explanation of what she thought to be relevant to our cause. Which meant it was mostly irrelevant stuff.


    Listening to Gaia¡¯s observations was like meeting one of those high profile narks who were absolutely secretive about their information. Going so far that any form of documentation was an absolute no-go.


    It was so frustrating that we couldn''t take any notes to make sense of everything she told us and take them back to the waking world. The only relief was that our Parallel Mind still worked within the dream and allowed us to memorize most of the bullet points.


    ¡°You are getting better at this,¡± Astra commented once Gaia had finished.


    ¡°Better at what?¡± the avatar asked.


    ¡°Understanding people,¡± Astra clarified. ¡°And talking to us. Once we got a little deeper into topics it became clear that you don''t understand humans ¨C even if you know a lot about us. It was too funny when you thought we would be able to just move the entire clan according to our whims.¡±


    ¡°I do want to point out that I am not human, nor did I have much chance for direct interaction like this,¡± Gaia clarified. ¡°I am a lot like your Parallel Mind ability with sub-identities. Only, in this case, I am the Gestalt''s sub-identity, tasked with communication. The Gestalt is likely not even aware of my actions while I execute its will.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I frowned. ¡°Do you have any idea what the Gestalt is thinking ¨C or what it wants?¡± I had asked this question many times in different variations and I intended to continue doing so. In my experience, the best way to learn about another party¡¯s goals was to repeat the same question over and over again. Stretched out over a long time without making it obvious you were searching for inconsistencies.


    ¡°You realize you are asking me to explain something that''s above either of us?¡± Gaia shook her head in frustration.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I huffed. ¡°Let''s go with what the Gestalt is doing right now? Can you elaborate on that at least?¡±


    The avatar blinked and tilted her head as if she was listening to something. ¡°I... would say it is singing a song while it is waiting. It''s the closest human analogy I can come up with.¡±


    ¡°What''s the song about?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°Life, death, love, hate, and duty.¡± Gaia looked frustrated at her inability to explain the Gestalt.


    ¡°I am a part of what was once... everything. A part of the darkness which birthed the light, when Order and Chaos formed existence and the world began. Now I stand watch, ever vigilant, as I search the starry sky with a billion, trillion eyes. Forever, I guard, to find the ancient enemy in the emptiness. As I was made to.¡±


    I sat up straighter. ¡°The Gestalt is guarding against something? Who is this enemy? The other energy beings you mentioned?¡±


    Gaia rolled her eyes. ¡°Look, you asked and I delivered as best as I could. From my point of view, the Gestalt¡¯s ruminations are the mindless chatter of a senile, old person. I am a part of it, but I cannot fathom the whole. The one thing I do know is that the Gestalt is doing a myriad of things at once. And that it is old.¡±


    I tried to get more out of the avatar till we woke up, but the more of the Gestalt¡¯s thoughts Gaia recited for us, the more nonsensical the matter became. The only conclusion left to me was that an entity like the Gestalt truly couldn¡¯t be understood in its whole.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    The next day at the Hall of Law revolved once more solely around the supercomputer and the spy program it was running.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s possible to switch off individual functionalities as we please,¡± Skye Rumen commented after we had gathered a list of options we wanted to try before shutting down the program.


    I also had a few presents from the tech-geeks which I wanted to give back to Earth''s researchers. Personally, I wasn''t much of a hacker, but the organisation had seen the need to leave some useful tools and tripwires on the datastick. Before I left, I had been instructed on their use. Just in case I found myself in a position to take advantage.


    ¡°I am still not sold that messing with this program is the sensible thing to do,¡± Leo Brien complained. He was among a small but very vocal group of elders who didn¡¯t want to touch the program.


    ¡°This is a chance to rid ourselves of Earth¡¯s yoke!¡± Judy Walsh shot back. ¡°Maybe it will be the only chance we ever get! Our population has seen a few bad years and the Thich are becoming a threat. Worse, they are likely somehow connected to Earth. Do you want to tell us we have the choice of ignoring this program and risk Earth¡¯s interference when we get into conflict with Clan Thich?¡±


    Leo grumbled to himself, but couldn''t come up with a sensible counter argument.


    ¡°Besides, we¡¯ve already ordered a temporary lock-down for everyone. We will take our chances,¡± Juliana spoke up. ¡°We elders are old enough to know that if nothing changes, Clan Aerie will never rise from the confines of this mountain. Many regard it as a haven in a hostile world, but let''s be honest. It is a prison.¡±


    I returned my attention to the list of options we had identified as noteworthy.


    ¡®Unlock Personal User Interface¡¯ would hopefully give everyone some level of control over the nanites inside their bodies.


    ¡®Remote Maintenance Mode¡¯ sounded like a way to switch off remote access to the nanites, or at the very least to the control software.


    ¡®Forced Mate Adaptation¡¯ sounded like it controlled what the locals referred to as partnering.


    ¡®Forced Nutrition Adaptation¡¯ was in the same category and most likely food-related.


    ¡°If it had been my choice, I would have gotten rid of everything for good,¡± I grumbled while the elders bickered over the details. ¡°Just shut down the entire system!¡±


    Astra linked arms with me and interlaced her fingers with mine. ¡°We have explained how completely getting rid of the partnering system would cause social waves nobody wants to deal with right now. Tirnanog¡¯s people have been forced into monogamous relationships for centuries. If we unlock the option completely overnight some of the traditionalists might react badly. It should be enough if everyone can control the process to a degree by confirming their willingness.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, dear,¡± I replied.


    I disliked any form of control or interference from the outside, my socializing with the third¡¯s population had shown me that these people had developed certain values which were different from Earth.


    As in any society, there were degrees of relationships. It allowed for something like a brothel to exist among the lower-ranked members of society, but with added small print and unsaid social rules.


    I had later learned that the ¡®brothel¡¯ I had seen during my sightseeing tour was a place which had more in common with the services a Japanese Geisha of old would provide. It was by no means comparable to what I had in mind at the time. There was a lot more dignity involved with less focus on carnal pleasures.


    It made my guide¡¯s reaction seem even more exaggerated, even if a courtesan would relieve customers via oral means.


    I had to admit that Astra had a point. The concept of ¡®partnering¡¯ was by now ingrained in Aerie society and sacrosanct. Anything even remotely touching the topic or changing the current status quo would have to be considered very carefully.


    For the time being, I had to tell myself I would find a way to change things once all of our other problems were settled. Besides, switching off the partnering system wouldn¡¯t magically solve the clan¡¯s population issue ¨C as partnering provided a crucial power boost.


    Without it, there would be nobody powerful enough to fight the stronger monsters.


    Not to mention that we had yet to confirm that this program could do anything.


    ¡°I will begin with the Personal User Interface,¡± I forewarned the elders who stopped bickering among each other and turned their full attention towards me.


    Before anyone could start another argument, I pressed my finger onto the touch screen and felt the vibration feedback which confirmed the new setting.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 13.0075%" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">U.I. Activated!</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The screen popped up seemingly in front of me and faded out of view, only to be replaced by a set of options in the left upper corner of my field of vision. When I concentrated and looked up, the settings flowed towards the centre of my vision.


    ¡°It¡¯s consistent with what I heard about the technology back on Earth,¡± I explained while the others did the same. I was never wealthy enough to get an interface of this type, but I had read up on the technology. Thankfully, I had taken the time to give everyone a crash course of what to expect.


    The U.I. presented me with a few options, but not as many as I had anticipated. It looked like we had gotten the bare-bone installation.


    ¡°Personal Status,¡± I gave the voice command and was rewarded with an information sheet extremely similar to the data we had already found in the surveillance software. It strangely reminded me of Gurney¡¯s documentation now that I thought about it.


    Once I ignored the biological ¡®mumbo jumbo¡¯ on my D&D spreadsheet, it took me only a moment to find what I was looking for. ¡°Deactivate all external connections! Permission only!¡±


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 6.83447%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Denied!</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    A setback, but it was to be expected. There was still one option in the surveillance program which should unlock this functionality for the user.


    ¡°There is an inbuilt communication system!¡± Astra reported one of her findings. ¡°Add Magnuson Elrod to the friendslist.¡±


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 41.558%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Jana Stine wants to invite you to her friends list.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 6.83447%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Yes/No?</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I confirmed Astra''s Earth name and something very similar to a chat program popped open. ¡°Looks like it uses the names we were known with on Earth. It has some of the original functionality, but not everything. This chat function seems useful, but it will likely be limited to the mountain without satellite access or a relay network. Short range only.¡±


    We explored the U.I. for a few more minutes while reports from the whole clan came in, confirming that everyone was affected.


    Sadly, there was nothing which would have allowed us to guide our growth. I had already expected some level system when I saw the D&D spreadsheet, but it was just a programmer¡¯s antics. The evolutions and their effects would still be solely managed by the nanites and the virus in our bodies.


    Once everyone had acclimated themselves to the U.I., I quickly went through the remaining three options we had identified to be of relevance.


    Thankfully, they did exactly what logic implied.


    ¡°Deactivate all external connections! Permission only!¡± I repeated the command from earlier once the Forced Maintenance Mode was off.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 6.83447%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Accepted!</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I let out a deep breath while everyone in the room copied my actions.


    ¡°Please, proceed,¡± Juliana bade me to continue.


    I nodded and used the surveillance program to upload a few files to its main servers - wherever those were located. They contained a computer virus and a few messages for the organisation which should bring them up to date with what I had found out during my time on Tirnanog.


    Once that was done, I killed the surveillance program with the task manager and removed it from the autostart options. To be safe, I also deactivated the computer¡¯s wireless network for good.


    ¡°I believe we should be on the safe side now,¡± I informed the elders after double-checking whether my changes had stuck. It wouldn¡¯t have been the first time for some program to re-install itself via some obscure backdoor option. ¡°Remains to be seen what our changes wrought. I will nonetheless run some of the cleaning programs to ensure there are no hidden backdoors, but that will take some time.¡±

 Ch 61 - EVO

    ***Earth, Tibet, Secure Gateway Facility***


    ***Everhart***


    ¡°Professor Everhart! Professor!¡±


    At first, I tried to ignore my subordinate¡¯s urgent nagging, but when he didn''t stop I had to curse and abort the molecular editing process.


    The DNA recoder powered down with a low whine while discharging the capacitors. At the same time, the device sterilized the test material, wasting at least an hour of my work.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you plebeians often enough not to disturb me when I am working with this equipment!? The process is too delicate to be interrupted! We don¡¯t want the prime minister of the united nations to turn into a bug when he gets his next DNA update, do we?¡±


    ¡°But Professor!¡± The assistant gestured helplessly at his equipment. ¡°The Aerie testing colony has gone dark! I was about to download the latest results and all I got was an error message!¡±


    ¡°A what!?¡±


    I quickly walked up to his station and pushed him aside. ¡°Have you tried to re-establish the connection? Maybe the communication protocol crashed again.¡±


    ¡°Nothing works!¡± The man was somewhat desperate because an irreplaceable device had failed under his watch. ¡°The last update we got says the program is shutting down!¡±


    Sighing, I quickly went through the sub-menu and called up the raw communication logs.


    ¡°Someone logged in with administration rights and made changes to the system. What fool would be stupid enough to activate the U.I.? Maintenance mode off!? Who did this!? This is sabotage!¡±


    I turned and glared at the assistant who raised his hands.


    There was no way the mutants wouldn¡¯t have been alerted to the system¡¯s existence by now. This was threatening the entire project!


    ¡°It, it wasn¡¯t me! Look! The timestamp says it happened at four in the morning,¡± he pleaded while directing my attention back to the screen. ¡°There was nobody inside the laboratory at the time!¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I scratched my bearded chin while I thought furiously of a solution. Losing our equipment on Tirnanog was a huge blow. Worse, having the test subjects know of our direct supervision... it would change their behaviour drastically. These weren¡¯t your average lab rats.


    It was highly unlikely for the board''s members to sanction a mission to regain control over the system. Not that it mattered, now that the Aerie assuredly knew of the computer¡¯s existence.


    And our people were much too afraid of anything from Tirnanog making its way to our side of the gate. Everything had hinged on the test subjects¡¯ unawareness of Earth¡¯s surveillance system.


    ¡°Maybe we can find out from where they logged in?¡± the assistant suggested hopefully. ¡°The logs must''ve recorded whether the changes were made from this facility or some other outside server.¡±


    ¡°At least you aren¡¯t completely useless.¡± I called up the access logs, but the results weren¡¯t very promising. ¡°The last recorded login happened on a hardware level.¡±


    I covered my mouth as I thought about the ramifications.


    As much as I wished it to be otherwise, there was only one explanation. ¡°The Aerie discovered the computer and switched it off. There is no other way to get hardware access than to interact with the system directly. Some of our staff fucking up, or a hacker accessing the system remotely, both cases would be recorded as some sort of off-site access.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ that¡¯s impossible,¡± the assistant said. ¡°How could they have gotten the login information? How did they find out about the computer¡¯s existence in the first place? According to our latest survey, they were entirely unaware of it.¡±


    I glared at the idiot. He was underestimating the test subjects. Such thinking had cost us our facilities on Tirnanog a century ago when the so-called ''clans'' rebelled!


    ¡°Hubris! Don¡¯t underestimate the mutants. A scenario like this one is exactly what the administration was afraid of. We have to find a way to spin this situation without getting them spooked too much. Otherwise, they might shut down the program!¡±


    ¡°Why would they shut down the program?¡±


    ¡°Because this will prove their worst fears. A mutated population not under their direct control, comprised of highly capable individuals matching them in every way. Not to mention the natives'' opposing ideologies. Tirnanog has always been a brewing kettle of potential rebellion, which is exactly why those in power shut down the colonisation efforts and stopped space exploration. At least until a way could be found to reliably control distant populations.¡±


    He shook his head in disbelief. ¡°Are they so afraid of the exiles?¡±


    I couldn''t help but explode in his face at his refusal to think for himself. How had such a sheep made it into my team?


    ¡°Of course! Almost all of the mutants are practically immortal because those damned starfish-eels are practically everywhere on Tirnanog. Fucking eels aren''t just messing up our experimentation schedules! Let me tell you, having a population of potentially immortal humans sounds all well and nice, but only as long as you don''t start thinking about the potential downsides! Overpopulation is only the first thing coming to mind! Potential immortality also allows people to learn a lot more than the average worker drone and that''s something our leaders absolutely cannot allow. It would inevitably lead to most of the population gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to evaluate the leadership¡¯s decisions. I won¡¯t even start with the social impact because it would require several separate studies!¡±


    I raised a questioning eyebrow. ¡°And not to forget, our employers are politicians. If something threatens their power, then it¡¯s easy to predict how they will react.¡±


    Suddenly, the research station¡¯s anti-virus program went nuts and popped several messages about blocked attempts at accessing the system.


    Thankfully, it looked like the anti-virus was handling the situation just fine. In case of a major security breach, the network administrator would have already been alarmed.


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°And they might have a point with their fears. This doesn¡¯t seem like something the natives could do on the fly. Someone is helping them.¡±


    The assistant gulped. ¡°O- orders, sir?¡±


    My hand involuntarily went up to my temples as I thought furiously. ¡°Activate our assets on Tirnanog and tell them to stop whatever is going on over there. If that¡¯s even possible at this point. I will call for a board meeting and try to come up with a favourable story.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I feel like a bloated leviathan,¡± I complained while I watched Magnus play around with the supercomputer. My body may be more powerful than a normal human''s, but I also suffered from an exceptional pregnancy. Three at once was by no means an easy job.


    So, at least a little complaining was in order.


    In my defence, I wasn''t a completely useless bum. While the others were concerned with the computer I had already identified several different ways to use the chat function. There were voice-chat, text-chat, as well as single-call and conference-call options.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    According to Magnus, the optical nanite interface had taken the place of smartphones in high society. Communication was one of its core functions. Sadly, the version we had gotten came without any additional functionality which would be expected of such devices.


    The calendar was probably useful to people without enhanced minds, but to Magnus and me the function was redundant. The calculator function was also of limited use.


    At least the timer and the clock held some value, but there were no deep secrets to find with these functionalities.


    So for the time being, all I had to do was to peruse my personal data.


    ¡°Anything new?¡± Teresa asked while she watched Magnus''s work over his shoulder.


    He shook his head. ¡°Nothing extraordinary. I''ve already shown you how to use the computer''s administrative functions. Aside from that, the system might as well be useless to us.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t call this treasure trove of information useless,¡± Hayne Ortega from the fifth strata commented while he oversaw several scribes who were simultaneously copying one of the educational journals Magnus had opened from his data stick. It listed the best ways to purify and process various elements at an industrial scale.


    It was an essential step in rebuilding a technological infrastructure. These processes were built upon by another document explaining how to set up the following production processes step by step.


    The fruits of Magnus''s ''message in a bottle'' to the clan had yet to be harvested. Real results would only be seen decades in the future, but already none of the elders could question the value of my partner¡¯s gift.


    Clan Aerie''s libraries had been vast, a heritage from the original colonists. But the colonists had never intended to settle Tirnanog without support from Earth. Consequently, our people lacked several important key technologies to rebuild what was lost.


    As I saw it, there was also a high possibility the planners back on Earth had never intended for the colonies to function independently.


    ¡°Tulkas''s organisation assembled this library with the sole purpose of guiding a medieval society back to the industrial age while cutting as many corners as possible,¡± the elder gave reluctant praise, despite being a member of the anti-war faction.


    ¡°Well, there is one thing to address...¡± Magnus opened a program named StarOb. ¡°The colony possessed an observatory at some point. The tech still works, but all it shows is a black screen without any error reports. I assume they placed it somewhere on the mountain''s peak and the optics are now snowed over. Maybe we could clean it at some point? It might be a nice way to spy on the mountain''s surroundings.¡±


    Gwen Torres considered the screen. ¡°I am sorry, but this will have to wait. I can think of several possible positions for a telescope, old installations and such. Sadly, this isn''t a case of walking outside and dusting off some powder snow. The observatory would be covered beneath metres of snow and ice and I won''t send out people without knowing exactly where to dig. The better solution is to wait for summer. The ice will melt on its own.¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°I just wanted to mention it. It''s the only external system connected to the computer which still works. One more snowmelt won''t do it in if it has already weathered hundreds.¡±


    It took another hour of discussing the computer¡¯s functions with the scribes until everyone was comfortable with using the system. Thankfully, it was intuitive enough for laymen to learn quickly.


    Eventually, there was nothing more for Magnus to contribute and we were left to watch while the scribes did their job. Meanwhile, the elders began to consider whether vacating the Hall of Law for another meeting place would be more economic.


    ¡°I think we are in a much better position now,¡± Teresa commented as we left the meeting. ¡°It would be a real surprise if the anti-war faction hadn¡¯t lost at least a few supporters.¡±


    ¡°So, should we call for a vote at the next meeting?¡± Magnus asked, sounding eager.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Teresa hummed in contemplation while she shared a meaningful glance with Etan.


    My Dad nodded. ¡°I think it would be the advisable move. Which reminds me, we got a message from Gilbert Kline. He asked for the two of you.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°I can imagine it has something to do with your newly developed ability to manipulate creature cores,¡± Teresa suggested.


    It was a reasonable assumption that I should have thought of myself.


    So, Magnus and I changed our daily schedule to visit Gilbert Kline.


    Even though the man was an elder, he seldom visited the gatherings and left his vote in the hands of his wife who was more politically inclined than the blacksmith. Gilbert only showed his face when his presence was necessary for major decisions.


    We encountered Gilbert in his workshop where he was already waiting for us.


    ¡°Took you two long enough! What do you think?¡±


    Instead of giving us a proper greeting, he directed our attention toward two sets of armour which were displayed on mannequins. One was a male and the other a female version of the same set.


    They were a mixture of medieval plate armour and futuristic space suits without the portliness one might expect of the latter. They were made from black-coloured iobeetle shell with some intricate golden inlays signifying our clan and strata. Thankfully, the adornment wasn¡¯t too overbearing and still allowed the armour to be adjusted with stealth paint.


    A large skirt of interlacing plates protected the wearer¡¯s backside, but I knew from similar designs that users of the filament weaving arts would be able to use the stiff skirt as a shield if necessary.


    The same was true for the oversized tassets which protected the upper thighs. More than one hunter had expired not because of being hit in a vital spot, but because a main artery in the thigh had been cut. Such wounds often happened because people instinctively favoured the protection of their head and upper body, leaving the thigh wide open.


    While not immediately fatal, an opened thigh artery could cause a person to bleed out in two to four minutes. Loss of consciousness would happen even earlier depending on the severity of the injury ¨C which was the bigger problem in a combat situation.


    The helmets and pauldrons weren''t done yet and lay on a nearby workbench. The armour had a feel of a mixture between medieval Europe and oriental influences thanks to the oversized skirt and tassets. Meanwhile, the helmets looked like a Roman base had been turned into a full plate version with four eyeslits to take our nightstalker mutation into account.


    It looked like Gilbert had been about to set the vision slits with several layered glasses and crystals when we showed up.


    ¡°They are beautiful!¡± Magnus complimented Gilbert¡¯s work with a clap of his hands. ¡°It has been just two weeks!? I expected it would take you more than a month!¡±


    ¡°Well, they aren¡¯t completely done yet,¡± Gilbert admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve still to give some finishing touches. What I needed you for is to talk about this new ability of yours and whether we can account for it in your armour. Oh, and I wanted you to test out the electromagnetic system before I install it.¡±


    Gilbert went to the male armour set and removed one of the vambraces. He offered it to Magnus. ¡°Try it out.¡±


    Magnus took the armour piece and drew back his sleeve before he snaked his filaments into the armour¡¯s inner linings. The vambrace consisted of two interlocking pieces which relied on filaments to be held together. The whole armour was designed this way, allowing people with the filament mutation to shuffle the pieces around if necessary.


    The downside to the system was that it would be useless for anyone else.


    I could see at a glance that my father¡¯s training had paid off well because Magnus had no trouble adjusting his weave to Gilbert¡¯s work.


    ¡°What¡¯s this system you are talking about?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. Gilbert had informed me of some minor changes he wanted to make to my armour, but I didn¡¯t have the time to pay much attention and simply approved of his suggestions.


    Since Magnus and I had the same mutations, something beneficial to my partner should have the same upsides for me.


    ¡°Just watch.¡± Gilbert went to a rack with discarded weapons and chose a dull sword from it. He gave it a testing swing before he went after Magnus in an extremely exaggerated manner, signalling his attack.


    Magnus had no trouble deflecting the blade with the vambrace, but instead of the clang of metal on iobeetle shell, the weapon was repelled by an invisible force and bounced off.


    Gilbert, even though he was a skilled fighter, was visibly surprised by the effect and almost lost the sword. ¡°Oh, this will catch people off guard, I can tell you. I was prepared for what would happen and I still almost lost my weapon like some noob.¡±


    ¡°I must admit, I channelled most of what I could give,¡± Magnus admitted while he lifted the vambrace away from his forearm. ¡°It¡¯s already getting warm from the current I put through it.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Gilbert regarded the piece of armour with some doubt. ¡°Should we have gone with some cooling system after all?¡±


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°Naah, why bother? I think it can endure a few blows before it starts burning. And how likely is it to get hit in the same spot several times in a row?¡±


    ¡°I assume you are using electromagnetism in our armour?¡± I asked.


    The two men finally remembered my presence.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Magnus grinned. ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Very much,¡± I admitted. ¡°Assuming it works.¡±


    ¡°I want to try the reverse too.¡± Magnus turned back to face Gilbert while he re-attached the vambrace. ¡°Same move?¡±


    Gilbert obliged and this time the blade hit the vambrace with a metallic clang. But instead of sliding off, it stayed stuck!


    For a moment, Magnus and Gilbert were in a short tug of war before the elder began to drag Magnus over the floor. ¡°You will have to be careful against who you use this. If the opponent is stronger than you, it will give him the advantage.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be too big of a problem,¡± I inserted myself into the conversation. ¡°As long as we have control over the magnetism, we can decide when to use it.¡±


    Magnus disengaged the mechanism and left Gilbert stumbling two steps backwards before the elder caught himself. With a huff, he returned the sword to the rack.


    Then the blacksmith turned his attention toward me. ¡°Do you want to try your armour too? I admit, I anticipated seeing it on you. Give an old man a little show.¡±


    I smiled at Gilbert but said nothing.


    Gilbert smiled too, not understanding.


    I was wearing my filaments as a wide gown today, but it was no excuse for him to be slow on the uptake. By now, my pregnancy should be known far and wide even if he hadn¡¯t been at the meeting when it was made public.


    When it became clear he didn¡¯t get it, I looked pointedly down at my belly. ¡°I will pass for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Gilbert¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Oh, I am so sorry. Slow on the uptake today.¡±


    He hummed once the awkward moment passed and considered the manikin with my armour. ¡°You know, if your state lasts long enough, I could rework a second mid-section to accommodate for¡­¡±


    Gilbert indicated the new shape like an artist imagining the outline of his new sculpture.


    I cleared my throat in protest and did my best not to imagine the pregnant version of my new armour. ¡°No, thank you. I¡¯ll simply avoid fights while I am in this state.¡±


    Magnus cleared his throat and slammed his fist into his palm. ¡°Why don¡¯t we forget this idea ever happened? Let¡¯s move on to the matter of the cores!¡±

 Ch 62 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°I find myself wondering...¡± I twiddled my thumbs nervously while facing a stern-looking Mary Frost. ¡°Why am I here?¡±


    Mary looked up briefly before she returned her attention to the documents on the desk.


    It wouldn''t have hurt if she had bothered to give me a quick explanation before continuing with whatever this was supposed to represent. But even if it irked me, I figured further complaints would only result in more time wasted.


    We had met up in a small pavilion in the mansion''s garden area. Presumably for tea ¨C after Teresa informed me of the unannounced appointment.


    If I hated one thing about social life, then it was having my schedule altered with nothing but a notice a few minutes in advance.


    With nothing else to do than proving my patience, I turned my attention toward the greenery. Going by the ''garden''s'' size, it was more appropriate to call it a small park.


    Yes, definitely a park.


    I couldn''t stop myself from throwing sneaky glances at the memorial path which testified to Mary''s considerable age.


    At least I tried my best not to make it too obvious.


    Anyone would have gotten nervous upon meeting a person who had witnessed a considerable part of Tirnanog''s colonization.


    A little over a week had passed since Astra''s and my responsibilities shifted away from the supercomputer. It was sad, but with most of the subsidiary structures gone, we could make almost no use of the extremely powerful device.


    The elders had held another vote, resulting in the utter defeat of the anti-war faction ¨C which wasn''t a surprise at that point. It would have been shocking if the vote hadn''t resulted in our win.


    The fifth strata was the only one which sternly refused to vote in our favour, while the thirteenth and fifteenth had shifted away from their neutral positions and came over to our side.


    This caused the third and eleventh to switch sides, while the others from the anti-war faction went to a neutral stance. Having two of the strongest stratas proclaim their willingness for war was a huge factor in our favour.


    The vote ended with two votes against war from the two leading members of the fifth, twenty elders were in favour, and eight refused to take sides.


    Once the result was confirmed it was like a big stone had fallen off my shoulders.


    Not to misunderstand, total war wasn''t on the table just yet, but the clans had practically agreed to aid me with my remaining sister. They would pressure and confront the Thich''s leadership to force a political statement.


    Which meant I had now to wait for the end of winter. It was a time of training and preparation until the snow would melt.


    Etan and I still met up for regular training of the weave, but most of the day was occupied by Gilbert and his experiments with various cores. It involved us visiting the tenth strata which made a living by taming the wild creatures of this world.


    Gilbert was fascinated with researching the cores.


    The research required us to do... necessary stuff. There just wasn''t a way to say this without injuring at least some sensibilities.


    Back on Earth, our experiments on living animals would have been outlawed. Or conducted without informing the public. Why care for animals when they didn''t treat humans any better?


    But this was Tirnanog.


    In our defence, the creatures we tortu... Ahem! Killed for the sake of knowledge were up for slaughter anyway. And to be honest, I couldn''t care less about a beast which would eat my face given the opportunity.


    And the results could be shown. We had identified three different cores which functioned as batteries or capacitors.


    One provided a light source in the form of a focused light beam ¨C I had no idea how nature or whoever came up with a monster that had oversized laser pointers for eyes to blind people.


    Though, in most cases, the cores provided relatively boring bio-mechanical enhancements. Standard stuff which couldn¡¯t hold up to most strength mutations.


    The biggest prize was a core which could be described as a little chemical nanofactory. We had extracted it from the belly of a molerat. Given time and a feedstock of nutrients, the large, oval-shaped core began oozing out various chemicals which were identified by Thalia and her mother as basic drugs and antibiotics.


    It was only to be found inside the older molerats which were harder to tame.


    The core''s inner workings utterly escaped my understanding, although Sienna thought to recognize various catalysts and ceramic filters necessary for chemical processes once we cracked one open.


    Comprehending the core would require a dedicated research group, so I tabled the idea of understanding any of it and handed the matter off to the Tates. They had the necessary dedication and a much bigger chance at success now that they had seen the bio-mechanic device in action thanks to me.


    Mary returned my drifting thoughts to the present when she put down her papers.


    ¡°You are here to learn and to be evaluated,¡± the old hag declared haughtily.


    ¡°Learn? Evaluated?¡± I asked with maybe a little too much sass in my voice. ¡°What about?¡±


    ¡°Morals.¡±


    ¡°Morals!?¡±


    Why morals of all things? Ethan was already pestering me with the clan¡¯s inner politics and laws.


    The former elder nodded. ¡°Whether you want it or not, your partnership with Astra will get you a leadership position within the clan. Add your potential as a juggernaut and it is practically guaranteed for you to ascend to the position of an elder at some point. Though hopefully, not any time soon.¡±


    This speech sounded very familiar. Had Etan prepared me for this meeting in a convoluted way?


    My eyes flicked back to the memorial path. ¡°I am not sure whether becoming an elder is desirable. It''s certainly not a ''healthy'' occupation.¡±


    Mary followed my gaze and raised an eyebrow. ¡°You have a point, but it''s the lot you drew. Though, I have to point out you may have misunderstood the memorial path. Not all of the crossed-out names are dead. It simply means the person in question stepped down from a position of direct leadership. It''s not too uncommon after losing your partner, or having done your duty and getting tired. Humans tend to get bored of doing the same thing for longer than a lifetime.¡±


    I looked at her. ¡°Does this mean we have a few dozen hidden powerhouses of elder-level twiddling their thumbs while the younger generations are fighting for survival?¡±


    Mary looked peeved at the suggestion. ¡°Now you are over-estimating the average life expectancy on Tirnanog. Suffice it to say, there are a few really old people who keep a watch on things while we allow the young ones to make their own mistakes. How would they learn otherwise? And never suggest again I haven''t done my part. I''ve been fighting and risking my life for longer than you, your parents, and your grandparents added together.¡±


    Arguing her fighting experience or dedication to the clan would probably land me in hot water, so I focused on another facet of this revelation.


    ¡°You old guys are watching over the elders? Like a shadow government?¡± I asked.


    I assumed as much when I learned of Mary''s actual power within the clan. Etan and Teresa were taking care of the outside stuff concerning other stratas and the clan as a whole, while Mary''s position allowed her the most control over the strata itself.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Was every strata organized in this manner?


    She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her papers. ¡°No government can exist for long without fail-check mechanisms. Of which we developed more than the eye can see. Back on Earth, one bad leader might sink a nation, but it is very unlikely for him to genocide his people. Here on Tirnanog, we don''t have the same luxury. I can tell you several stories of smaller clans finding a very unpretty end because they allowed an idiot to decide their policies.¡±


    Could she be any more cryptic?


    Mary waved a hand dismissively. ¡°We aren''t here to talk about the mistakes of others. You are here to learn about Aerie. Another goal of this meeting is to judge your attitude and correct it through education if necessary.¡±


    ¡°Then I hope you have a few very good arguments should we disagree on something,¡± I countered, unwilling to be too subservient. ¡°I¡¯ve been told I can be stubborn.¡±


    She thought for a moment before she continued, ¡°It''s certainly not wrong to say that clan Aerie suffers from a¡­ hmm¡­ historical trauma. Being abandoned by Earth, being exiled. Ever since the elder system was introduced, the people of Aerie were concerned about handing power to the wrong kind of leaders.¡±


    Mary patted a test on basic physics and mathematics which I had solved with flying colours a few minutes earlier. ¡°It resulted in things like these tests to ensure the mental fitness of a voter. Among other things, we are granting everyone the right to education no matter their age as people rise through the various stratas. Back on Earth, there is a saying. You never stop learning. This is doubly true in this world.¡±


    ¡°But there is no system which can''t be corrupted,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I think I know where this is going with the morals. Forgive me if this sounds offending, but the stratas'' infighting seems... beneath such noble goals.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°You are right. No system, and certainly no person, is perfect. This is a harsh world with harsh people, so we have to do our best to weed out those who are unfit for the job. Having an educated voter voting on the right thing or person is a nice theory, but if practised without restraint it could lead to... other issues.¡±


    ¡°Humans aren''t logical.¡± I played along. There was no point in alienating her.


    ¡°Exactly. Human emotions have to be taken into account. Hence, we have to make sure our leaders follow a certain code of conduct. A moral compass, so to speak. It is what saved you from the Patels¡¯ wrath when you taunted them. And it is what I will teach you in the coming years.¡±


    ¡°Years!?¡±


    Mary snorted. ¡°Or decades. Looking at you, it might take a century or two? You didn''t think we would get this over with in one session and it is done? Most of our population is essentially immortal. We have to ensure no madman ascends to a position of power. Elders have to undergo regular psychological evaluations. By their strata and by the others. If they fail, they are no longer allowed to rule.¡±


    I raised a doubtful eyebrow. The thought of an immortal dictator rising to power hadn''t yet occurred to me. It made sense to have some safety checks in place. Although, how effective could such psych-evaluation be?


    Very effective, if conducted by someone like Thalia.


    Mary seemed to understand my doubt. ¡°As we said in the beginning, no system is perfect, so we strive to improve. The clan''s current structure may seem basic on the surface, but it has survived in its current form with only minor changes for over two hundred years. Instead of restricting ourselves and our people with a tight web of laws, we see to the qualification of those who hold power.¡±


    Their mindset had elements of a technocracy.


    I didn''t agree fully, but my time in Mount Aerie hadn''t revealed anything I completely disagreed with either. Within their limitations, the Aerie had crafted their society as fairly as they could. And I wasn''t aware of humans ever trying to rule via a real technocracy either.


    Maybe it was the path not taken that promised redemption?


    ¡°The same could be said about Earth''s government,¡± I pointed out a flaw in her reasoning nonetheless. ¡°The people change, but the system stays the same. Having a system last for a few decades or centuries doesn''t confirm its righteousness.¡±


    Mary gave me a rare smile and noted something on her papers. ¡°Questioning the state of the system. Not simply accepting it. We have to stay vigilant. Only flaws which are found can be corrected.¡±


    ¡°So, you are saying if I found a major problem with your government the elders would support me in changing the clan''s power structure?¡± I asked.


    She tilted her head from side to side as she thought of an answer. ¡°I wouldn''t go that far. We are talking morals here. Ruling a society is never easy ¨C as there are likely as many different opinions as humans to bring in line. Just because you think something is good or bad doesn''t mean the majority of people would approve. But I dare say if you managed to win over a decisive part of the elders you would be in a good spot to make changes. Have you heard any of the elders complain once the political course towards a military confrontation was set?¡±


    ¡°None,¡± I admitted. It wasn''t comparable to the United Earth Government. There was always opposition to be found there. Even if one policy was approved by the current election, it could be overturned by the next one. Earth¡¯s political landscape was like a set of scales constantly teetering from one extreme to the other, giving the people the illusion of control.


    ¡°As it should be,¡± Mary asserted with a huff. ¡°There can be discourse and infighting before a decision is made, but no longer after. There are ways to challenge a set decision, but it isn''t done in public. The elders show a united front to the rest of the clan now that we are committed. What do you think of leaders fighting a war at the frontline?¡±


    I blinked as I thought of what this had to do with morals. ¡°Sorry? A leader risking his life on the frontline would be foolish. His death would destabilize the government or make him a martyr.¡±


    ¡°True, if you consider a normal government. The clan is structured in a way so that elders aren''t necessary to keep the clan functioning. Their scribes and assistants should be perfectly capable of keeping things running until new elders are elected. The elders are the clan''s representatives and its powerhouses. They only point the way while others care for the details.¡±


    She gestured towards the memorial path.


    ¡°We believe firmly that someone who thinks armed conflict is necessary should stand for his convictions at the frontlines. Too many wars were fought to unfavourable outcomes because the instigators and leaders safely hid back at home while others fought and died for them. The elders who voted for the war will not hide inside this mountain when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°But what if an elder dies?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Etan told me about your rat-extermination trip,¡± Mary said. ¡°Was it Etan who commanded the hunters, or someone else? Would the command structure have crumbled if Etan or you had fallen?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Conla Leece had coordinated the battle while Etan and I simply followed her instructions. Though, I liked to believe our death would''ve been a blow to morale.


    Mary continued to school me for the rest of the morning on how a proper elder should see things.


    I agreed on some topics and disagreed on others.


    If Mary was to be believed then perfect agreement with the clans¡¯ moral code wasn''t expected, but strived for. And as I was right now I was far from being qualified as an elder. But this was what these sessions were supposed to prepare me for.


    We made our way back to my quarters once Mary declared the lessons as finished for the day. I had invited Mary to join me and Astra for dinner because I had unexpectedly built a connection with Mary. Despite my initial misgivings, I found our conversation about morals to be engaging.


    Now that the food restrictions were mostly lifted on our nanotech, Aerie''s cooking culture had already experienced a second renaissance.


    The mutation system via food wasn¡¯t gone completely, but people could now specify in their UI settings whether they wanted to gain a new mutation or bond with a partner. It hadn¡¯t taken long until a brave soul was found to test out the UI¡¯s function ¨C meaning some poor fool who had committed a crime was used as a volunteer.


    ¡°I am back!¡± I called out once I arrived, figuring Astra should¡¯ve already returned from her job as her mother¡¯s assistant.


    What I found upon entering the living room gave me a small shock!


    ¡°Astra!¡±


    I ran up to my wife and fell to my knees where she was lying on the carpet in a fetal position with her filaments writhing protectively around her.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so horrible, Magnus!¡± Astra choked. Her eyes were watery and red and she had snot running down her nose. It was an emotional breakdown if I had ever seen one and contradictory to everything I knew of my brave Astra.


    Had she been crying? I checked for blood and injuries but found nothing.


    When I pulled her into an upright position, I finally realized what the ado was about. Astra¡¯s belly was gone! Well, not gone, gone, but she was back to her non-pregnant self.


    My heart stopped for a moment at the sight, but getting emotional too wouldn¡¯t help her. I had to provide a solid shoulder for her. If something bad had happened, I could kill things later!


    ¡°Astra, what happened?¡± I hugged her while Mary entered the room. ¡°You are making me worry!¡±


    ¡°I stayed at home today because I felt a little bit ill,¡± Astra dissolved in my arms. ¡°And then it happened! I was suddenly all wet down there and when I knelt in the shower to check what was wrong it went slip! Slip! SLIP!¡±


    ¡°Shush, it¡¯s okay!¡± I rocked her back and forth, not knowing what else to do. ¡°You are fine! We can deal with anything as long as you are fine!¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear! Where are they?¡± Mary took an actual combat stance. ¡°Do we have to call a hunter team?¡±


    Astra suddenly stopped crying and looked up at Mary in horror. ¡°What!? No!¡±


    ¡°Then get to your feet and explain yourself, girl!¡± Mary ordered Astra with a commanding voice which I hadn¡¯t heard from her before. It was the voice of a combat instructor and military leader.


    I gave her the stink-eye, but Mary¡¯s demeanour managed to rip Astra out of her funk.


    ¡°It¡¯s best if I show you,¡± my partner sniffled while she straightened and got to her feet with my help.


    She led us into the bedroom where she had made a sort of nest for three cylindrical-shaped¡­ eggs. They were about forty centimetres in length and a little more than twenty in diameter. One was sprinkled with red flecks, another dotted blue, and the third green-themed with a mix of sprinkles and dots.


    The three of us stared at the new addition to the family.


    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. I had warned Astra of hitting Gaia with a chair. But no, she had to keep disrespecting the avatar of all human life and use her as a cook!


    ¡°See!¡± Astra beseeched us. ¡°I- I- I was looking forward to holding the babies and now this! What¡¯s this supposed to be? Do I have to sit on them or what!?¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear¡­¡± Mary covered her mouth. For once, it seemed like she had no answers.


    I held up a hand. ¡°Okay, first of all, you have to think of the upsides. You had what? A month of pregnancy? That¡¯s wonderful compared to the nine months of torture that baseline humans have to go through. Also, slip, slip, slip? Seriously! I wouldn¡¯t complain about giving birth in this manner! And I am a guy! Next, these egg-thingies aren¡¯t the crying maggots I expected once I learned I knocked you up. If they just lie around until they hatch in a state in which they can take care of themselves, that¡¯s a blessing! I have dark memories of my younger sisters being born, and babying them wasn¡¯t pretty. I take this over the baseline human process.¡±


    The two women glared at me with venom in their eyes.


    ¡°What?¡±


    It seemed like babying babies was supposed to be one of the joys of parenthood and I got an earful about it.

 Ch 63 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°It¡¯s fascinating!¡± Kiera, my gynaecologist, had both hands on my first egg and an ear firmly pressed to the shell. Thalia had introduced us to her when my pregnancy became known and she had been present at all regular health checks with the Tates ever since.


    I immediately scolded myself for thinking of my offspring as an egg. It was a child. My child.


    Sadly I couldn¡¯t help but feel a slight disconnect with the situation, though Magnus was a great support. He had linked arms and filaments with me and stayed at my side ever since he came back from his appointment.


    His finding me freaking out on the floor was so embarrassing! I was sure it would become the topic of quite a few jokes in the future.


    Fun aside, the reality of the situation still hadn¡¯t truly settled in yet.


    I had become a mother by¡­ laying eggs¡­


    Maybe future generations would see nothing wrong with it, but I just couldn¡¯t take the mental leap. It was too bizarre!


    ¡°It seems like the foetus has its placenta inside the shell. Though, it¡¯s probably not right to call this a mere shell. It has blood vessels and a passive respiratory system through all these small pores. It¡¯s alive! This is more of a sponge or a coral. Maybe a manifestation of Astra¡¯s treemonae mutation? And it produces warmth on its own. It¡¯s more like an incubator than an egg!¡±


    The woman who had focused her medical career on birth support whirled on me with a maniacal gleam in her eyes. ¡°Just how did you push those things past your hip-bones, girl? If everything goes according to human biology there should be problems with natural births because we stunted our evolution with medical support. Most women are incapable of giving birth without assistance nowadays. A baby¡¯s head is often too big to pass without complications and this egg is a whole other size category!¡±


    She looked me up and down, her eyes lingering on my hips.


    ¡°I-¡± I fiddled with my fingers and looked around the too-crowded bedroom. Mom, Dad, Iv, Mary, Sienna, Thalia, Kiera, all of them had to see when they heard. And now they looked at me for an answer. ¡°They¡­ just¡­ slipped out? The ¡®shell¡¯ was soft and malleable when it happened and only hardened afterwards.¡±


    Did I have to explain this in front of everyone?


    I fought to banish the scene and my following freak-out from my memories. This would never again be spoken of if I had something to say about it!


    ¡°Marvellous!¡± Kiera was unstoppable in her enthusiasm for the ''process'' and had zero concerns about how I felt. ¡°Are you aware this solves the evolutionary dead-end our species manoeuvred itself into thanks to uncaring application of modern medicine? It¡¯s almost like someone designed this process! It¡¯s perfect.¡±


    She whirled on Sienna. ¡°We somehow have to get our hands on more people with primary treemonae and zipper mutations! We should push to place the two girls who got recently adopted into the clan on a similar evolutionary path. We should be able to provide them with mates who have primary treemonae evolutions, so if we get them a zipper primary, reproducing Astra¡¯s evolution should be possible.¡±


    Sienna cleared her throat. ¡°Please, reign yourself in, Kiera. All of us are aware of your somewhat extreme position on human reproduction.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Kiera huffed. ¡°That it¡¯s a good thing to artificially interfere with human evolution? I am not happy with the implications of finishing the thought to its logical conclusion, but ending up with a race of people who are incapable of giving birth without being sliced open with a scalpel can¡¯t be a desirable medical goal. Sometimes, compassion ends up breeding more misery than it prevents.¡±


    The woman who quite clearly was somewhat misplaced in her chosen profession wiggled her eyebrows. ¡°Breeding more misery. Do you get it?¡±


    Nobody laughed.


    I leaned over to Thalia. ¡°Why is she here?¡±


    ¡°Because she is the best we have,¡± Thalia whispered between clenched teeth.


    I would find a way to kill Gaia for landing me in this situation ¨C later.


    My friend raised a hand in an attempt to slow down Kiera. ¡°Slow down, Kiera. You are making the pair of the hour uncomfortable. How about the children¡¯s health?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± The gynaecologist looked somewhat mollified and put the egg back down on the bed. ¡°All three are fine. I can already hear their heartbeats, but the rapid development seems to be slowing down now that they have entered this egg stage. I am still somewhat surprised I didn¡¯t notice the formation of these shells. Though, it makes sense if what Astra says is true. If the shell only hardened after birth, my echolocation might¡¯ve mistaken it for normal tissue. It¡¯s really hard to discern between flesh, skin, or a soft membrane.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± Magnus commented with a fake cheer in his voice. ¡°Could we now all step out of our bedroom? Having so many people in here makes me uncomfortable.¡±


    Kiera immediately relapsed to her strange side. ¡°Can you tell me whether that¡¯s an instinct? Do you want to protect the eggs? Or is it about having a whole crowd of people in your and your wife¡¯s most private space?¡±


    This time, I answered, but I didn¡¯t hide my irritation behind a mask of false cheer. ¡°Both! Please vacate the room.¡±


    Thankfully, nobody objected, and I let out a sigh of relief once everyone was outside. The door closed, and with it, the eggs were out of easy reach. The tension I had unconsciously been holding under control fell away.


    ¡°Do we¡­ have to keep them warm or something?¡± Magnus asked a question I hadn¡¯t thought of.


    Kiera pursed her lips as she considered it. ¡°I don¡¯t believe so, given they aren¡¯t eggs in a traditional sense. Having them too warm beneath a blanket might be detrimental because of reduced air circulation. On the same account, it might help to turn them over regularly. At the very least it won''t hurt them. What are your instincts telling you? Do you want to have them at a warmer place?¡±


    I thought about it. ¡°No, not particularly. Admittedly, carrying them to our bed was just a knee-jerk reaction of mine because I couldn¡¯t think of another soft surface.¡±


    The gynaecologist gave me a knowing smile. ¡°Then it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Should be?¡± Magnus snorted. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t that assure me?¡±


    Kiera raised her hands. ¡°What do you want from me? It isn¡¯t like I¡¯ve other parents with your set of mutations to compare with. In my experience, when a reproductive process deviates drastically from the norm it¡¯s best to listen to one¡¯s instincts. The nano-machines rarely intervene in such a manner without giving the host the ability to cope with the changes. A mutation and the corresponding instincts are genetically linked, but I will keep monitoring the situation to be safe. As of now, I don¡¯t see a reason to do more than necessary. Taking measures beyond what feels reasonable risks doing something detrimental. The eggs seem fine and healthy. Keep it that way.¡±


    Magnus ran a hand over his forehead. ¡°I see. Thanks for the advice.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± Kiera turned and left our living quarters after excusing herself to the rest of the family.


    ¡°I am so envious!¡± Thalia was suddenly at my side, pulling at my cheek. ¡°How can anyone be so lucky? Stop looking like someone stole your pet!¡±


    I removed her hand from my cheeks. ¡°Sorry. It was a shock.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come here!¡± Mom pushed Thalia aside and gave me a warm hug. ¡°Where is all your confidence from earlier? I am sure it will be fine!¡±


    Iv and Dad only watched us with somewhat serene expressions while they tried to come to terms with their new titles of aunt and grandpa.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I had to smile involuntarily as I was reminded of my earlier bravado regarding my pregnancy. Gaia had promised everything would go well. And it was well, even if not exactly as I had imagined. The avatar probably hadn¡¯t even meant us ill. This was yet another case of her not understanding human sensibilities.


    ¡°Yes. Thank you. It will be fine.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°It¡¯s strange...¡± I mused while I went over the observatory¡¯s logs.


    Hayne Ortega, elder of the fifth strata, and in charge of copying my archives to paper format had overheard me and came over.


    ¡°Something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Well, something is very strange about this planet,¡± I commented while I kept scrolling through the logs. ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned the observatory some time ago. I¡¯ve been digging into the program because it interests me. Back on Earth, I did a similar job in the astrophysics department while I was still an upright member of society and working at the university.¡±


    ¡°I can remember you mentioning the program,¡± Hayne replied.


    ¡°The thing kept running for the past few hundred years, and while we don¡¯t have any actual images, I¡¯ve found a continuous record of sensor readings like solar irradiation, temperature, atmospheric density, light pollution...¡± I waved towards the chart I had drawn with the data inside the observatory¡¯s database.


    The elder pursed his lips. ¡°I am educated on a great many things, but I must admit this is a hole in my education. Why would an observatory need to know these things or log them?¡±


    I glanced at him before I returned my attention to the chart. ¡°Modern observatories have their equipment on a satellite in orbit, which makes all of this unnecessary. But this one had its equipment planetside. When you are using a telescope to look through an atmosphere at the stars, you have to account for something called atmospheric warping to stabilize the image. Old telescopes did this via basic image correction, but more modern versions incorporated all of these values into the process to account for additional lensing effects near the horizon. It was a fairly common technique to widen the telescope¡¯s range of view until it became cheaper to just put satellites into space. Nowadays, nobody wants to bother with atmospheric interference while watching the universe.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand the problem.¡±


    I pointed at the chart which showed solar radiation and atmospheric temperature on the same timescale. ¡°These records are by their very nature a history of the planet¡¯s climate. I¡¯ve been wondering about the harsh winter ever since I learned of it.¡±


    Placing a hand on my chest, I tried to convey a problem I wasn¡¯t sure was a problem. At the very least, it was a mystery which nagged at me. ¡°I am by no means a climate expert, but this planet has almost no tilt to its axis. According to my understanding, aside from some microclimatic anomalies, this should mean the seasons have to be almost non-existent.¡±


    Hayne harrumphed. ¡°I know the basics of how the change of seasons is driven by the tilt of a planet.¡±


    I traced the sun exposure chart with my finger. ¡°This shows the local star¡¯s radiation. It¡¯s going up and down with summer and winter. Which shouldn¡¯t be possible without the planet having a tilt, thereby changing the angle of incidence. The only explanation why the radiation would change anyway would be for the star to change its radiation output. Or something blocking the star¡¯s light in cyclic intervals.¡±


    ¡°Which are both impossibilities as far as we know,¡± Hayne replied slowly. ¡°Tirnanog¡¯s sun is a white dwarf. Which should be a very stable star according to my knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I affirmed. How a white dwarf got to have a planet in the habitable zone was another question, but I didn¡¯t want to go into this right now. We just didn¡¯t have the equipment to research any of this. And it wasn¡¯t like humans knew more than two solar systems from close up to draw many comparisons.


    A sample size of two wasn¡¯t very significant to draw conclusions about the rest of the universe.


    Hayne regarded the chart with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I doubt we have anyone who made more than a token effort to study the climate, but this sounds like an important mystery. I will log it for the strata as a matter to be researched.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°The fifth are the keepers of knowledge,¡± Hayne explained. ¡°For someone to gain accomplishments within our strata, he or she has to solve one of the mysteries troubling our society. If a problem is logged in our records, solving it is assured to raise you through the ranks. No matter whether the solution turns out to be a real issue for the clan or not.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± It certainly wasn¡¯t wrong to know your environment¡¯s peculiarities. ¡°I guess it¡¯s good you see this as a problem.¡±


    The elder looked amused. ¡°Even if it isn¡¯t one of our immediate issues, or turns out to be of no concern to our survival, knowing why Tirnanog¡¯s seasons act as they do sounds like important knowledge.¡±


    He looked towards the scribes who were copying the latest journal. ¡°You have brought something of great worth to us. Thank you for paying us regular visits to ensure everyone can work with this device.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± All I had done was to give them schooling on the computer¡¯s office functions. Everything else was locked away behind my admin-level access ¨C a password only I knew. ¡°Have you studied the provided documents? Any idea how long it will take to uplift Tirnanog to Earth¡¯s technology standards?¡±


    Hayne frowned while he considered the scribes. ¡°A few things were reported to me of immediate worth. Like designs for more cost-effective power generators. Sadly, I am afraid decades might pass before we will see any visible change coming from it. Our main problem remains, which is access to certain elements which aren¡¯t found around Mount Aerie. We will have to unify the clans and take control over this planet before we can build any real industry.¡±


    ¡°I understand the problem,¡± I replied. ¡°Though, allow me to say I am already impressed with what you have.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Generations have lived and died to build this haven of safety.¡± He looked around, indicating the colony as a whole. ¡°I would love to see future generations no longer having to hide inside this mountain.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I guess I will call it a day and go to see my wife.¡± I closed the charts and indicated the folder with the raw data. ¡°The information with what I managed to dig out of the program¡¯s database is here. In case someone decides to take a look.¡±


    Hayne acknowledged it and I excused myself, leaving the Hall of Law.


    The fastest way back to the estate was taking the nearby elevator three levels down and then a carriage.


    After the tenth trip, I already made my way on autopilot while my mind drifted off to other things.


    I entered the public elevator and watched the central living cavern through the glass window, wondering whether I would get to see the changes I brought to this world.


    Two men grabbed me by the arms while I was imagining a whole new civilisation springing forth from Mount Aerie.


    ¡°What-¡±


    I gasped as a metal spike bloomed from my chest, right where my heart was.


    It was hard to rationalize what had happened until the passenger in front of me turned around, drawing a similar metal spike with a handle from beneath his jacket.


    The person who had knifed me from behind tried to draw out his weapon, but the filament weave beneath my clothes tightened and prevented the weapon from coming back out. All the assassin accomplished was to pull me back, including the two men holding me.


    Then the pain came, blessedly awakening me from my stupor.


    The bioluminescent lines on my exposed neck flared up in an explosion of blinding light while I discharged an electric strike into everyone touching me.


    My chest hurt and my skin burned, but my body kept moving while I relied solely on my Second Sight which was unaffected by the sudden brightness.


    The attacker in front of me hesitated briefly, which was enough to land a low kick to his mid section. The force of the blow sent him stumbling backwards and cracked the window pane.


    Simultaneously, I drew my arms together and threw myself backwards, pushing the man behind me against the closed elevator doors.


    Since the left one had grabbed me just at the upper arm, I managed to bring my forearm up and to my right attacker¡¯s face.


    Fingernails of hardened mindflayer chitin dug into skin as I scratched and pulled.


    A scream of agony followed and he let go, freeing my right arm which immediately whipped around to punch the left attacker in the face with a satisfying ¡®whack¡¯!


    All of this happened while I was still trying to process what was going on. My main self couldn¡¯t fathom why someone would try to assassinate me, but this didn¡¯t matter to the sub-identities I had commandeered to watch out for threats, and they were taking over independently while my body blurred.


    My newly freed left arm drew the combat knife I had gotten for daily utility. The knife hammered the right man¡¯s side like the needle of a stitching machine. It took a mere second to whip around and strike the man behind me who turned out to be a woman.


    At the same time, my foot kicked out backwards and sent the attacker who still had his spike back against the window, cracking it further. He tried to stab me this time, but the metal spike glanced off the filaments covering my foot as I turned with the kick.


    I grabbed the woman at the throat and on her belt, discharging a second lightning strike ¨C solely aimed at her this time.


    The body went taut while I picked her up with a roar and whirled her around at the assassin in front of the window.


    The third impact, plus the weight of two bodies was too much for the reinforced glass and both assassins went sailing out of the elevator.


    It neatly removed two variables from the equation, but it left the remaining assassin I punched earlier room to tackle me to the ground.


    He was unimpressed when I tried to electrify him and the knife glanced off his skin which was like liquid metal. I tried to jam the blade into his eyes while he choked me, but he closed them, turning himself impermeable to my attacks. Additionally, he tucked in his neck to prevent me from choking him back.


    I abandoned the attempt and pressed the knife¡¯s pommel to his temple while I applied pressure with my knuckles from the other side. Done right, this caused extreme pain to normal humans and this man was thankfully no exception. Tears fell from his eyes, but he wasn¡¯t deterred.


    Instead of firing another lighting strike, I supercharged my muscles and connected my wrists with my filaments to create a lever. My two arms formed now a reverse plier.


    Once I was sure my filaments would hold, I pressed, forcing my elbows apart.


    It took a moment before he let go of me. With a scream of pain he gave his best to get out of my grasp, but it was too late. Then he tried to pry my arms apart. Exactly the wrong reaction because of the lever I had created. Instead of lessening the force applied to his temples, he only added to it.


    There was a crack, like breaking a nut, and the body went limp on top of me.


    I rolled him off and gasped. Being tackled to the ground had only driven the spike further in despite the weave.


    Coughing, I touched the wound and my hand came away slick with blood and some black, oily substance.


    Poison! One of my sub-identities screamed in the back of my mind.


    I had to get up. Find help.


    I tried to, but my body was a trembling wreck, refusing my command. With the last vestiges of consciousness, I saw someone climbing back in through the broken window.


    One of the assassins had survived! I had to get up and fight, but I couldn¡¯t! Coughing again, I retched up bloody foam while my vision darkened.

 Ch 64 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Thalia***


    ¡°You have to drive the wedges further in, or those muscles will snap off your finger,¡± I offered my experience since my mother had her index and middle finger inside Magnus''s chest as deep as they would go, which I found to be a very risky thing to do.


    Back on Earth, a surgeon would have baulked at the barbaric method, but it made perfect sense if the surgeon in question had a bloodvine mutation.


    A thick network of artery-like roots had broken through the skin of Sienna''s forearm and was following her fingers down into the injury to perform tasks most robotic instruments would have had trouble with.


    I reached for the set of reverse pliers and applied a little more tension to give her more room to work with.


    ¡°It''s fine, dear. Just don''t come in contact with the poison,¡± she warned in a professional tone. ¡°At the moment my main concern is to prevent cardiac arrest. I''ve temporarily blocked large parts of his circulatory system to ensure the brain and vital organs are supported.


    ¡°The poison isn''t much of an issue for him, but the internal injuries caused a lot of internal bleeding. It keeping him unconscious is a blessing in disguise. I wouldn''t even have known how to sedate him without testing out risky substances. I think we can log deathnut oil as a reliable sedative for people with zipper mutations. If it hasn''t killed him yet, it won''t do so any time soon.¡±


    The deadliest poison known to the ninth strata, and it was supposed to be used for sedation?


    I shook myself at the thought.


    There were very few mutations which made it even remotely possible to handle the neurotoxin contained within deathnuts. The amount of oil on the dagger would have been sufficient to kill every human in the clan without such inherent resistance twice over.


    Magnus''s mouth was still burbling up bloody foam ¨C his body''s attempt to expel as much poison as quickly as possible. It had forced us to free his respiratory system with several tubes which allowed him to breathe freely now.


    A similar reaction was recorded to happen when people had tried to poison zippers. Unfortunately, unlike the little pests, Magnus didn''t have the necessary physiology to keep breathing while this process happened. The bloody foam which was produced in his belly quickly began to clog and prevented him from breathing.


    Luckily, an elder had been among the first responders and managed to clear his throat and lungs before he suffocated.


    ¡°How is he even still alive?¡± I asked while I adjusted the little showerhead which washed the blood and poison into a basin beneath his head. It was connected to a secure container to be disposed of safely.


    I personally tested Magnus''s phenomenal poison resistance, so his surviving deathnut oil didn''t come totally out of the blue. Though, it wasn''t something I would''ve bet on. But a metal spike through the heart should have killed him. No blood circulation meant no oxygen for the brain. Even if the body would have survived the injury and healed in time, there should have been irreparable brain damage by the time Hayne managed to get him to the hospital.


    Sienna twisted her hand around to apply the bloodvine tendrils to another spot. Likely in the process of stitching an artery. ¡°It looks like the mutation which turned his muscles into subdermal armour applies to all his muscle tissue ¨C organs included.¡±


    I gasped and resisted the impulse to slap my forehead. Which would have been bad, given my gloves were covered with his contaminated blood.


    ¡°The heart is a muscle! But then¡­ parts of the digestive tract are too, and blood vessels have muscle tissue. This sounds a little drastic, even for a primary evolution.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. This is why it¡¯s so hard for me to stop the bleeding. Maybe he got something new? It¡¯s not uncommon for the exiles to receive improved nanites. Happens every two or three decades.¡± Mom looked bemused. ¡°It isn''t like Earth cares about fucking up their bodies in case something goes wrong.¡±


    She hummed while digging deeper into his chest.


    ¡°His heart got damaged nonetheless when the metal spike glanced off it. The assassins chose the right tool for the job, but they should have placed a little more forethought into where to stab him. If I had been in charge, I would have gone for the liver. Takes a bit longer, but he still would have bled out before reaching us.¡±


    ¡°It''s an understandable error of judgement,¡± Dad added while working the instruments. ¡°They had intel about his mutations, but there was no reason to assume attacking a vital organ would fail so spectacularly. Mistakes are easy to criticise in hindsight. Still, Magnus had a lucky angel watching over him.¡±


    I regarded the half-dead body on our operating table. ¡°I wouldn''t call it a spectacular failure. They almost succeeded.¡±


    ¡°Almost'' being the operative word here,¡± Richard joked. ¡°They had the jump on him and still lost most of their people. For professionals, from what I heard, such a thing can only be called a colossal fuck-up.¡±


    Mom changed the angle again. ¡°I am doing my best to fuse the injured tissue back together, but it isn''t easy to help without doing more damage. His muscle tissue doesn''t have much in common with normal flesh and bone, which gives the bloodvines trouble. I nonetheless have to stop the bleeding before he can be left to heal on his own.¡±


    I eyed the blackening skin on her hand and couldn''t prevent myself from worrying. ¡°Are you sure you can handle the poison?¡±


    ¡°I can keep it out of my blood, but you aren''t ready for the technique. Don''t try helping,¡± Sienna replied coolly.


    ¡°That''s not an answer.¡± I knew exactly when my mother was evading a question.


    ¡°The hand will be contaminated with the poison once I am done,¡± she replied. ¡°I will have to cut it off.¡±


    Dad looked up from where he was monitoring Magnus''s blood pressure and heartbeat. His eyes flicked from Sienna''s hand to me. ¡°Don''t worry. Your mother can regrow it in a day or two with enough nutrients.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I know. I am just worried, okay? As bad as it is to lose a friend, I don''t need to lose you on top.¡±


    ¡°I am perfectly safe, dear,¡± Mom replied reassuringly. ¡°Why don''t you go outside and tell the worrywarts he will survive.¡±


    I sighed and left the operating room.


    Once I was in the atrium, I disposed of the protective gear which ensured sterility as much as it protected me from the poison. Someone would burn the contaminated gloves, apron, and mask later on. The goggles would be cleaned thoroughly.


    Then I left through the second security gate after I was completely sure nothing on my body was contaminated.


    Outside, I was greeted by a crowd of elders emitting a roiling cloud of conflicting emotions. While not everyone was present, it was almost as if the elders had decided to hold an impromptu gathering in our clinic.


    Juliana and Skye Rumen immediately approached me, the question apparent in their eyes.


    But my attention was drawn to Astra, who sat at the corridor''s wall, hugging Teresa as if her mother provided the only anchor in the roiling sea of emotions. They spilled forth from Astra and permeated the room like storm clouds.


    It hurt to see a friend like this. ¡°Astra, stop brooding and cheer up. Mom says Magnus will be fine, though he will have a few horrible days until the poison is completely out of his system.¡±


    Astra looked up and blinked through teary eyes as if seeing me for the first time. ¡°He will?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The storm clouds immediately lifted, only to be replaced by overwhelming joy. Astra got up and ran over to hug me. She lifted me bodily from the floor and I felt my bones creak, but I was unable to deny her the emotional relief.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you!¡±


    I forced myself to smile instead of shrinking away. I hugged her, patting her back. ¡°You can let me down, Astra. You are squeezing me too much.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so sorry!¡± She carefully let me down but kept hugging me for comfort. As much for my sake as for her own.


    Sometimes, being an empath was a curse. I couldn''t help but ride along on the roller-coaster of emotions which was emitted by the people around me. The more there were, the harder it was to block them out.


    I liked Astra because of this. She had her emotions more under control than others. It was why we had become the best of friends, but right now she was a wreck and I did not like being close to her.


    Well, being told you had lost your partner to an assassination would do that to people.


    I could endure Astra¡¯s loss of control for a little while. I would be a bad friend if not.


    ¡°Is there anything else you can tell us about his state?¡± Juliana Rumen asked. ¡°It would have been quite the blow to lose his connection to his ¡®organisation¡¯.¡±


    ¡°They tried to stab him through the heart but didn''t consider it could be reinforced too, like the rest of his musculature. The metal spike glanced off and was hard to get out without causing more internal bleeding. To make sure he would die they used deathnut oil,¡± I explained. ¡°Their choice of weapon suggests they knew about his mutation, as hardly anything else would have made it through the subdermal armour so easily. They also didn¡¯t take any half-measures with the poison, which suggests they knew of his resistance. There are other poisons which would also do the job in a normal scenario while being far easier to handle.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible they somehow got the information from the Tates?¡± Teresa asked, causing a stir among the elders.


    Astra let go and turned to face her mother in outrage. ¡°Thalia would never!¡±


    The question was a powder keg and had me instantly become serious. My family had medical access to the whole clan. In case of a betrayal, it meant our enemies would know all the elders'' and juggernauts'' weaknesses. Thankfully, such a thing was unlikely because my strata treated patient confidentiality very seriously. Only the doctors in charge of a patient and the strata''s elders had direct access to the files. If a spy wanted to steal more information than an individual target, they would have to frisk the entire hospital and collect the documents from every office.


    ¡°Exactly three people have access to Astra''s and Tulkas'' files,¡± I replied with absolute confidence. ¡°They were my mother''s and my patients. And Astra''s pregnancy was supervised by Kiera Tate. If any of us willingly gave away a patient''s weaknesses, the clan may as well start digging graves.¡±


    ¡°We just wanted to make sure,¡± Juliana clarified. ¡°I don''t believe any of you would betray the clan. And the Tates are political allies of the Frosts. It wouldn''t make sense.¡±


    Hayne Ortega cleared his throat. ¡°There is a second source to gain basic information about Magnus''s abilities. Worse, this source would know everyone¡¯s abilities. It would also explain why the bodies couldn''t be identified as belonging to any strata.¡±


    ¡°The assassins didn''t belong to clan Aerie?¡± I exclaimed, shocked. I assumed the attack had been orchestrated by a strata which was against the war.


    The fifth strata''s elder shook his head. ¡°These men and women had far too sophisticated and streamlined mutations, aimed for stealth and obfuscation. All identical. Those were bio-engineered enhancements for soldiers. They were remnants of the Forgotten. Earth sympathisers! When I arrived, the remaining living assassin chose to take his own life rather than be caught and interrogated. But it doesn¡¯t matter. We have the bodies as proof and I recognized the signs from my time serving in the war. I am sure your parents will be able to confirm it once they get the opportunity to look at the corpses.¡±


    ¡°Then we have a big problem.¡± Juliana clicked her tongue. ¡°Having a sleeper cell of the Forgotten in our midst without anyone noticing in all these years. They also must have a connection to Earth. Or were they alarmed by us when we activated the UI?¡±


    She groaned and closed her eyes while shaking her fists. ¡°This is the explanation of why we were always one step behind them during the war! They knew our abilities and could prepare counters for our best people! In any case, we have to act as if Earth wants to continue the war.¡±


    Continue the war?


    Skye looked around the room. ¡°I hope nobody will oppose me if I set the clan to a state of war for the time being. At least until we are sure how big this problem is. Teresa, Etan, I would feel better if you could provide a few of your hunters to act as bodyguards and security for high-value targets. I shudder at the thought of active sabotage while it¡¯s winter. It would be a death sentence for the colony if they somehow manage to destroy the ventilation system in a coordinated move. We wouldn''t be able to survive on the surface and suffocate if we stayed in the main cavern. And if we split up the people, the creatures would pick us off!¡±


    Etan bowed his head. ¡°We will call back everyone who isn¡¯t necessary for resource gathering.¡±


    ¡°At least it erases our concerns about Tulkas¡¯s loyalties,¡± Bruce pointed out. ¡°They would hardly try to kill someone working in their interest.¡±


    Juliana looked towards the Patels. ¡°Your people have one job from now on. Find them! Find their connection to Earth and kill them all if you can''t.¡±


    ¡°We still haven''t found the one who fell out of the elevator, so there must be one of them loose at the very least.¡± Bruce mused. ¡°They should be smart enough to shut down their operations after this failure, but we will do our best.¡± He bowed and departed with hurried steps.


    ¡°Could someone please explain what¡¯s going on?¡± Astra asked the questions which were burning on my lips. ¡°Who are the Forgotten? What does Earth have to do with the war?¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear. Let¡¯s step aside and I will explain.¡± Teresa got up and took Astra and me by the shoulders while Juliana continued to give orders.


    Once we were out of the way, Astra¡¯s mother began, ¡°It''s normally not talked about, but you should know as heirs. The Forgotten is a derogative term which came up after the great war between the clans.¡± She nervously played with her fingers before she continued. ¡°This is a somewhat dark chapter in our rulership which I am not proud of, but a necessary one. It was supported by all the great clans which survived the war. I suppose you are familiar with the official story?¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°The clan which ruled the Old Camp had overwhelming numbers thanks to the steady stream of exiles from Earth. They had ambitions to unify all the clans by any means necessary, but they were defeated once they managed to make enough enemies and the clans unified against them. The clans quarrelled over the Old Camp¡¯s resources and their territory afterwards. Ultimately, they made the Old Camp a neutral zone and strictly regulated how the influx of exiles was to be used, so no clan would gain an advantage over the others.¡±


    Teresa sighed and massaged her forehead. ¡°Technically, all that is true, but as so often the devil lies in the details. The Old Camp''s rise to power was a slow process and the clans would have fallen to them. Our rivalry with the Thich is legendary and stems from the times before the war, so our forefathers weren''t without faults. We would¡¯ve never been able to set aside our issues and unify if not for a common enemy. Earth.¡±


    ¡°Earth?¡± Astra asked. ¡°But they gave up on Tirnanog!¡±


    Teresa raised a disapproving eyebrow. ¡°Earth¡¯s leadership abandoned the colonies because they didn¡¯t want to pay the upkeep. They decided to use this world as a penal colony instead. A deathtrap for anyone they disliked. What do you think they would do when they learned those colonies had stabilized themselves ¨C no longer reliant on Earth¡¯s resources? No longer teetering at the edge of existence? There is a big difference between a group of cavemen and a society which crawled its way back to the middle ages. It implies there''s more possible.¡±


    ¡°They would want to regain control,¡± I answered questioningly. ¡°And the easiest way would be to infiltrate the Old Camp because they took in all the exiles at the time! Mix in your people and take over.¡±


    Teresa nodded approvingly. ¡°The Old Camp¡¯s aggressive policies were encouraged by operatives sent from Earth ¨C which we call the Forgotten. Brainwashed super soldiers and undercover agents equipped with what Earth deems best among the mutations they researched thanks to us. Also, it¡¯s not like there was no support to be found among our people for a reunification campaign with Earth.¡±


    ¡°The clans found out about the Forgotten!¡± Astra hit her open palm with her fist. ¡°That was the reason why the clans suddenly managed to set aside their differences!¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Teresa replied. ¡°The clan wars were an attempt by Earth¡¯s government to regain control over Tirnanog while investing as little resources as possible. They failed, and we spent years cleaning up the remains of their campaign. This is our great shame.¡±


    ¡°Shame?¡± I asked.


    Teresa gestured around. ¡°What do you think would happen if we allowed the Forgotten to propagate their ideology of reunification?¡±


    ¡°People would flock to them,¡± I muttered. ¡°Some because they hope for better living conditions. Others because they hope to return to Earth ¨C but it¡¯s not like Earth would take anyone back!¡±


    ¡°Earth would want resources and research materials once they are back in control,¡± I continued the thought. ¡°Resources which we would have to give them. Which would make our lives harder. It¡¯s not like they haven¡¯t already proven they don¡¯t want to pay for the colonies. And sending their people here hasn''t worked out for them historically.¡±


    Teresa shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s all conjecture since we prevented it from ever happening. A large part of the struggles after the clan wars wasn¡¯t the clans quarrelling over the remains. That''s just what we tell people to obfuscate the truth. It simply took us that long to root out the Forgotten and any sympathizers they still had among our populations. Suffice it to say, it wasn¡¯t a pretty process, and the policies we enacted in the aftermath were mostly because we were uncertain whether we succeeded.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said slowly while considering this secret history and the aura of insecurity which spilled forth from Teresa. What she described, it certainly wasn''t a morally excusable or honourable process and it ate at her conscience.


    But such was life. The morally impeccable were the ones to be trampled upon by those who weren''t. One had to strive for ideals while dealing with the realities of life. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for the other clans, Mrs. Teresa, but having lived here for a considerable part of my life, I can say you did the right thing. I don''t believe things would be better under an outsider''s leadership. Especially not when they aren''t even living on our planet.¡±


    Astra studied me for a moment before she regarded her mother and nodded. ¡°You were right to throw those arseholes off our home! Not everything is sunshine and flowers here, but it isn¡¯t like we aren¡¯t doing our best to improve things for everyone. When Earth tried to retake control they could have sent us aid or negotiated. They left us here to die, and now that we managed to build a secure haven they wanted in? Instead of helping, they chose subversion and violence. There is nothing you have to blame yourself for, no matter how brutal things got to get them off our planet. The moral responsibility is mostly on them! We might wish for clear lines in war, but the reality is there is no black and white, only grey.¡±


    Teresa nodded firmly and straightened. ¡°Thank you, girls. It¡¯s good to hear such a thing from the younger generation.¡±

 Ch 65 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    I awoke, or rather, became aware of myself as a drizzle of water hit my face.


    It was yet another of Gaia¡¯s dream settings, this time located in a bungalow right next to a waterfall which found its end in an ocean. Beyond was a chain of islands with verdant rainforests. Flocks of tropical birds hinted at the pulsating life covering the isles. They were green hearts within a blue sea, much more inviting than Tirnanog¡¯s hostile fauna and flora could ever be.


    I stepped back from where the waterfall was drenching the protective railing between the terrace and the water. From there, a glass door led into the wooden bungalow.


    Inside, I found a generously spaced living room.


    Gaia was leaning over the body of someone lying on a couch who I automatically assumed to be Magnus.


    She was moaning and giggling stupidly while moving her ass back and forth in apparent enjoyment. ¡°Oh, yes! That¡¯s good! Mmh!¡±


    What the fuck were they doing!?


    I let out an involuntary growl as thoughts of betrayal flashed through my mind.


    Before I could stop myself, I ripped the handle off the door with the unmistakable snap of breaking wood.


    The avatar gasped and straitened, then looked at me with a guilty expression.


    My hand was ready to launch the metal handle at her when I realized just in time I had misunderstood the situation.


    Which didn¡¯t mean the truth was any less strange to witness.


    I narrowed my eyes and glared at the avatar and the permanent marker in her hand, then at my sleeping partner.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing to my husband?¡± I asked.


    Gaia pouted and made some insecure noises. ¡°I¡­ uhm¡­ am¡­ mmh¡­ having some fun?¡±


    My eyes wandered between the marker in her hand and my partner¡¯s defaced mien. No words would have been able to describe the depth of my bafflement.


    She continued, waving the marker in the air. ¡°You know, me hijacking people¡¯s dreams and all that? It¡¯s really, really rare to meet someone who sleeps within the dream. And there is this human thing which I find interesting ¨C to draw stuff on someone¡¯s face when they are caught sleeping.¡±


    I opened my mouth but wasn¡¯t sure what to say.


    This was yet another case of Gaia''s skewed understanding of humans. ¡°You know, you are supposed to smear something stupid on their face. What you did is more like body painting.¡±


    Gaia looked down at Magnus¡¯s peaceful face, now featuring a high-class image of a satisfied-looking cat with long hair. It was a perfect job, worthy of an artist.


    ¡°Somehow, I can¡¯t believe you are rarely doing this. This looks too skilled,¡± I spoke slowly, doubting her claim. ¡°You had to train this, or is your nature allowing you to become a perfect body painter on a whim?¡±


    The avatar pursed her lips and looked down at my unconscious partner. She tilted her head, then her eyes widened in realization.


    She cursed and flung the marker against the nearest wall. ¡°Meteor strike my creations down! I knew there was something wrong with this! I thought humans were just too inept to do a better job! The ungainliness of the scribbles being intentional never occurred to me!¡±


    I slowly lowered the metal handle and tried my best to be inconspicuous when I threw it behind me while Gaia ranted.


    Ignoring her, I went to my partner¡¯s side and took his hand in mine. It felt cold and clammy, which immediately had me worried. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he awake?¡±


    ¡°Don''t know for sure. Happens sometimes when people skirt the edge of death. They return to the fold,¡± Gaia retorted disinterestedly. ¡°The poison has him out cold, though I got a connection to him. You two are strange that way. I cannot say I fully understand it myself.¡±


    She reached over and switched off the lamp she had used to ensure optimal illumination of my partner''s face.


    I sighed in frustration and squeezed Magnus''s hand. I wanted to pursue this line of discussion and Gaia¡¯s knowledge about death, but right now I had other problems.


    ¡°Then tell me about the ones who tried to kill him. We have three bodies and we are very sure one got away. I need his affiliates within the clan. Know whether there are more of these ''Forgotten'' around.¡±


    Rolling her eyes, Gaia sunk to the floor and played dead. ¡°You are aware of my limitations! I can''t find people who have no direct connection to me. It''s really hard to select a specific dreamer unless I already visited them.¡±


    She was getting lazy again, relying on having almost limitless time to solve her troubles.


    ¡°You mean you can''t find the frigging assassins?¡± I hissed while I knelt next to my partner''s unconscious form. When I had gone to sleep this night, I had harboured the hope of meeting up with Magnus in our shared dreamscape.


    But it wasn''t to be.


    Now Gaia couldn''t even find those who hurt him?


    ¡°Are they infected with the violet mutation?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, they are pure human. As far as I know, only Iv is a violet within Mount Aerie,¡± Gaia explained. ¡°But I am not powerful enough to sift through thousands of humans within any timeframe which would be meaningful to you. I am already watching the elders on your behalf and it''s straining my capabilities. Now, if you would be willing to wait for a few months¡­¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    She had been watching for weeks and didn''t find anything malicious about the elders'' goals. ¡°Forget about the elders for now. I need the escapees'' location. The rest, I can do by myself!¡±


    Gaia got back up. ¡°I can do that. Just the one who attacked Magnus, right? It should have created a metaphysical connection which I can follow. Do you want tea and cake while I work?¡±


    Suddenly, Magnus squeezed my hand back. ¡°Don''t go after them. Let the elders do their job.¡±


    ¡°You woke up!¡± A grin broke out on my face and I immediately leaned over him to kiss him. ¡°Do you have any idea what I felt when they told me you had been murdered?¡±


    ¡°This is Gaia''s dream?¡± he asked, still disoriented. ¡°Why do I still feel like shit?¡±


    ¡°Probably because they poisoned you with a neurotoxin and the dreamwalker ability has something to do with whatever parts of your physiology are affected. The pain your physical body is in spills into the dream,¡± Gaia postulated while she leaned over us. ¡°This is actually useful information to make adjustments to the next clutch.¡±


    I blinked and smiled while I looked up at the avatar. ¡°For your sake, I''ll pretend I didn''t hear that.¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Gaia whined. ¡°It wasn''t meant maliciously. I am trying my best to do right by you.¡±


    ¡°What happened while I was out?¡± Magnus asked.


    Not knowing how long he would be awake, I told him a shortened and more comprehensive version of what my mother had shared with me. Earth''s involvement, the Forgotten, how everyone was in an uproar at the possibility of more infiltrators.


    Magnus chuckled once I finished. ¡°It''s truly the same everywhere. The one who wins gets to decide what happened.¡±


    I kept talking for a few more minutes while he mainly listened, but he was deadly tired. All too soon he lost consciousness again and drifted off to sleep.


    Once I was sure he was under, I returned my attention to Gaia. From experience, I already knew it would take many hours of teasing details out of the avatar until I had at least a vague idea of where to look for my prey.


    When I woke up, I found myself in the dark hospital room next to Magnus. I stood up from the reclining chair I had been sleeping in and made sure my partner was well. Then I left the room.


    During a state of war, it was standard doctrine for every combatant to be fully equipped at all times. I had been delivered my armour and equipment the day prior when I refused to leave Magnus''s side.


    On my way out, I grabbed the spear which I had requisitioned from the armoury. I had played with the thought of focusing on two rapiers as my main weapons. But the encounter with the changeling broodmother showed an obvious flaw with such an approach. The rapier simply lacked raw stopping power against monsters.


    I needed something like my partner''s spetum, and a spear felt like the obvious choice.


    One of the rapiers would remain as my sidearm since I had become fond of the weapon. But anything larger than a human would get to feel humanity''s oldest weapon, the good old stick.


    I entered the foyer of the hospital''s V.I.P. section and found several hunters guarding the area. Taking the attack seriously, the family had attached between one to ten bodyguards to everyone who held an important office within the clan.


    ¡°I need someone to inform the Patels. I know where the remaining assassin is,¡± I addressed one of my guards. ¡°We also need Thalia here right now.¡±


    Thankfully, my position allowed me to give some orders without the need to explain myself.


    While my people hurried to do as they were told, I stood waiting, tapping my foot on the ground. I wanted to rush right to my enemy and stick a weapon all the way up their¡­


    But no.


    Control and patience.


    As long as I did this right, I would get my revenge.


    It took half an hour until Thalia joined me, trailed by her entourage of ten guards. Including the ten which had been attached to Magnus and my own group, the foyer was becoming crowded with grim-looking women and men in full armour.


    ¡°The guard told me you knew where the assassin is?¡± my friend asked with a curious expression.


    I nodded. ¡°We are going there, right now. And you will be with us to rip any information they might have right out of their brains.¡±


    Thalia''s eyes widened at my suggestion. ¡°Shouldn''t you let the Patels do that? They got the job as far as I remember. And how did you find out where the assassin is hiding? Weren''t you with Magnus the entire time?¡±


    ¡°A very good question!¡±


    Bruce sped into the foyer, surrounded by a blurry outline of black wings which moved far too fast for the eye to see. His entrance was accompanied by the buzz of a human-sized colibri and a gust of air which forced me to raise a hand protectively to my eyes.


    The elder''s feet lightly touched the ground and he effortlessly transitioned to a speedy walk. His wings wrapped around him like a cloak. ¡°My people are taking the second, third, and fourth stratas apart to find the culprit, but all we got are old trails and abandoned hideouts. What clue could you have found here in the hospital?¡±


    I lowered my hand and bowed slightly to the elder. ¡°My partner woke up for a few minutes. The attackers exchanged instructions which led me to believe it would be highly advisable to search the tenth.¡±


    ¡°The tenth?¡± Bruce raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nothing I got points at the tenth. And it''s hard to believe agents who managed to hide among us for years would slip up so dramatically. Why would they tell their target where to find them?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t call it a slip-up,¡± I retorted, spinning my white lie further. ¡°They believed their target dead and had suffered unexpected losses. One of their dying agents mentioned a fallback point ''Silo Seven'' right before my partner lost consciousness.¡±


    ¡°''Silo Seven'' could mean anything,¡± Bruce countered.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I tapped a finger against my temple. ¡°But training aside, would a dying man remember to keep his cool while bleeding out on the ground? I admit, this is a shot in the dark, but one of my mutations enhances mental capabilities and I firmly believe myself to be on the right track. The tenth has an old storage facility which was abandoned years ago. Presumably, because a ratkin break-in left it too vulnerable to be repaired. Once upon a time, it was called storehouse seven. If a group decided to renovate the structure, they would have a perfect hideout connected to the clan¡¯s tunnel system while also providing a way out.¡±


    Bruce wasn''t convinced. ¡°An odd tidbit of knowledge to have. And how does storehouse translate to silo? You wouldn¡¯t be willing to share the detail of this ability so I can judge its accuracy?¡±


    ¡°No. You won¡¯t get any more information about this mutation. And silo is what the tenth''s farmers call their storehouses. It''s slang,¡± I explained and pointed towards the door. ¡°Can we go now? I dare say we should come down on them hard and fast as soon as possible before they get the idea they could be compromised and relocate for safety.¡±


    I strolled past the elder and gestured for Thalia to follow. ¡°Come.¡±


    It took a moment before Bruce followed us. ¡°Now wait a moment.¡±


    ¡°No time for a moment,¡± I interrupted. ¡°Either we can coordinate and you get the credit, or I get to storm the opponent''s fort with my hunters and we get the glory. What will it be?¡±


    The elder harrumphed. ¡°If you are so certain, then I will take the credit, but this needs a little more planning than simply barging into their hideout. We have to close off possible escape routes and make sure we have the upper hand.¡±


    Exactly what I wanted.


    ¡°How long?¡± I asked.


    Bruce bristled. ¡°An hour? If I mobilize all my people.¡±


    I stopped, turned to him and crossed my arms. ¡°I am waiting.¡±


    Bruce pressed his lips together but didn''t say anything more. Instead, he gave me a mocking bow and spread his wings. A moment later, he buzzed off.


    It was the longest hour I had to endure in my entire life so far.


    The third¡¯s people scouted out the area while our hunters prepared to act as the spearhead of the operation.


    Dad and Mom naturally heard about me requisitioning more people once Bruce informed us of the necessary scope of the operation. We had to block all the Forgotten¡¯s escape routes, including the ones which would allow them to flee the clan entirely.


    In the end, it meant several hundred people were involved.


    The idea of personally storming the enemy¡¯s stronghold to take personal revenge was drenched in cold water once the scope of the operation became obvious.


    Nobody desired a failure, so five juggernaut-classed hunters were tasked with breaking down the door to the abandoned facility, while other parties fortified each identified escape route.


    Meanwhile, I had to sit still and wait for the operation to end, fobbed off by the promise of getting my hands on the Forgotten who weren¡¯t killed in action.

 Ch 66 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°It''s not fair! It''s just not fair!¡± Thalia grumbled while she took one last blood sample from Magnus''s fingertip. She pricked the skin with a needle and caught the drop of blood on a paper strip. ¡°The zippers must be related to god-damn honeybadgers!¡±


    After four days of total unconsciousness, Magnus finally woke up and recovered rapidly, though he was still a little lethargic. In the beginning, he had been a little pale in the face and short of breath due to the loss of blood.


    Now he could already walk around without assistance.


    Nonetheless, he had to stay at the hospital until all signs of the poison were gone.


    A scar was barely visible on his chest, but it would fade once the starfish mutation had time to do its wonders. Not losing any tissue helped a lot with the recovery speed because it meant the body only had to close the opened wound instead of regrowing lost tissue.


    Thalia placed the paper strip on a sample dish and used a microscope to look at it while going through several background filters for the microscope¡¯s light. ¡°The coagulation rate is back to normal. It''s been barely a week and there''s no sign of the poison. Your body metabolised everything it couldn''t expel!¡±


    ¡°That''s good,¡± Magnus replied drily. Physically, he was fine, but I knew him well enough to tell that the assassination attempt had thrown him off his game.


    ¡°You know, my mother had to cut off her hand after operating on you.¡± Thalia kept up her tirade while she studied the sample. ¡°If anyone else had taken such an amount of deathnut oil they would be three feet under.¡±


    This finally caused Magnus to pay more attention to our doctor. ¡°She had to cut off her hand!? I am so sorry.¡±


    Thalia waved him off. ¡°It''s already regrown. And since I can''t find any trace of the poison in your blood you should be fine to leave.¡±


    I placed a hand on Magnus''s shoulder and squeezed it, happy to hear the good news. ¡°Cheer up! Being so down doesn''t fit you.¡±


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°I am sorry. It just feels like I fucked up. I was trained to do this and I failed to anticipate the enemy''s response. If it hadn''t been for my mutations, I would have been dead. When we switched off the surveillance system it had to cause some reaction. If not by Earth, then from some elder who was dissatisfied with the coming changes. I was the logical target. Why wasn''t I more careful? I could have pointed out the danger. What if they had gone after you or the babies to pressure me?¡±


    I slapped him over the back of his head. ¡°Just stop it! Yes, maybe you could have anticipated a reaction, but so could anyone in the council of elders! You had even less information about the true state of affairs than they did. There are countless people who could be blamed, but fact is, nobody is perfect. We didn''t know Earth had something like the Forgotten and the elders thought they had eradicated them all. Earth didn''t meddle in our affairs for decades. It allowed everyone to become complacent, so how could we have known?¡±


    He looked at me accusingly while rubbing the back of his head. ¡°That hurt! And as you saw, they never truly stopped meddling!¡±


    ¡°But the point is we thought they did! Should I hit you harder to get you out of your funk?¡± I asked. ¡°Get your sub-identities up and running. Normally, you would have dodged me easily. Just get it into your head that nobody can account for everything. And we aren¡¯t in a position in which such a thing can be expected of us. Aside from being overly paranoid, nobody could have anticipated the attack. But now that we know, we can prepare.¡±


    ¡°No, thank you. No further reminders necessary,¡± Magnus backed off a step with his chair. ¡°I get what you are trying to say.¡±


    For a moment, the room fell uncomfortably silent before Magnus shook himself and took a deep breath.


    ¡°So?¡± He exhaled and looked at us expectantly. ¡°I heard the clan routed their hideout? I hope you didn''t go after them yourself, Astra.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Believe me, I wanted to, but once I got the Patels involved the operation was taken out of my hands. I had to stay well behind the frontlines while others got to deliver the pain. All Thalia and I got was the aftermath report.¡±


    The healer waved her hand. ¡°Which I am perfectly fine with. My mutations are geared entirely towards support and survival.¡±


    ¡°And intelligence gathering,¡± I added.


    ¡°Which is a part of a support role,¡± she clarified. ¡°Anyway, we managed to rout the entire hideout. Twenty-four Forgotten and we got seven of them alive!¡±


    ¡°Only seven!?¡± Magnus exclaimed. ¡°Excuse me, but what went wrong? I thought you planned the operation.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°We got more of them than the elders hoped for. Turns out, the Forgotten are mentally conditioned undercover agents. The best mental manipulation Earth had to offer at the time ¨C psychological, chemical, and surgical procedures. If those people see a risk of being taken prisoner, they take their own lives.¡±


    She shook her head in dismay. ¡°Just think of what it takes to meddle with someone''s head enough to turn them into undercover agents who stay on the job for years, decades even. They didn¡¯t even have a hope of going back to Earth.¡±


    ¡°Mother fuckers...¡± I growled, remembering Thalia¡¯s first interrogation of a Forgotten. It hadn¡¯t been pretty, but vastly different from what my friend could do to a normal person when she didn¡¯t hold back. The Forgotten had withstood her mental manipulation far longer than expected.


    My partner shook his head. ¡°I heard the military police has people like that, but I never encountered one. If I had, my old self certainly wouldn''t have survived it. The organisation relies on secrecy and electronic warfare rather than risking direct confrontation with the government¡¯s enforcers. If someone''s cover is blown, they are abandoned together with all their contacts.¡±


    This sounded a little extreme to my ears, but Magnus''s organisation could probably claim experience in the field. I didn''t even know where to begin if I desired to create an underground network capable of hiding from a worldwide government.


    Thalia continued, ¡°Their indoctrination certainly isn''t a joke. Even I couldn''t get past it without turning their brains to mush ¨C and I am the most powerful psychic the clan has at the moment. It took me a day for the first one to cave. It doesn¡¯t make me look forward to the others.¡±


    Magnus looked at my friend with a horrified expression. ¡°Mush?¡±


    ¡°Figuratively,¡± Thalia amended. ¡°I can''t turn them literally to mush. It would kill a person instantly and I would be regarded as the most powerful person in the clan. Ha! No, they are just a little out of sorts once I am done with them.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Once she is done with them, they are like lobotomised zombies,¡± I clarified. ¡°Though it usually takes a few hours.¡±


    Magnus raised a hand. ¡°You know what? I don''t want to know the details of the how! Just tell me what you found out.¡±


    Thalia shrugged. ¡°They had a connection to Earth via a small radio transmitter, ready to send and receive information every time a wormhole was opened. It looks like they were lying low for a long time. They were instructed to do so at the end of the clan wars. Several decades of hiding. Can you imagine what it would be like? Those people are like robots with a modicum of creativity and ego. They watched and bided their time until they got an instruction ordering them to identify the source of the problem regarding the supercomputer''s connection loss and eliminate it. They researched the issue and judged it impossible to reverse the situation. But they identified you as a likely culprit since you are the only new person who regularly visits the Hall of Law.¡±


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°But why? The supercomputer''s cover is already blown. Killing me wouldn''t have solved the situation. This sounds like an ill-thought-out reaction.¡±


    I raised a finger. ¡°Which the Forgotten didn''t know. From their point of view, killing you wasn''t much of an issue and might have prevented further interferences. You were just some newly partnered guy whose mutations were known. An easy target. If they hadn''t failed, you would have entered an elevator on one floor and been found dead on another. They would have gotten away if they hadn''t thought you to be dead and blown their cover.¡± I winked at him conspiratorially.


    He got the hint and nodded. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°We are going to squeeze the Forgotten for everything they know, but I fear we won''t get much more,¡± Thalia said. ¡°I got to start with those who had likely the most information. They didn''t know of any other cells similar to theirs. They had a few fallback points and secondary hideouts, but all for their group. No contact with others. As far as the clan knows, we got them all. Which doesn''t mean there aren¡¯t a few more groups like them operating independently. I suspect it might be the case, given their nature.¡±


    ¡°The clan will proceed under the assumption that there are more of them,¡± I continued. ¡°Which is why my parents want to talk with us as soon as you are able again.¡±


    ¡°What about?¡± Magnus asked.


    ¡°I don''t know. They didn''t tell me because they didn''t want to repeat themselves.¡±


    ¡°Work aside!¡± Thalia clapped her hands together with shining eyes. ¡°Do you already have names?¡±


    ¡°Names?¡± Magnus and I shared a look of incomprehension.


    ¡°For the babies!?¡± Thalia smiled.


    I cleared my throat and looked away.


    Magnus twiddled his thumbs. ¡°To be honest, we haven''t talked about it.¡±


    Thalia gaped at us with an open mouth and a few moments passed before she could give her verdict. ¡°You two are the worst parents ever! Who gives birth three times and doesn''t even think of one name!¡±


    I gestured in an attempt to justify myself. ¡°They aren''t ''born''. They are still eggs! I figured we have time to think about it.¡±


    ¡°I vote for Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos!¡± Magnus proclaimed.


    Thalia glared at him. ¡°You can''t name your babies after the three fates!¡±


    I frowned, trying to remember from where I knew the three fates. Were they talking about this old myth? It annoyed me that Thalia and Magnus shared this trait of quoting old pop culture since I couldn''t join in for the most part. ¡°Wait... weren''t the three fates all sisters? We can''t name a boy after a woman!¡±


    Magnus snapped his fingers. ¡°Damn! What other folklore is there with two sisters and a brother? We already have red, blue, and green. If we make two more and they turn out the right colours, we can name them after the power rangers.¡±


    ¡°We aren''t going to name our kids after some folklore!¡± I growled. ¡°And no to whatever ¡®power rangers¡¯ are!¡±


    Magnus seemed unbothered by my refusal and turned the discussion on its head by throwing the ball into my court. ¡°To be honest, I was never great with names. I am sure you can come up with three great ones, Astra. I¡¯ll leave the affair in your capable hands.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± My eyes widened at the daunting task.


    What if I named my kids and they weren''t happy with their names? Would I have to endure their scorn for the rest of my life? I wouldn''t be able to have Magnus share the blame! ¡°No! You are going to name at least one of them!¡±


    He looked at me flatly. ¡°And you get to name two? How is that fair?¡±


    Thalia massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°You two are supposed to come up with a name together. That¡¯s what parents are supposed to do.¡±


    I raised my hands, beseeching the heavens. ¡°You know what? We are not going to have a fight over this. Magnus got a clean bill of health and my father is waiting for us with some presumably important message.¡±


    Reaching out, I linked arms with Magnus and pulled him to his feet. Then I excused us and hurried him out the door.


    Incensed about the accusation of being a bad parent, Magnus tried to discuss the issue of names the entire way back to the family''s holdings. But I steadfastly refused to make a final decision while we were riled up about the topic.


    It wasn''t like we didn''t have months to consider our decision. I refused to name an egg and call it by name.


    What if our doctor had made a mistake with the gender and we ended up giving one of the girls a boy''s name? Just no! It was definitely better to wait.


    Three-quarters of an hour later we were finally with my parents in the main living room, ready for the next shoe to drop.


    ¡°The council of elders had a few heated discussions while Magnus was out for the count,¡± Teresa began by bringing us up to date. ¡°One of our main concerns was the coming war. Given Earth''s interference, violent conflict seems like the most likely outcome. We knew all along that Earth used Tirnanog for experiments, but seeing how far back Earth''s machinations truly went rubbed salt into a few old wounds ¨C to say the least.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, the council became somewhat paranoid after the assassination attempt on Magnus,¡± Etan took up the narrative. ¡°Rooting out a huge cell of Forgotten was a good thing, but it also kind of poured oil onto the fire. At this moment, we aren''t quite sure who to trust. We don''t even know whether there are more Forgotten around. So we have to do something to protect the two of you from further attacks.¡±


    Teresa continued, ¡°Which is why we came up with a plan. It''s not like something similar wasn''t coming for the two of you anyway after what Magnus brought to the clan. But the council decided to elevate the two of you to the position of protectors of the clan.¡±


    I straightened, almost unable to believe it. This was huge!


    ¡°What is a protector?¡± Magnus asked.


    ¡°Uh...¡± I bit my lip, trying to find an Earth analogy. ¡°Something between a foreign affairs minister, a consul and an ambassador. A protector''s task is to represent Aerie in front of other clans when there is no elder available for a diplomatic mission. They have far-reaching rights to make decisions in the absence of an elder.¡±


    Magnus blinked. ¡°How would that help us against a second assassination attempt?¡±


    Etan cleared his throat. ¡°The plan is to remove you two from the sights of further assassins while we comb the entire clan for more Forgotten. In a week or two the snow will be beginning to melt. From there, it will be roughly a month before our airships can fly. The intention is to pay off the Caravaners to start their next trip early and endure the storms. Currently, they are sitting out the winter in Mount Aerie. You two will join them on a diplomatic mission to clan Hochberg.¡±


    Magnus pursed his lips. ¡°Aren''t the Caravaners the guys who transport goods between the clans?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°They won''t like taking strangers with them, but their beasts of burden can deal with the melting snow and the storms. And once they learn of the reason for the UI popping up in their heads, they will be on our side anyway,¡± my mother explained.


    ¡°You haven''t told them?¡± I asked. ¡°Better question, they were included in the UI''s system reset?¡±


    ¡°Apparently so.¡± Teresa shrugged. ¡°Everyone within Mount Aerie was affected. Clan or no clan. Anyway, you two and a cohort of carefully selected guards will join the Caravaner''s expedition to clan Hochberg. Hopefully, this will remove you from the Forgotten''s reach while we do a complete sweep of the clan. It should be impossible for Forgotten to hide among the Caras, for they are all as close as family.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± I interrupted. ¡°What happens once we reach Hochberg? Wouldn''t the threat there be just as big as here?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Etan shook his head. ¡°You will be the clan''s representatives. If something happened to you, Hochberg would be in big trouble. And if in doubt, you could stay with the Caravaners until we catch up. They will protect you with all their might until our fleet arrives. Meanwhile, your task will be to prepare them and clan Hochberg for what is to come. Tell them what you learned about the Thich and Earth while you sit and wait for us. The fleet will be one or two weeks behind you.¡±


    ¡°Ah and...¡± I didn''t want to say it, but my gaze went in the direction of my living quarters ¨C and the kids.


    Teresa came over to hug me. ¡°I''ll look after them for as long as I can and we have already spoken to Mary. She will stay at the mountain and promised to treat them as her own for as long as we are away.¡±


    ¡°Mary!?¡± Magnus squawked in shock.


    When my parents glared at him, he cleared his throat and raised his hands in resignation. ¡°I''ve said nothing. Mary is fine!¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I hope they don''t hatch before the next winter. With my luck, they impress like chicks and call her mom from then on.¡±


    ¡°Don''t jinx it!¡± Magnus hissed and made a strange sign while looking upwards and quickly knocking on the table.

 Ch 67 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    Most of our time was taken up by various appointments in the following days.


    I wasn''t directly involved with the planning and organization of the overall mission, but this didn''t mean there weren''t several personal things to take care of.


    First on the list was a long discussion with Mary who had been handed the job of a babysitter. It was, to say the least, awkward to leave my offspring in the hands of another. Mary and I had improved our relationship as of late, but it wasn¡¯t at the point where I would leave my children in her care on a whim.


    It was hard to balance my feelings of responsibility with my other duties and goals. In the end, there just wasn¡¯t any other way forward for me than to press on. I still had to do everything in my power to save Evanne who was still with the Thich. All my sacrifices up till now wouldn¡¯t mean much otherwise.


    I also told myself I was the best choice to hack another supercomputer ¨C if there was one at the Hochberg¡¯s settlement.


    Aside from the elders¡¯ firm suspicion of more assassins hiding among the clan, I could think up just as many reasons to stay as to leave.


    Taking the eggs with me was out of the question.


    Choosing a suitable caretaker was the only option I could live with at the end of the day.


    It wasn¡¯t like I had many choices, aside from recruiting Iv for the task. Unfortunately, most of my little sister¡¯s time was currently occupied by her new BF. I avoided raising the topic with her since I didn¡¯t want to have the discussion which would surely follow ¨C her joining us on our trip.


    With all things considered it was decided to leave the eggs in Mary¡¯s care. She represented something like a grandmother to the rest of the family and Astra trusted her without question.


    Mary herself wasn¡¯t overly enthusiastic about playing babysitter. The only reason she agreed was because keeping watch over three eggs wasn''t much to ask for.


    And if all went well with the Hochberg, returning before the eggs¡¯ likely hatching date was a possibility.


    I really wished to be present when they ''hatched''.


    Next on the list was a long appointment with our favourite smith, elder Gilbert Kline. He had finally finished the two matching armour sets which looked like a mixture between futuristic power armour and medieval plate. Somehow, he had even found the time to integrate some creature cores into specialized tools and add them to the equipment.


    Among them was a laser pointer which could double as a very powerful flashlight. I had no use for it due to my Second Sight. Granted, if wielded without concern for others'' health it had the potential to blind people temporarily.


    Another core, the tooth of a Biter, had been grafted onto a handle and provided a handy utility knife. Biters were small pests with teeth which could penetrate almost anything thanks to their incredible sharpness. As if that wasn''t enough, their teeth could vibrate at high frequencies and slice through meat like power tools. Each tooth was a core of its own. Thankfully, Biters didn''t get large enough to truly threaten the native humans, which resulted in them being used as convenient garbage disposers.


    Despite all the crap I had seen and experienced in this world I wasn¡¯t truly prepared for what was yet to come.


    The strangest thing was our invitation to the fifteenth''s flight hangar, which led to Astra and myself standing awkwardly among grinning elders. We had been led onto one of the larger observation platforms which gave a nice view over the entire cavern with its tightly packed airships and the drake colony.


    The expressions on the faces of Astra''s parents said it all. Whatever they had planned, there was something to come which they anticipated to be hilarious.


    Juliana and Skye Rumen were the ones to greet us upon entering the cave which housed the flock of drakes.


    ¡°Hello!¡± Skye waved his hand cordially at us and grinned. ¡°I hope nobody spoiled the surprise and told you in advance?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Astra crossed her arms and raised a suspicious eyebrow.


    The entire affair had been kept quiet until Astra¡¯s parents unexpectedly changed our schedule this morning and brought us up here.


    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Juliana clapped her hands together. ¡°We thought since you are acting as our ambassadors you should have the right mounts for the job! Nobody would take an Aerie protector seriously without our recognized trademark.¡±


    ¡°Mounts?¡± I asked.


    A dreadful feeling of foreboding crept down my spine. As if Death had just taken a look over my shoulder. Scratching my neck, I turned around and tried to find out what had given me the creeps.


    I had never been very good with my precognition sense, but right now I felt it make somersaults, telling me to get the heck out of here. ¡°I''ve never ridden anything! Doesn''t there have to be some form of training to be a pilot, ahem, rider?¡±


    ¡°Aw, no.¡± Skye shook his head with a sad expression which was obviously fake. ¡°The drakes are self-flying. They either take you on a flight or they don''t, there is no ''riding'' involved. You tell them where to go and they do¡­ or they don¡¯t and kill you. It¡¯s their choice.¡±


    He reached into his pocket and took out two colour-coded whistles. After taking a look, he handed one to Astra and threw the other to me. ¡°Here, this is for Elegance. And this is Loopsfast.¡±


    I caught the ¡®keys¡¯ to my new mount and grimaced at the name. ¡°Can I rename mine to ¡®Flysveryslowly¡¯?¡±


    Skye didn¡¯t bestow an answer on me. Instead, the elder decided to ignore me while he listened to Astra''s bubbling enthusiasm.


    ¡°I heard rumours, but nobody wanted to confirm them first-hand!¡± Astra seemed eager to try while she fingered her whistle. ¡°So, is it true that the drakes are intelligent? They can talk?¡±


    I studied my whistle in confusion before my head shot up at Astra''s words.


    Juliana blew out a breath. ¡°You can¡¯t hold a real conversation with them per se. Though they are very smart. A drake is somewhere between a parrot and a toddler. You would be well advised not to humanize them too much. We managed to make a deal with the older ones who lead the colony. We keep their cave safe from other critters and cultivate their favourite food, the floating glowsponge. In turn, we can ride the younger ones who aren''t breeding yet. During summer, we also take our fleet out to assist them with the protection of their territory.¡±


    I had wondered about the logistics of maintaining such a big fleet of airships when there was no war. Using them for air and border control to keep unwanted critters away from Mount Aerie made sense.


    And there was something about them eating glowsponges, which wasn¡¯t much different from inhaling pure H2. I would like to¡­ Actually, I didn¡¯t want to know what crazy biology would require the regular intake of a fuel cell component.


    Two people with large glowsponge balls approached. They had them on strings of rope, like floating gas balloons for kids. The two couriers had to hold onto the comically huge treats because they were large enough to require effort.


    Each of us was handed a rope and I gingerly took it. Thanks to our strength mutation Astra and I hadn¡¯t any issues.


    ¡°Ah, this is going a little too fast for me,¡± I complained weakly. The drakes were smart enough to be negotiated with? That was huge news. Why hadn''t anyone told me before? Why was this kept a secret? Was this why everyone had avoided my questions about intelligent aliens so far?


    And why was my Precognition sense yowling so loud?


    ¡°Just do it!¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I didn''t get the chance to ask further questions, because Astra raised my whistle to my lips while she blew her own. More out of reflex than real consideration, I mimicked her.


    No noise came out, but I could feel an ultrasonic vibration through my filaments.


    Two drakes the size of jets separated from the flock at the far wall of the hangar and quickly closed in on us. The larger one took its time, using its four wings to glide closer while the slightly smaller one used its very special propulsion system to run spirals around its companion.


    I gave my best to think of it as the stuttering of an old propeller motor. It wasn''t farting. They inhaled through their gills and exhaled compressed air out their hind-ends.


    But just because the larger one seemed to take its time didn''t mean it was slow. Within a few seconds, they were at the observation platform and the large drake landed gently in front of Astra, while mine snatched the glowsponge away from above my head in a neck-breaking manoeuvre.


    In doing so, the creature destroyed most of the treat while it inhaled a large portion. The rest was left to float towards the ceiling. Presumably to grow more sponge.


    It left the rope which had been cleanly separated by the creature''s claws to fall onto my head before the monster finished its overhead looping and also landed in front of me, already chewing on a bit of glowsponge while eyeing me sideways.


    Those things were far too fast and agile for their size, which gave me the creeps. But I also got my first close look at a drake!


    The stout head and snake-like body could have belonged to an eastern dragon, while the appendages and four wings were a better fit for the western creature of myth. It had the flat teeth of a herbivore, but the scythe-like claws on the well-articulated fingers seemed better suited for a hunter. Along the spine were several long spikes which ended in a larger one at the tip of the tail.


    ~Food for flight? Pact question?~


    I jumped when the thoughts popped directly into my head. The words had a warbling undertone, marking them distinctly as not my own. When I looked at Juliana and the others, the elder gave me a nod.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Hello, Loopsfast. That is your name? You get food in exchange for-¡±


    ~Flight!~


    My unfinished greeting remained stuck in my throat when the creature reached out with a forearm and snatched me off the ground with a six-fingered hand ¨C four fingers and two thumbs. It somehow avoided slicing me open with the claws, each half a metre in length.


    Then it jumped, using its elongated snake-like body like a spring.


    The next moment, the world turned left, then right and up and down like on a rollercoaster!


    I think I was screaming.


    ~Faster? Yes, faster! Faster fun! Exhilarating emotion!~


    ¡°Not so fast! Slow and straight! And I want to ride on top!¡± I tried to negotiate with the beast.


    ~Top boring! Slow or rider falls off. Then everyone very sad. Better hold to fly fast!~


    Loopsfast didn''t listen immediately, but it at least adjusted its erratic flight pattern to longer arcs.


    It allowed me to identify the observation platform where Astra was just taking off with her drake. Annoyingly, she was sitting properly between two spines on the creature''s neck.


    This gave Loopsfast another burst of enthusiasm and it banked to circle the larger drake.


    ~Mate flying! Impress!~


    The renewed bout of quickly changing centrifugal force almost had me puke. But I covered my mouth and forced myself to fight through it.


    Loopsfast didn''t just somehow transfer its thoughts to me, but also what it felt. It was a childlike innocence and happiness about the mere act of flying ¨C and impressing its mate. Which I guessed was the larger drake.


    Not wanting to spoil the show-off''s air acrobatics, I endured until Astra was done with her gentle circle around the huge hangar. Loopsfast did its best to demonstrate his virility, but Elegance didn¡¯t deign us with so much as a glance.


    When Loopsfast didn''t land too, I pointed at the observation platform. ¡°Land! Land there!¡±


    ~Nosedive! Fast! Impressive!~


    ¡°Nooo!¡±


    The fucking creature tucked in its wings and went into a free fall. My only saving grace was that it was holding me now with both hands.


    We were about to crash when it swung out its wings and came to a propulsion-assisted hover before it landed softly.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Put me down now!¡±


    Loopsfast let me go and I landed on my own two feet before I went to my knees and kissed the observation platform''s smoothly polished stone.


    ¡°Don''t make your woman envious!¡± Astra approached me after dismounting her drake.


    Having an idea, I approached her on my knees and took her hand, placing my whistle inside it. ¡°Please, let us trade.¡±


    Astra shook her head and pressed the whistle back towards me. ¡°Not in a million years!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I cursed and pumped my fist in dismay.


    Astra turned to her drake. ¡°Thank you, Elegance. Go back to your roost now.¡±


    The large drake listened like a puppy and jumped off the observation platform to fly back to the colony.


    Loopsfast wriggled its entire body, obviously torn between looking after its mate and waiting for me to dismiss it.


    It was a long shot, but I had to try it. ¡°Go and find the tastiest glowsponge and bring it to your mate. Impress her with good treats!¡±


    The drake eyed me with a calculating expression before it seemed like a light went off above its head.


    ~Impress with presents!~


    Then it performed a vertical take-off and went for the hangar¡¯s ceiling to search through the glowsponges floating there.


    ¡°Heeey,¡± Astra complained. ¡°Are you trying to get Elegance fat?¡±


    ¡°I am trying to save my hide!¡± I shot back. ¡°Loopsfast has a serious case of puberty hormones. The dude needs to get laid!¡±


    After the little episode with our mounts, Astra and I got a crash course on how to present our political cause to the other clans, followed by a very detailed introduction of Caravaner and Hochberg customs.


    The former was of more immediate concern to our mission, as we would be in the Caravaner¡¯s care for three to four weeks until we arrived at Hochberg.


    Among all the clans, the Caravaners were the ones who went practically native on this world. They were also the smallest in number and were barely considered one of the big five. Nonetheless, they had the respect of everyone who relied on their trading caravans.


    Unlike the large clans which had established permanent settlements, the Caravaners had split into smaller groups and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. They lived most of their lives in Tirnanog¡¯s wilderness while the various groups travelled from clan to clan. What they couldn¡¯t make on their own, they traded for by buying and selling goods. Presumably, it was one of the most lucrative business models in a world where the various resources were limited to specific regions.


    A direct consequence of their lifestyle was their valuing of power and skill above all else. A Caravaner either had exceptional combat abilities or some unique mutation which made him or her valuable for wilderness survival and worth the group¡¯s protection.


    Except for children, there was no in-between. It wasn¡¯t unheard of for young teens with less than optimal mutations to find themselves kicked out of their caravan and forced to join whatever clan the Caravaners were stopping at. Either that or those considered unfit for travel established and managed trading outposts at the various settlements.


    Armed with the knowledge of Caravaner customs, we approached Family Northroute¡¯s winter quarters ¨C a generously-sized underground installation at the foot of Mount Aerie which required a one-hour trip per lorry to reach.


    Etan, Teresa, Astra, and I showed up in full armour, ready to prove our worthiness to be taken on a trip south.


    We were received by a young woman close to Iv¡¯s age. Unlike the clanner¡¯s preferred woven fabrics which ranged from linen-like outer clothes to wool and silken garments, our greeter was clad in fur and leather.


    Seeing Etan and Teresa, she immediately bowed. ¡°We greet the honoured elders. If you would follow me, please? Our pathseekers are ready to receive you.¡±


    I exchanged a quick glance with Astra. According to Etan¡¯s introduction, the seekers were akin to clan Aerie¡¯s elders. They were generally the oldest Caravaners who had travelled the various routes often enough to know the lay of the land without needing maps.


    Meanwhile, most of the one hundred and forty-four Caravaners currently enjoying clan Aerie¡¯s hospitality could be regarded as close to a juggernaut in power.


    Admonishing myself, I quickly abolished my last thought. That way lay hubris.


    I tried to avoid thinking in terms of power levels like unpartnered, partnered, juggernauts, and elders. It oversimplified the real world with what felt like a game mechanic.


    After my training sessions with Etan, there was no question in my mind that ten elder classified warriors would very likely win against ten juggernauts in a head-on confrontation.


    But due to our training, I no longer saw Etan as an insurmountable opponent. Without holding back any of my abilities and by relying on trickery and a cheap shot, there was a real chance of beating him. No matter a person¡¯s power, they could always die, given the right circumstances.


    The recent assassination attempt was a grim reminder and I had to count myself lucky to be alive.


    The woman led us down a corridor which ended in a large, round room which was comparable in size to the Hall of Law.


    Four people, three women and one man were sitting cross-legged on an elevated divan of furs which allowed them to look down at the others who had made themselves comfortable on the floor. Except for furs, the Caravaners didn¡¯t think much of furniture. There were about twenty people in the room.


    At our entrance, a straight path to the divan was cleared without questions asked or orders given.


    Our guide bowed to the four people who stood up from their positions. ¡°Honoured Seekers, Clan Aerie has sent us two elders, as promised.¡±


    If I wasn¡¯t wrong, then the titan to the left was Holly, who was the closest to what I would call a chieftain. The Caravaners didn¡¯t have real leadership, since they were all more or less one large family. Though, they had a hierarchic structure based on power and seniority.


    The leader, a grim-looking woman standing a whole three heads above anyone in the room, addressed us, ¡°Teresa! It is good that our friends from clan Aerie finally deign to speak with us. Given the surprise with the U.I.¡¯s message boxes and your continued silence on the matter, some raised questions about whether we are still welcome at the mountain.¡±


    Teresa bowed. ¡°Holly, we are here to address those questions and the demands we made.¡±


    The male seeker next to Holly narrowed his eyes. ¡°I hope you have good answers. It isn¡¯t our way to transport children through the wilderness. And it is still too early to depart without a good reason. Transporting someone not of our people certainly isn¡¯t one, no matter the payment.¡±


    Teresa straightened and firmed her voice. ¡°You are not going to transport children, but a delegation to clan Hochberg. War is coming.¡±


    She then continued to tell them of Thich¡¯s attack on Aerie¡¯s recruitment mission. Of what we had concluded from interrogating the surviving Thich. Following, the subsequent revelation of the colony¡¯s old supercomputer. And lastly, the Forgotten¡¯s attack and their death, which served as proof in Teresa¡¯s narrative.


    The Caravaners didn¡¯t ask questions and instead listened with an intense concentration, as if it would be the height of insults to interrupt a story.


    Once Teresa was done, Holly spoke, ¡°This is a troubling tale you bring us. But you know our rites. We do not transport the weak ¨C not even if it¡¯s a diplomatic mission of great import.¡±


    Astra stepped forward. ¡°We are not weak. We can match any of your warriors in single combat and protect those of us who aren¡¯t fighters. No Caravaner will have to raise a hand to protect us against nature.¡±


    The seeker next to Holly, a stout lady who looked like a dwarf next to the giant, grinned nastily.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s put your claim to the test!¡±

 Ch 68 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°You can test their mettle any way you want, Linda,¡± Teresa answered the diminutive seeker. ¡°Just be aware that we regard Astra and Magnus as juggernauts. It won¡¯t do to send just any unpaired warrior against them.¡±


    ¡°Hooh?¡± Linda looked first judgmentally at Astra, then at me, before her eyes returned to Teresa with barely withheld schadenfreude. ¡°I can see you had your inheritor take a different path than yourself.¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡± Teresa crossed her arms in defiance. The seeker¡¯s question seemed innocent enough, but due to Teresa¡¯s inability to have children of her blood, Linda¡¯s comment was like twisting the knife inside the wound.


    Nonetheless, Teresa didn¡¯t give in to the provocation. ¡°My mutations ended in a dead end. Astra¡¯s did not.¡±


    ¡°This is the first time I heard of it!¡± Holly spread her arms with a big smile on her face. The movement accidentally hit Linda right in the face and shoved the other seeker out of the way.


    It was undignified, but Holly didn¡¯t pay her apparent social blunder the least bit of attention. ¡°Why haven¡¯t we heard of the good news?¡±


    Meanwhile, Linda rubbed at her face but didn¡¯t have the balls to call out her chieftain.


    I took a step away when the titanic woman entered Teresa¡¯s personal space and gave the elder a hearty hug. The reaction was overblown, but it made some sense when I saw it as forcefully stopping the conversation from going down a detrimental path.


    Holly''s shutting down the other seeker was intentional. It seemed like there was more to the huge chieftain than mere size.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Holly.¡± Teresa patted Holly awkwardly on the back.


    ¡°And it isn¡¯t confirmed yet,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°But if everything goes right, I will be able to call myself a mother of three soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s pray to Gaia for good health and not mention failure,¡± the caravaner¡¯s chieftain touched her forehead and left the matter at that.


    I had seen the gesture performed multiple times by priests of Gaia and their worshippers, so I didn¡¯t question it. People¡¯s tendency to hope for the best in a world with low fertility had occurred to me as odd some time ago, but the predominant religion apparently encouraged it.


    On second thought, it made sense. Encouraging people to at least try to have children surely increased the population more than a pessimistic mindset.


    ¡°There is no doubt in your honesty, but at least one of you will have to prove their ability in the ring,¡± the male seeker inserted himself into the conversation. ¡°It is our way.¡±


    Holly turned to the watching crowd. ¡°Who is willing to test their strength?¡±


    A man, almost equal to Holly in size stepped forward and bowed to the chieftain with a grin. He looked impressive. Like Hercules on steroids. If muscles would be the human ideal, this guy would be a pin-up model.


    ¡°I would like to offer myself, mother. I¡¯ve heard a lot from you about Aerie¡¯s hunters and their weaving techniques with armour to apply power. The stories had me question their validity. To think a few strings would be a match for raw strength is preposterous.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes were mainly focused on Holly, but I also noticed the approval-seeking looks he threw at Linda.


    My eyes wandered between the huge man and the chieftain. There was no question he had addressed the chieftain as his mother, but he sought Linda¡¯s approval. Was there some kind of power struggle going on in this idyllic family of noble tribesmen?


    ¡°Good! We can do it right here.¡± Linda gestured for the crowd to disperse. ¡°The space is big enough.¡±


    I felt a hand at my back and turned to Ethan.


    My father-in-law leaned in closer and whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it seems like Holly doesn¡¯t have quite as tight a leash on her family as I remember. Sadly, we have to react to an insult, even if it was veiled. Don¡¯t hold back. Hurt the boy, but do not kill him. He will be an experienced fighter, but his experience should be limited mostly to monsters, not people. He is too young to have fought in the war.¡±


    I nodded and stepped in front of Astra. ¡°I will fight.¡±


    Astra touched my arm. ¡°I can take him too.¡±


    I laughed and decided to throw the ball right back into the Caravaners¡¯ field. ¡°Let me fight him. He questioned our power, but we don¡¯t have to go as far as to have a woman half his size humiliate him in a contest of martial arts.¡±


    Astra spluttered, but Teresa stopped her daughter from making a scene by placing a hand on her shoulder. A moment later, it seemed like Astra realized what I was trying to do.


    The brute on the other hand didn¡¯t seem to get it. ¡°Are you saying I would be no match for your partner?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t a match for either of us,¡± I replied with played confidence and engaged my armour¡¯s strider mode to get to eye-level with him. ¡°How do you want to do this? I have no time to waste. My name is Magnus, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± The man looked again at Linda, but it seemed like he had lost some of his confidence. A smidgen of doubt had wormed its way into his mind. ¡°I am Elijah. I won¡¯t hold back, but this is just a test of power, not of volition. We will use our bare fists and abilities. You can keep that armour of yours if you want. It will only slow you down.¡±


    ¡°If you think so. It could be argued that the armour is a part of my ability now.¡± I detached the halberd from my back and the short sword from my belt. Then I threw both weapons towards Astra who caught them with ease before I took the helmet from its belt attachment and put it on. ¡°Anyway. I am not one to throw away an advantage when it is offered to me.¡±


    The Caravaners and my family retreated to the hall¡¯s walls while I waited in a relaxed stance for my opponent to make the first move.


    Usually, it would be the height of folly to allow someone the first blow. Especially when I wasn¡¯t certain of his abilities.


    Etan had warned me excessively during our training to always be the one to strike first and with finality in a real-world situation. I hadn¡¯t seen a fraction of the truly dangerous abilities out there, and the most dangerous ones were not the well-known mutations, but rare ones which took you by surprise.


    But this duel was held to prove our prowess. And Etan would have warned me if he hadn¡¯t been confident in my ability to do this.


    My father-in-law¡¯s assumption about Elijah¡¯s experiences seemed a least partly correct when my opponent roared and drummed his chest like an overgrown ape while he postured for his people.


    Some even gave him encouraging cries.


    I regretted my choice immediately when Elijah¡¯s muscles hulked out, beefing him up even more.


    Then he charged me... Actually charged me like some bull!


    My sub-identities took over, which still felt strange, but the assassination attempt had taught me to trust more in this fantastic ability. My problem was the ¡®giving up control¡¯ part. Though the sub-identities were me, so I wasn¡¯t actually giving up control. Which still didn¡¯t help my perception of it.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The tension in my filaments released and the armour¡¯s leg extensions catapulted me towards the ceiling while I struck at my opponent¡¯s grasping hands.


    There was no doubt in my mind that the man¡¯s oversized muscles gave him exactly what one would assume. My first lesson in this world had been one of strength versus strength.


    I thought fondly of Gurney¡¯s hand crushing mine with the power of a vice while all my muscles couldn¡¯t stand up to him. Meanwhile, my fist impacted my opponent¡¯s pinky, followed by a quite painful sounding ¡®snap¡¯.


    Under normal circumstances, something like this would have been called an unfortunate accident, because no human practitioner of hand-to-hand combat could have pulled off such a move intentionally.


    A pained pitch was added to Elijah¡¯s aggressive roar while my feet touched the ceiling.


    For a moment, it looked like I was squatting on the hall¡¯s ceiling, five meters above my opponent.


    This time, my whole body tensed to accelerate my inevitable descent.


    Somehow, my opponent sensed the danger and dodged right when my feet lost contact with the ceiling, leaving me no possibility to correct my trajectory.


    Instead of his spine, my knuckles pulverized the polished stone on the ground, leaving a fist-sized indentation.


    While I spun in an attempt to right myself, he moved in to grab one of my feet in a move which reminded me uncannily of elder Gilbert¡¯s ability to counteract my speed with his mastery over precognition.


    But unlike Gilbert, my opponent didn¡¯t succeed fully. His fingers caught on, but lightning discharging into my opponent¡¯s body caused the digits to twitch and slip off.


    I rolled off while he stomped at me ¨C missing only barely.


    Then I was flash-stepping around him, hitting unprotected areas while he swung at me.


    Kidneys, popliteal fossa, armpit, ankles, solar plexus, I slowly worked in a circle around him, hitting everything I knew to be vulnerable on a baseline human.


    He successfully managed to protect his head area and I wasn¡¯t quite ready to low-shot him in the groin. Not yet at least.


    But on my second round, I had a go at his tailbone, which was when things got a little dicey.


    Elijah slowly got used to my teleport-like flashes of speed, while I was unable to truly hurt him. Hitting weak spots on his body was hurtful judging by the expression on his face, but it didn¡¯t take him down.


    And he hadn¡¯t opened his gigantic fists again to grab me after realizing I wasn¡¯t so easy to catch and be forced into a grappling match ¨C a fight he would win without question.


    Nor had Elijah given me any openings for his head.


    I was forced back when he began to swing his mighty arms wildly in a seemingly irregular pattern. Annoyingly enough, the crazy dance he performed always had one arm swinging right where I intended to go next. And he had his eyes closed.


    When I flash-stepped backwards to create some distance, Elijah stopped with a grin on his face.


    ¡°No longer so confident, eh?¡± he proclaimed, still relying on his precognition.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s sad,¡± I mused. ¡°I thought I could have a real brawl with you, but you are just too tough¡­ and a little bit too slow.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how fast you are when the prey has to come to you,¡± Elijah replied while he leisurely began walking in my direction. ¡°Though, I admit you know at least how to punch. Haven¡¯t felt someone hitting me for quite some time. Alas, this is as far as you go, so let¡¯s end this fight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no.¡± I raised a hand and pointed at him. ¡°I am sorry, but this is no longer a fight. More like rock-paper-scissors.¡±


    ¡°What-¡±


    He didn¡¯t get any farther, because I zapped him with a lightning bolt.


    I didn¡¯t hold back. He had shown some resistance to electricity when I hit him earlier. Each of my strikes had been accompanied by the equivalent of a taser discharge and it just made him twitch.


    But I also didn¡¯t want to kill him accidentally, so I didn¡¯t give him the full ''God of Thunder'' treatment.


    When Elijah¡¯s body seized up, it was my time to move. I flash-stepped to the side and forward to get into position. Two of my filaments snaked into my ear canals for protection, and then I spread my arms and brought them together in a supercharged clap.


    Just a foot away from Elijah¡¯s ear. It was as close as I dared to approach without risking him catching me.


    It was the first time the titan actually flinched away from me.


    He tried to get back into the flow of his dance, but with a burst eardrum his balance was shot, allowing me to land kicks which had been previously impossible.


    When he finally stumbled and went to his knees, I managed to get my knee up to his head and smack him right in the base of the jaw.


    This still wasn¡¯t enough to knock him out, because he kept writhing and fumbling around on the floor, but it was clear who the winner was. Elijah was down on the ground and not getting up, while I was still standing.


    I took off my helmet and looked at the group of seekers and my parents-in-law.


    Linda winced when Elijah didn¡¯t get up to fight me, while Holly wore the expression of a mother watching her son getting beaten up.


    ¡°Do I have to continue?¡± I asked, then turned to watch Elijah. I didn¡¯t want to be the dude who proclaimed victory just to be hit in the back by a supposedly defeated foe.


    Just to be sure, I took a step away from him. He was still trying to get up but stumbled like a drunk each time he tried. His left ear was bleeding a small river of blood, while the jaw on his right was trying to grow a second head.


    ¡°Definitely a cracked jawbone,¡± I mused, complimenting my work.


    Back on Earth, before I had stopped training and developed a small lifebelt, I had been a devout follower of the organisation¡¯s martial arts training regiment for field agents. It was before I had to acknowledge that reaching any hint of professionalism in the art required too much of my time.


    I had also realized that in a world with supersoldiers, standing my ground would never turn out in my favour. But I could rely on my new body. The time I had spent studying the body¡¯s weak points and various moves to exploit these weaknesses wasn¡¯t totally lost.


    ¡°I think this demonstration is more than sufficient.¡± Holly looked towards the other seekers and was answered with approval.


    Honest ones by the male and female seekers who hadn¡¯t been introduced and a grudging one by Linda.


    ¡°Good!¡± Holly gestured for her clansmen to get going. ¡°Then what are you waiting for!? The saherna won¡¯t awaken themselves from their sleep!¡±


    The caravaners got going like a stirred-up anthill. They didn¡¯t quite run, but the majority power-walked out the door while two stayed behind to look after the moaning Elijah and get him some direly needed medical treatment.


    ¡°Saherna?¡± I questioned, recognizing the originator for one of my mutations but having never seen the actual creature. So far, I had only traded for saherna meat at the Old Camp or gotten it free of charge from my new family.


    Holly grinned. ¡°Do you want to see? It¡¯s always a sight when they wake up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do!¡± Astra rejoined my side and linked arms with me.


    ¡®I could have taken him. You were the worse match-up for his abilities,¡¯ her electric communication tingled across my skin. ¡®I thought it was over when he almost got a hold of your ankle.¡¯


    I sighed and rolled my eyes. ¡®I freely admit, you are right. In hindsight. You could have just wrapped him up in your filaments and called it a day, though it would have annoyed me to see you play bondage with another man.¡¯


    ¡®What is bondage?¡¯


    Her reply surprised me, and yet it shouldn¡¯t have. ¡®Bondage is¡­¡¯


    I stopped myself just in time. Or rather, one of my sub-identities did. ¡®You know what, that is a topic for another day! Now I want to see these saherna!¡¯


    While we followed the seekers up a tunnel system I steadfastly refused to answer any of Astra¡¯s questions about bondage. Revealing the secrets of this art to my partner had a shiver going down my spine.


    ¡°What are the saherna being used for?¡± I questioned Holly to avoid Astra¡¯s enquiries.


    ¡°We are riding them!¡± the chieftain answered proudly. ¡°We live on and with the saherna. They are what allows us to travel the land without having to fear every little monster crossing our path!¡±


    We emerged from the side of a cliff which gave a good view of a small mountain valley with a lake. Winter wasn¡¯t completely over yet and the chill wind howling along the mountain forced me to put my helmet back on. Around me, my parents-in-law and Astra mirrored me with their helmets. The seekers had woollen shawls and furry hoods to protect them.


    Down in the valley, what must have been most of the caravaner¡¯s population spilled from a hangar-like opening in the mountain.


    People with oversized drums were already causing a racket on a small lake covered with ice. Meanwhile, the rest began unloading cargo from large sledges ¨C mainly construction wood.


    ¡°Those remind me strongly of prefabricated construction,¡± I commented upon seeing what looked like walkways with handrails and walls.


    ¡°Just wait,¡± the male seeker commented, right as something beneath the nearby lake¡¯s ice moved.


    The drummers retreated just as the hoof-shaped monster surfaced, breaking through the ice like an icebreaker on steroids!


    I had to revise my judgement about the creature when it was followed by a serpent-like neck. What I had seen at first was just the head! Soon, half a football field of ice was heaved upwards and then slid off the saherna¡¯s back.


    More of the creatures emerged, answering the caravaner¡¯s drums with thumping noises of their own.


    A saherna was a mixture between a brachiosaurus and a turtle with eight sturdy legs. The hoof-shaped head was covered with its own shell and ended in scythe-like blades. The back shell was mostly circular with a slight elongation along the creature¡¯s length.


    The tail was over a hundred metres long and covered in sinew, while several long tentacles emerged from the creature¡¯s neck, presumably to feed it with plants from the ground.


    It was only when the herd of saherna stopped tamely in front of the caravaners and people began to climb the legs that I understood what I was seeing.


    ¡°You are shitting me! You can build a wooden fortress on the backs of those things without them killing you?¡± I spluttered. No wonder the caravaners had the world¡¯s trade business covered.


    ¡°Normally, the saherna are covered with blood-drinking parasites from head to toe,¡± Holly explained proudly. ¡°This herd recognizes that we are much better lodgers since we keep the parasites off them while not drinking any blood. All they have to do to keep us around is run in the direction we tell them to.¡±


    The chieftain belly laughed while her people began the process of erecting semi-permanent wooden fortresses on the saherna¡¯s backs.

 Ch 69 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Holly***


    Elijah knelt in front of the group of seekers with an ashamed expression which didn¡¯t fit his proud stature at all. ¡°I am sorry for dishonouring the family. I¡¯ve disgraced us by losing the duel.¡±


    I looked at the ceiling and rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Sometimes, I wondered whether Elijah was really as dense as he appeared. Or was he doing it to infuriate me?


    We had called for an emergency meeting as soon as the Aerie left, but unlike Elijah made it seem, it wasn¡¯t truly about the lost duel.


    More so about our internal issues and the secrets clan Aerie had revealed.


    ¡°Idiot son of mine!¡± I shot back, allowing my voice to boom throughout the room.


    Then I turned my ire on Linda. ¡°And curse you for manoeuvring him into this! Partner or not, undermine me again in public and I might slay you where you stand! You should have the brains between the two of you, because, by Gaia, Elijah wasn¡¯t blessed with wits. It¡¯s because I hoped you would steer him right that I allowed you two to partner up.¡±


    My partner, seeker Luka, placed a calming hand on my upper arm. ¡°They don¡¯t mean to dishonour us, Holly. Try to see it from their point of view. Transporting the members of other clans through the wilds, it has little to no precedence. I won''t lie about having my doubts. What if we lose the delegation to an accident? Who will take responsibility? The risk of souring our relations with Aerie is considerable with little to no gain.¡±


    ¡°It is my fault,¡± Elijah continued to yammer on. ¡°If I had won-¡±


    ¡°Then nothing!¡± I interrupted him forcefully, displeased with his inability to see reason. Luka at least managed to put his misgivings into words.


    ¡°All of those muscles are somehow not allowing your brain to get enough oxygen to think properly! You battle fanatic! All Magnus had to do was prove his strength! He was already successful once he lasted longer than a minute against you. It would have been fine to end the duel with a draw once it was clear neither of you could beat the other without relying on one mutation getting the better of the other.¡±


    I took a deep breath and tried to reign in my anger. ¡°Instead, you fought on till the inevitable end, forcing an outcome which hurt you. You didn¡¯t shame us because you lost the duel. You shamed us by making us look splintered. You shamed us by disrespecting our hosts with trash talk. You shamed us by not acknowledging obvious power. Be glad you managed to earn yourself a beating or I would have given it to you afterwards for fouling our relations with the Aerie! Did you believe they would have sent someone who couldn¡¯t qualify according to our ways!?¡±


    ¡°Blasted idiots!¡± I looked around the room. One by one, I made eye contact with everyone, giving my absolute best to make sure the message got across. ¡°We are pulling on one string. We are one family. There is no other way to survive the wilds. Together we stand, alone we fall. Give me an indication of working against me again and I will personally throw you off the saherna¡¯s back while we are traversing the deadliest parts of the wilds. Talk to me in private if you have concerns. Act in such a way in front of the Aerie again, and you are out!¡±


    I leaned back and deflated. ¡°Do you believe I am not aware of the political repercussions? If Aerie had given me any indication they were willing to back down, I would have forced them to make the journey on their own and burden the risk without our involvement. They are not. The matter with the Thich, Earth and the Forgotten has them spooked. Understandably so.¡±


    Elijah didn¡¯t dare to look up from his crouched position on the ground.


    Linda lowered her eyes. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have pushed the issue if there hadn¡¯t been considerable pressure from my supporters. Many of the family voiced their concerns about transporting the Mind Twister. Few are concerned about the diplomatic mission as a whole, but do we have to allow ¡®her¡¯ passage? There are stories. They are¡­¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°Afraid.¡±


    I closed my eyes and cursed the superstitious fools among my family. ¡°This is coming from gramps and the other adopted ones, isn¡¯t it? It was one incident years ago, committed by rogues who got what they deserved. The ¡®Mind Twister¡¯ hasn¡¯t done anything untoward to us. Are you seriously telling me you are giving credence to rumours blown out of proportion by time and hearsay? Haven¡¯t I forbidden the story to be told like some old wives¡¯ tale?¡±


    Luka shifted on his pelt. ¡°We can forbid things from being discussed in public, but what the people say behind closed doors can¡¯t be regulated. I don¡¯t want to go to such lengths just to stamp out one bad rumour.¡± He looked at Linda. ¡°It should have been your job to divert their misgivings. Not to listen to them and act up in front of outsiders!¡±


    Linda looked admonished for once. Luka didn¡¯t call out people¡¯s mistakes often. Therefore, it had all the more impact when he did.


    I massaged my temple, annoyed with the family¡¯s superstitions. ¡°The Aerie were quite insistent that Thalia Tate would be a part of the mission. There¡¯s no getting around it. You don¡¯t have to interact with her if you don¡¯t want to. She will be Hochberg¡¯s problem soon enough. Our job is only to transport and house them.¡±


    Luka bowed his head. ¡°We will be ready to depart within three days. One of the three larger saherna is being prepared to house the delegation. I¡¯ve organised our quarters to be on the same animal to demonstrate our trust and give courage to the rest of the family.¡±


    Linda sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it that the people who give credence to the rumours aren¡¯t housed on the same saherna as the delegation. I don¡¯t think their opinion of the Mind Twister can be changed. I am also still opposed to playing transport for outsiders.¡±


    ¡°Just make sure not to use her nickname in front of her when she arrives. Giving a Tate such a moniker behind her back is disrespectful! I never want to hear you use it again.¡± I nodded and relaxed slightly. ¡°Thank you, Luka, Linda. That will be all.¡±


    Jaeden, our fourth seeker, had been silent so far. But now she raised her hand with another concern before the meeting could be concluded. ¡°What do you think about their story? About the Thich? It sounds like another war is looming ahead. Will we involve ourselves and the other caravans?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, Jaeden.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t see the future, but it looks dire indeed. There is no doubt in my mind that the Frosts spoke the truth. This UI is the greatest proof we can ask for. Once other caravaners hear of it they will also want to travel north to unlock theirs.¡±


    Linda scoffed. ¡°Competition. They won¡¯t make the journey without bringing their own goods and cut into our profits.¡±


    She was right, of course, but I ignored the quip. ¡°One thing that¡¯s sure to happen is for other seekers to call a meeting. The caravaners are fractured ¨C for now. The coming events might be the catalyst for us to reunite. Like it happened in the past. Still, I can¡¯t imagine the outcome of a meeting between all the seekers.¡±


    ¡°What does it mean for us?¡± Luka mused while the rest of us stared downtrodden into the middle distance. ¡°It would be too early to speculate. It remains to be seen what Hochberg says.¡±


    ¡°Nothing right now,¡± I answered. ¡°We had a safe, cosy winter quarter with the Aerie for decades. I don¡¯t want to do anything which would compromise our deal with them. We are going to deliver Aerie¡¯s delegation to Hochberg and allow things to play out between them on their own. At the end of the day, we will be just four voices among the other seekers. And we will see to our alliances first and foremost.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I never imagined it to be this way,¡± Magnus commented while we strode with linked arms through the fortress on the saherna¡¯s back. It was the first true inspection of our new, temporary living circumstances. Moving in with our entire entourage had been a hustle which didn¡¯t allow us to appreciate the ride. The seekers¡¯ hospitality had been very time demanding over the first day.


    A wide, inner corridor was running in a circle along the entire fortress¡¯s circumference. From there, doors to rooms and quarters forked out, with three inner walls between the main corridor and the outer wall. The rooms closest to the outer wall were mostly storage, while the living quarters were located in the centre.


    The layout was hexagonal and star-shaped, following the creature¡¯s slightly oval backplate while not offering any flat surfaces to possible attacks. The fortress also wasn¡¯t very high and had a thick roof of sturdy logs. This gave the structure the feeling of a bunker, except for the inner courtyard, which was large enough to house Elegance, Loopsfast, and Cadence for the duration of the trip. The caravaners had given us the courtesy of constructing a second roof for our flying mounts.


    It was a necessary protection against the elements. While drakes were sturdy enough to endure the cold conditions of high elevations, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do so indefinitely. And the storms which always brought on the change of seasons in this world promised snow and cold rain.


    A single, sturdy watchtower rose from the centre of each fortress, allowing the caravaners an almost perfect view of their mount¡¯s surroundings.


    The riders had a little, protected cabin on the saherna¡¯s head which they could access via a dangerous-looking rope ladder.


    ¡°They drilled holes into the saherna¡¯s shell to attach their structures,¡± Magnus continued his investigation of the caravaner¡¯s construction skills. ¡°I am surprised the creatures tolerate it.¡±


    ¡°The wild ones tolerate swarms of blood-sucking parasites the size of humans nesting on them,¡± I replied. ¡°I would guess a few holes in a two-meter thick shell don¡¯t bother the creatures overly much. It would be comparable to tying knots into your hair, or cutting your fingernails.¡±


    ¡°I guess if they ignore the parasites, they wouldn¡¯t attack anything else of similar size,¡± Magnus agreed. ¡°In a way, humans filled an ecological niche by supplanting another species. It¡¯s a perfect fit for us to take the place of a parasite!¡±


    He laughed heartily at his unflattering observation.


    I couldn¡¯t truly disagree.


    ¡°How are the others settling in?¡± he asked once we reached the outer parapet. The weather wasn¡¯t nice with its chilly wind, but it was good enough to stand outside for a time.


    ¡°Thalia and her drake, Cadence, are doing just fine aside from a little motion sickness. I¡¯ve also heard no complaints from our guards,¡± I explained.


    In addition to the three of us, we had also been joined by Peter Rumen, a prodigious member of the fifteenth strata who had his elders¡¯ complete confidence. He and his entourage had run diplomatic missions to Hochberg in the past.


    If I hadn¡¯t been so sure of my parents¡¯ confidence in us, I would have thought of him as a babysitter to watch our demeanour. Which irked me, since this was a big chance for Magnus and me to prove ourselves. On the other hand, it was also good to have someone experienced along to support us.


    So I was a little conflicted about his presence ¨C which I explained to Magnus via our secret communication technique. There was no need for someone to accidentally overhear my misgivings about the makeup of our delegation.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s more a matter of the various stratas ensuring their voice among the delegation,¡± Magnus shared a surprising insight which I hadn¡¯t thought about before.


    ¡°You think?¡± I hummed while I allowed the idea to linger. ¡°You are right. Peter¡¯s entourage is a mishmash of several stratas. I suppose everyone with stakes in trade with Hochberg wanted to have at least a finger inside the stew.¡±


    Magnus grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s a bad analogy. How about our guards?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re fine,¡± I replied. ¡°At least I heard no complaints.¡±


    Thalia, Magnus, and I had each gotten five personal bodyguards for the duration of our mission. With Peter¡¯s four followers this brought the delegations¡¯ numbers to twenty-three people.


    Which was about a quarter of what our saherna was capable of housing.


    Roughly eighty Caravaners were steering the saherna for us. I wasn¡¯t completely sure about the caravaners¡¯ numbers, since they tended to keep their distance from the delegation. They also used ropes to switch from one saherna to another quite frequently. It was no different to them than crossing streets would be to us.


    We allowed ourselves a moment of contemplation while we watched the herd of saherna slowly descending the valley towards Mount Aerie¡¯s foot. From there, we would follow a slightly curved valley around two smaller mountains until we reached one of the springs feeding the large Sanguine River ending in the Serpent¡¯s Lake.


    From there, the journey would be easy from a navigator¡¯s point of view, since all we would have to do is to follow the river until we reached clan Hochberg¡¯s settlement.


    I looked behind the saherna towards our left. The herd consisted of three larger saherna, of which two were leading the way, including the one we were riding on. The third large one was bringing up the rear, while nine smaller ones of various sizes were making up the rest of the herd.


    The creatures were constantly feeding while they walked. The long tentacles dug through the snow and ripped bushes and small trees from the ground and fed them to the creature¡¯s maw where everything was chewed to mush, dirt and roots included.


    It left a small trail of plant-life devastation in the herd¡¯s wake, but I knew the verdant flora would have replenished itself before the caravaners returned with the onset of winter.


    Meanwhile, the Northroute family would make a living by visiting various settlements. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t take the direct route to Hochberg and instead make stops at various smaller clans who had their settlements throughout the plains. But Aerie had paid them well enough to switch their schedule around.


    ¡°Should we go and take a look at how Thalia is settling in?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°I believe she hasn¡¯t left her quarters since we left a day ago.¡±


    He turned us around and we left the outer parapet to return to the warmth inside the fortress. The saherna were naturally giving off a lot of heat, which allowed the fortress¡¯ insides to keep up a slightly chilly, but comfortable atmosphere. It was like having integrated floor heating.


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s necessary. I doubt she will appreciate the attention,¡± I voiced my concerns.


    ¡°Would you educate me?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°You said your friend is fine, but she is obviously not.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I can only guess, but it¡¯s either her sea sickness or her bad experiences with the caravaners ¨C not this family of course. Another group.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Magnus raised an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°It sounds interesting. How about sharing the story?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my place to tell, but the short version is that Thalia caught the eye of a caravaner chieftain some years ago. Back then, the trade routes between Aerie and Hochberg were handled by two separate Caravaner families, Northroute and Snowpath. The chieftain we are talking about ruled the latter group,¡± I explained.


    ¡°Is this a story about unrequited love?¡± Magnus asked jokingly.


    ¡°Ah, no. I doubt it was love that the chieftain felt. More like lust and desire?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Anyway, he went for Thalia quite aggressively and got rebuffed. Thalia wasn¡¯t interested in someone who would force her to leave Aerie. Because let¡¯s be honest, there was no way a Caravaner would give up on his tribe. Especially when he is the ruler. Still, he took every opportunity to meet her at social events and was quite obnoxious until things went out of hand.¡±


    ¡°Why do I sense the abduction plot?¡± Magnus sounded downcast. ¡°Is that why Thalia is still unpartnered? Is she¡­¡± he didn¡¯t finish the question.


    ¡°Goddess forbid! Thankfully not,¡± I replied vehemently. ¡°No, Thalia is still unpartnered, but he managed to abduct her and tried to force her into a relationship. Luckily, Aerie¡¯s hunters arrived in time to take her back. What remained of Snowpath got absorbed into Northroute and now we have only one family to manage the caravans going in our direction. It¡¯s also why Thalia and I are now almost joined at the hip. She always says the Frosts saved her, though that¡¯s a little bit of an over-dramatization on her part. When my parents arrived with their people, barely any of the Snowpaths except for their crazed chieftain remained. The saherna they travelled on was a ghost-ship.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°I thought Thalia isn¡¯t much of a fighter.¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t, but the young chieftain and his seekers were. To be honest it wasn¡¯t the chieftain¡¯s fault. Or maybe it was? There was no way to tell once my parents killed him with prejudice. He was just an unpartnered snob. His seekers listening to his wishes was the real problem. My parents assumed he had an ability similar to Thalia¡¯s and used it to influence them into fulfilling his every whim,¡± I stated and switched to our secret communication technique. ¡®But you¡¯ve gotten a taste of what she can do with her mind. Imagine her using it not just to read your thoughts, but to get into your head, to manipulate you and those around you. It took a few days of work, but by the end, she had the Snowpaths massacring each other. It¡¯s why we don¡¯t talk about her abilities in public. In terms of human-on-human warfare, Thalia might be the most dangerous person on this planet.¡¯


    I interlaced the fingers of my hand with Magnus¡¯s. ¡®And before you voice any concerns about Thalia, know that she is perfectly safe. If those idiots hadn¡¯t forced her, she would have sat in their custody and waited for us to arrive.¡¯


    We reached Thalia¡¯s rooms and I knocked. All I could hear from inside was a moan, so I opened the door and entered.


    Inside, one of the bodyguards was standing guard, while Thalia was hunched over a bucket with a face as pale as the twin moons.


    I winced. ¡°Oh, dear. Is it that bad?¡±


    ¡°Everything is moving!¡± Thalia complained. ¡°It shouldn''t be, but it still is. It''s against nature! The world shouldn''t be moving when I am not.¡±


    ¡°I feel nothing,¡± Magnus commented. ¡°It''s actually a pretty chill ride. Like on a caterpillar slowly flowing down its twig.¡±


    ¡°What a horrifying thought. You shouldn''t have said that.¡± Thalia bent over her bucket and did what was natural for someone in her state. Once she was done, she looked exhausted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It will take just two or three days until I get used to it.¡±


    Magnus put on a forced smile and slowly extracted his arm from mine. ¡°Yeah, I think I will go and take a look at the drakes. I wanted to try to hold a longer conversation with them.¡±


    Then he ran.


    I crossed my arms and glared after him until he vanished around the bend in the corridor. Then I sighed and turned to look after my friend.

 Ch 70 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Listen, Loops, you are sharing your quarters with not one, but two beautiful drakes in their prime. A week with plenty of opportunities and you are telling me they aren¡¯t even looking at you? I don¡¯t believe it. There¡¯s is no way nothing is going to happen if you just stay persistent,¡± I argued.


    Which is when I had an idea. ¡°Maybe you can get them on board with a threesome? Are they worried about being left out if one accepts you?¡±


    ¡®Threesome?¡¯


    The young drake ogled me with big, round eyes while it listened to my teachings.


    ¡°Yes, mating, you know? With both at the same time?¡± I clarified. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have orgies in that colony of yours.¡±


    ¡®No. Mates are two.¡¯ Loops shook his head vehemently. ¡®Only strongest males get more than one mate!¡¯


    I blew out my cheeks, getting somewhat frustrated with counselling the drake on his woman troubles. Not that I was the best guy to ask. I had made it to thirty until Astra hooked up with me. And it had to be said she took the initiative. Not to mention, it was kind of her last opportunity to escape an unwanted match.


    Maybe I should do some serious introspection before I dared to help others with relationships.


    But I would be damned if I couldn¡¯t help Loops with two haughty females!


    ¡°And who says you aren¡¯t strong enough for two mates?¡± I asked. ¡°You are my mount, so you should have one for every day of the week!¡±


    Loops needed to man up ¨C or drake up.


    ¡®Am not.¡¯ Loops looked at the ground and managed to seem downcast. He was a perfect, oversized pile of misery and he had no shame to communicate his feelings to me.


    ¡°Arrgh! You are giving me heartburn!¡± I tore at my filaments. This guy had self-confidence issues! Why did he have to load his bull onto me? ¡°But as long as Elegance doesn¡¯t reciprocate your advances, there¡¯s no harm in trying to hook up with Cadence, right? There¡¯s no rule against impressing more than one female?¡±


    Loops tilted his head like he always did when he tried to wrap his mind around a human concept or way of thinking which was alien to him. Finally, he nodded.


    I looked up and praised whatever force was watching over drakes. It had taken us far too long to get to this point. Loops was fixated on hooking up with Elegance who only ever gave him the cold shoulder. If the woman didn¡¯t want him, then he had no moral responsibility towards her.


    I returned my attention to the drake. ¡°Good, listen. Be a gentleman, which means being polite and nice to both Cadence and Elegance. Just as we said. Impressive flights and bringing them good food. Both of them.¡±


    Loops eyes drifted away from me.


    ¡°Hey, pay attention, boy!¡± I raised a finger and waved it until Loops returned his attention to me. ¡°And once the girls realize they don¡¯t have your sole appreciation, it¡¯s their turn to become proactive. Just remember, when you finally get your chance, don¡¯t ask for permission to get some action. Ask for forgiveness afterwards.¡±


    Most importantly, he had to make sure to knock them up the first time. As timid as Loops was, he wouldn¡¯t get many chances.


    Loop¡¯s eyes flicked back and forth while he had his head lying on the floor of his stall like a tired cat. It looked like my plan of inciting envy between the females was too complicated for the creature.


    Though, I didn¡¯t buy his act for one second. The drakes were much smarter than the Aerie were giving them credit. Admittedly, if Loops was an example to go by, then drakes had a serious attention-span issue.


    ¡°Loops, are you listening?¡±


    Loops nodded.


    ¡°Then why are you looking so guilty?¡±


    ¡®Magnus said: secret plan.¡¯


    Someone cleared her throat behind me.


    I sighed and followed Loop¡¯s guilty expression towards where Astra was standing at the door to his stall.


    She tilted her head and purred, ¡°So¡­ he shouldn¡¯t ask for permission, but rather for forgiveness? Please explain.¡±


    I turned back to Loops. ¡°You should have told me! Traitor!¡±


    The drake rolled its eyes. Actually rolled its eyes at me!


    ¡°And why is your response so human?¡± I pointed a finger at him. ¡°Who taught you to roll your eyes!?¡±


    Was he somehow looking up the fitting gesture inside my brain and using it?


    Astra cleared her throat again and Loops turned inside his stall. Then he rolled his body up until all I could see of the huge creature was a mountain of coiled, scaly drakeflesh.


    He had shown me the cold shoulder and pretended to sleep. The audacity!


    The drake quite obviously didn¡¯t want to be involved in whatever was to come.


    ¡°Loops?¡± I stood up and poked the drake. ¡°Are you ignoring me now? You know I don¡¯t like it when you ignore me.¡±


    Great! When he got like that it took him hours to become responsive again. Loopsfast was the runt of the litter, but he was still too big for me to dare more than poke him.


    Astra cleared her throat again. ¡°Maybe you should stop confusing the poor boy. And stop trying to teach him immoral lessons or I am going to tell Elegance.¡±


    ¡°I am not confusing him!¡± I shot back. ¡°I am certain he is just play-acting the stupid role. He understands every word we say and adapts human gestures as much as it is possible. Maybe a parrot could do such a thing, but not apply it correctly.¡±


    Then I had an idea and turned, pointing at Astra. ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± My wife managed to look stricken. ¡°Please, don¡¯t bring me into this delusion of yours. The drakes are smart, but they aren¡¯t anywhere close to a human¡¯s level. They have no culture or technology, and no written language. If they weren¡¯t telepathic, they would have no language at all.¡±


    ¡°Forget about that old argument. I know Aerie''s policy is to deny anything on this topic, for whatever reason. You are the solution to our problem!¡± I went to Astra and linked arms with her. ¡°You can ask Elegance what she wants from a mate. And then Loops can deliver! You are his salvation.¡±


    Astra groaned, but for some reason decided to humour me. ¡°Loopsfast, you have to firm up. Don¡¯t listen to this idiot of mine. The nice guy never gets the girl. Choose one and jump onto her back when she isn¡¯t looking your way. You will be in for a wild ride, but such are the woes of drake-love.¡±


    I almost did a double take. ¡°Astra! You can¡¯t be seriously trying to suggest he tries to rape Elegance.¡±


    Astra looked at me with a deadpan expression. ¡°They aren¡¯t humans. That¡¯s how drakes do it. Loops is just a big wuss compared to the rest of his species.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way he has a chance!¡± There was no helping it. I had to point out the problem. ¡°If Loops is a fighter jet, then Elegance is a bomber! She will kill him!¡±


    ¡°Which is why,¡± Astra replied patiently, ¡°I said he would have to prepare himself for a wild ride. Oh, Loops, and fly fast if you don¡¯t manage to satisfy her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± I firmed up my resolve. ¡°Loops, we are going directly to plan ¡®D¡¯ ¨C for desperation! Which means, date-rape drugs! We just have to find the right plants. They won¡¯t suspect anything, especially since you have been bringing them tasty things all the time.¡±


    Astra slapped me lightly over the back of the head. ¡°That¡¯s going too far! Let the drakes sort out their own problems. They also aren''t messing with us.¡±


    She turned me around and slowly guided me out of the drake¡¯s stall. ¡°Why don¡¯t we do a little bit of landscape watching? I am sure Loops needs to have his sleep if he decides to tangle with one of the girls.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about drake mating?¡± I asked. ¡°You could have told me earlier!¡±


    ¡°Completely sure,¡± Astra replied confidently. ¡°I asked Elegance about it when I saw her ignoring poor Loop.¡±


    ¡°And what about Thalia?¡± I asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she need your care?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t noticed how you always find a reason to run off when it¡¯s time to take care of a sick person,¡± Astra chided me.


    ¡°I just can¡¯t deal with the puke!¡± I admitted while we walked out to the parapet.


    Astra laughed. ¡°You know, Thalia is glad of getting sick as soon as she rides on an animal.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine why.¡±


    ¡°She says nobody is going to rape a girl who spray-paints them with her breakfast as soon as they come close,¡± Astra reminded me of Thalia¡¯s little adventure.


    ¡°Now we are getting into the dour territory,¡± I complained. ¡°Can we try to switch topics?¡±


    We fell into silence as we watched the snowy hills pass us by. The herd wasn¡¯t moving quickly, but persistently. Saherna could sleep and eat while walking. This allowed them to cover huge distances even if they weren¡¯t moving especially fast. Their normal walking speed was between twenty and thirty kilometres per hour. If the caravaners drove their animals, they could speed up to fifty, but only for a few hours. And the animals would require a lot of rest afterwards, which the increased speed couldn''t make up for.


    So, slow and steady was the name of the game.


    Mount Aerie was now a vast mountain range behind us, while the plains belonging to clan Hochberg lay ahead.


    The storms had increased over three days and forced us to spend most of our time inside. Meanwhile, the herd had reached the Sanguine River and followed it to the plains.


    Only this morning the storms had died down which allowed us to have a look at the melting landscape.


    ¡°It¡¯s annoying,¡± I commented while I watched the gently rolling hills which dominated the area between the mountains and the plains.


    ¡°What?¡± Astra raised a questioning eyebrow.


    ¡°The weather,¡± I clarified. ¡°It¡¯s beginning to feel confining. Hopefully, these short periods of acceptable weather will end soon.¡±


    ¡°You will wish them back soon enough,¡± a voice spoke from our left.


    I turned and found Elijah approaching us. Once he was close enough, he bowed in greeting. ¡°The melting ice and snow will turn the plains into a huge bog for a week or two before the water drains off into the Serpent¡¯s Lake. The saherna will have to swim through some parts, bringing the fortress down low enough for unpleasant predators to jump on. If we are particularly unlucky, the conditions will be right for some of the things from the Mycelium Forest to make the journey over the eastern mountain range. We once lost an entire saherna because it was infected with mould. It¡¯s the time when we will have to stay the most vigilant.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the explanation,¡± I replied honestly. I darkly remembered Astra giving me a quick intro to the horrors which lived on the eastern coast.


    Elijah hadn¡¯t made a good first impression, but I was willing to give him a second chance. His people had been the prime example of the perfect hosts since we had embarked on this journey. And it looked like he came to apologize. ¡°I see you have recovered from our little bout.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for involving you in our internal struggles,¡± the huge man replied half-heartedly and shrugged. ¡°In my defence, I can only say this: Everyone told me I deserved the beating you delivered. Though, I would love to repeat the exercise ¨C without the lightning.¡±


    He scratched the back of his head with a hand as big as a sledgehammer. ¡°I don¡¯t know many people who can challenge my Precognition without overwhelming me.¡±


    Astra waved her hand in a welcoming gesture. ¡°You can join our training if you want. We are doing morning exercises at sunrise in the courtyard. Bring your partner too.¡±


    Elijah looked uncertain but nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    Our socializing was abruptly interrupted by an animal¡¯s call. It sounded like a loud bleating.


    We looked over the parapet but saw nothing before the bleating came again and a herd of huge creatures trampled over the crest of a nearby hill. They looked like elk at the first glance, but their bodies and tails had more in common with a fox. Meanwhile, their extremely elongated heads had nothing in common with any creature I knew from Earth.


    One of my sub-identities quickly provided the correct number.


    The fleeing herd consisted of fifty-two animals which flowed down the hill and through between the saherna¡¯s feet like a school of fish. Each of the elks was as big as a truck with some being even bigger. They still were nothing compared to the saherna.


    They were followed by a large pack of gutters. For the first time, I noted with excitement, I had recognized an animal from a previous encounter. The stupid dogs had given me tough times back at the Old Camp until Mark taught me how to hunt properly.


    The deadly fluffballs yowled and followed the herd with foam at their mouths.


    ¡°Do we have to be worried about the gutters?¡± I asked, remembering their claws which would be the perfect tools to climb a saherna¡¯s bark-like skin.


    ¡°No,¡± Elijah answered. ¡°They won¡¯t try their luck with the saherna if there is other prey. Though, they must be desperate and hungry if they are hunting a herd of lightelks. If they are very lucky, they will catch a sick animal. But it¡¯s more likely for them to get killed when the herd decides to fight.¡±


    As if on cue, one of the larger lightelks turned and charged the pack of gutters. It lowered its antlers which began to glow and spark. The clear sign of electricity had me activate my Second Sight and I watched in awe as the arching plasma between the creature¡¯s antlers coalesced into a ball of lightning.


    The elk bleated like a ram-horn and launched the ball of concentrated plasma with a flick of its antlers. The light shot away and impacted right in the middle of the pack.


    One of the gutters vanished in a blinding flash while others got singed and stunned. All I could see remaining of the primary target was a blackened spot on the ground and some fluff in the air. The elk had vaporized the gutter!


    Then the huge lightelk trampled right through the pack while sweeping its antlers, claiming more kills. It was as if a car had run over a group of people, causing carnage supreme.


    Only a handful of gutters were desperate enough to jump onto the lightelk. Their claws dug into the animal¡¯s flanks and they began to climb, causing huge, bleeding wounds.


    But the lightelk was having none of it.


    The animal threw itself onto its side and rolled, crushing the pesky nuisances which dared to attack it. When it came back up, it was in a prime position to fire up its main weapon again, but by this point, the pack of gutters was already fleeing.


    Another fluffball evaporated when the plasma ball caught up to it. Then the pack disappeared behind the crest of the hill, leaving behind over a dozen of their number.


    ¡°The predators are starved after the winter,¡± Elijah commented drily. ¡°They will come back and eat their own once the herd has passed. If they are lucky, the bull will bleed out and they will have a feast, but I doubt it. The wounds look superficial.¡±


    But I didn¡¯t listen. My mind was too distracted by what I had seen.


    The phenomenon of a lightning ball wandering through someone¡¯s bedroom had been disproven as a hoax long ago ¨C though there were still people who claimed to have witnessed such encounters.


    Which wasn¡¯t to say similar phenomena didn¡¯t exist. Scientists could replicate short-lived plasma balls inside the laboratory. There were even real documented lightning balls ¨C though the conditions to form them naturally were only right high up in Earth¡¯s atmosphere. Too high for any human to encounter them without satellite observation.


    Yet, this creature had just used electricity and magnetism to shoot plasma at an enemy.


    Thankfully, my sub-identities had paid close attention. If I could replicate-


    A mad giggle caused me to look over to Astra who was cradling a tiny pinprick of light between her hands. She threw her hands out in a pushing motion, and the tiny plasma ball flew away from us. It dispersed quickly and winked out after it left Astra¡¯s control, but it was more than enough as a proof of concept.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I just copied what the elk did?¡± Astra pointed over the parapet. The saherna had left the scene of the battle behind, but it was still visible. ¡°Why haven¡¯t we thought of this before? It¡¯s way more complicated to pull off, but it takes much less power than a normal lightning strike.¡±


    The lightelk was working out its frustrations on the gutters who were too injured to flee. Despite presumably being a herbivore, the elk had concerning murderous tendencies. One by one, it stomped each body into the ground as it made sure none of its attackers would see the light of another day.


    I took Astra by the arm and turned her in the direction of our quarters. ¡°We have to find out how this is possible.¡±


    Just before we marched off, I remembered Elijah had been watching us and turned to address him, ¡°Oh, sorry, but we just found a new application of our mutation. Tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Elijah waved us goodbye with a forced smile on his face. After experiencing the standard lightning strike first-hand, he was probably already imagining what it would be like to endure a smaller version of the elk¡¯s lightning ball.


    I then frogmarched Astra to our quarters while quickly trying to explain the impossible-seeming physics behind this phenomenon. Not to mention, it would be quite the ace in our set of skills and had to stay hidden.


    Elijah having seen Astra improvising a small lightning ball wasn¡¯t ideal, but nothing could be done about it.


    For a moment I played with the thought of eliminating Elijah, but discarded it quickly. He had proven himself to be a tough nut to crack. Too tough to take on silently without preparation. And by the time I managed to come up with something feasible, he would have already shared the knowledge.


    No. It was better to sweep the knowledge beneath the rug and hope it wouldn¡¯t spread beyond Elijah¡¯s circle.


    And who knew? Maybe throwing balls of lightning wouldn¡¯t turn out to be a viable skill anyway.

 Ch 71 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Magnus***


    Sweet dreams.


    I smiled, hovering at the edge between sleep and wakefulness. Laying on top of me I felt Astra''s body delightfully against mine, meaning everything was right in the world. My hands naturally wandered south to squeeze that which shouldn''t be squeezed.


    Then I gasped in shock when my hands were suddenly pulled to the side. The same happened to my legs until I was spread-eagled on the bed.


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    My eyes shot open and I gasped when Astra sat up on top of me. She rotated her hips, then moved up and down, catching my morning wood within her in a single motion. Her devilish expression immediately morphed to one of naughty bliss once she sat down fully.


    The feeling had my brain going in two different directions. On one side, this was the best way to be woken up by my woman. On the other, being bound to the bed was a bit too forceful.


    Was it stupid to complain about your girl impaling herself on you?


    Well, it certainly was, but I also didn''t like surprises.


    ¡°What the fuck, Astra!?¡± I tugged at the filaments which bound me to the bed and Astra''s hips to mine. She had also attached her filaments to the walls and ceiling, making it seem like we were caught in a spider''s web. ¡°What the fuck?¡±


    Astra pouted. ¡°Is it that bad? I thought you would like it. Thalia was surprised when I asked her about this bondage thing.¡±


    I groaned, remembering the inquisition I thought to be successfully repelled. My Precognition was right to tingle at the thought of introducing Astra to this type of play. ¡°By Gaia, so that''s it. Forgive me, but you just can''t wake me up like this!¡±


    ¡°Can we at least try it?¡± Astra pouted and circled a finger on my chest. ¡°I''ve put so much effort into the weave and our daily activities got a little boring to be honest. Thalia''s description of the concept sounded interesting. Not sure whether I am going to like it, but I would lie if I said it hasn''t piqued my interest.¡±


    ¡°What the heck were the two of you talking about while I was busy with the drakes?¡± I asked, a little bit miffed. I hoped Astra had forgotten about this ''bondage'' issue, but it wasn''t in the stars.


    ¡°Oh, this and that,¡± Astra replied innocently and winked at me. ¡°She also mentioned there were vibrators back on Earth, but I''ve to say you are way better than a vibrator when you get up to speed.¡±


    She halted to think about the discussion with her friend. ¡°Thalia got a little jealous when I pointed out how fast you can be. You are even voice-operated. No need for a switch.¡± She winked at me and purred, ¡°Definitely better than a vibrator.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°I don''t know how to feel about having my wife discussing our sex life with her friends.¡±


    ¡°Don''t complain. Do me,¡± Astra urged and wriggled her hips, stirring me around inside her. Knowing exactly how to provoke me, she also began to bounce. ¡°Or we might be late for morning exercise!¡±


    ¡°Ahem,¡± I raised an eyebrow while I fought to retain my composure despite how good her movements felt. ¡°You bound me to the bed? What am I supposed to do when I am the ''bound'' one? This type of thing is all about one party getting to live out their fantasies while the other is helpless.¡±


    Astra thought about it with a contemplative expression without halting her movements.


    Then she stopped and cursed. ¡°Darn, I might''ve misunderstood this bondage thing. Though, I don''t believe being helpless is a necessary part of this type of play.¡±


    After a moment of consideration, she shrugged with confidence. ¡°Anyway, my version is way better!¡±


    ¡°Better?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± she replied cheerfully and leaned in to nibble at my collarbone. ¡°Try pulling on my filaments.¡±


    I did, this time more forcefully, and soon realized something kinky. When I pulled with my right arm, Astra''s hips were raised. Pull with my left, and we were joined back together.


    My feet could also pull her from side to side. She had created something like an armour weave around us. Her filaments were guiding our position like strings on a doll. And if I did my job right, I was the puppeteer!


    It took some getting used to, but I soon went to work, spurred on by the writhing temptress on top of me.


    Afterwards, we went over our new training regime which now included holding a ball of superheated plasma for as long as possible. The goal was to stabilize the plasma''s circulation, at which point the lightning ball was ready to be launched at an unsuspecting enemy.


    The new skill relied on the flow of ionized particles to induce a magnetic field which in turn held the plasma together for a short period of time. The necessary flow also wasn''t a ''ball'', but a set of twisting bands supporting each other. Without the help of several sub-identities, they would have been impossible to stabilize.


    It was the same principle behind stabilizing the plasma inside fusion reactors.


    The better this was done, the longer the lightning ball would keep its cohesion once it left our influence, which translated directly to how far it would fly without dispersing ineffectively into the air.


    I figured out the theory behind it when we returned yesterday to our quarters.


    To be honest, calling it a lightning ball was a misnomer. The opponent certainly wouldn''t be electrocuted when struck. Maybe a little due to the induced currents from the magnetic field.


    In truth, the ''lightning ball'' consisted of several interwoven plasma bands. Even more accurately, a layered plasma knot with each layer trying to enforce and contain the ones around it.


    Though, anyone without Second Sight would only see a ball of light.


    Most of its destructive potential lay in the plasma''s heat and its movement. Upon impact, the heat would evaporate or melt the target''s surface while the plasma''s current would carry away any weakened material until it was expended. On a smaller scale, it worked like a plasma drill.


    Copying the lightelk''s magnetic pattern had worked out for Astra, but it wasn''t the most efficient way for us to mimic the animal''s ability. Some things simply didn''t apply to every scale. The elk''s version was focused on raw power, so we had some work to do to perfect the concept bit by bit.


    The lightelk''s horns were specifically adapted to create a containment of magnetic fields for the plasma currents to spin up before the attack was launched. We didn''t have the same luxury and had to use both hands to mimic the containment field.


    Unlike the elk''s approach of pumping as much power as possible into the effect and having a relatively slow plasma ball persist for several seconds, we would have to go for speed. We simply couldn''t pump enough energy into the plasma to have it contain itself for more than a second or two. Instead, we had to optimize the ''launching process'' and have the plasma ball move as fast as possible.


    By focusing on speed instead of persistence, we could create a viable ranged ability despite our power limitations. Not to mention, holding the plasma so close for too long seriously stressed even our bodies'' improved resistance to heat and electricity.


    Thankfully, the small blisters from my first overzealous attempts weren''t much of an issue.


    Try as we might, perfecting a new skill within a morning''s training exercise wasn''t in the cards, though we were getting there.


    Once the sun rose, we tabled our exercises and went to the open training area at the centre of the fortress where we met up with Elijah and his partner who turned out to be seeker Linda of all people.


    The initial meeting and Linda''s apologies for trying to waylay our expedition was awkward, to say the least. At least it explained Elijah''s approval-seeking behaviour when he answered the challenge. Their quite pitiful apologies also meant they had lost whatever power struggle was occurring within the Caravaners.


    Such was my guess at least. I wasn''t bold enough to question our hosts directly on the matter.


    Thanks to my vast experiences travelling the world, I had the perfect solution to awkward social confrontations: Let the women talk and the men beat each other up.


    So I grabbed Elijah and dove head first into a training bout ¨C which was also Elijah''s idea of how to avoid the back and forth of working out personal grievances with words.


    Astra and Linda seemed fine with talking for over half an hour before they realized their men had ditched them for the pleasures of martial exercise. Then they followed suit after a moment of awkward silence.


    Despite the disparity of our mutations, fighting Elijah felt a lot better than being beaten by my father-in-law. Elijah was a lot closer to my ability level, even though his grasp on Precognition was freakishly strong.


    But unlike elder Gilbert, who I couldn''t touch, it felt like I was always one step away from getting through Elijah''s defences.


    I learned a lot that morning in regards to outmanoeuvring Precognition.


    Our bout ended when some Caravaner youngsters showed up at the training area and began cheering us on. The small group of teenagers was an enthusiastic audience, but they also turned the bout into a competition when they began counting hits without really understanding neither of us was using his full power.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    So we ditched the bout in favour of simple exercises.


    The morning passed and Thalia finally left her quarters to join us with her guards in tow. She still looked pale, but it was no comparison to the first day she boarded the saherna express.


    ¡°Thalia!¡± I exclaimed when she entered the training field while her guards stayed behind at the edge. ¡°You are back amongst the living!¡±


    I couldn''t help but notice that the Caravaner youngsters who had started their training by now were eyeing Thalia with suspicion.


    ¡°Quite so,¡± she replied with a pale smile. It wasn''t forced, but also not enthusiastic. ¡°I am feeling better, but I heard I already missed a third of the journey?¡±


    ¡°You did.¡± Elijah stopped his exercise which consisted of air-punching imaginary opponents. ¡°We reached the Sanguine River and passed into the plains belonging to Clan Hochberg. If all goes well, we can anticipate our arrival within two weeks. Plus/minus a few days. Even the seekers would be wary of announcing exact arrival dates when traversing the wildlands. May our journey continue without incidents.¡±


    Astra and I excused ourselves and ended our training for the day to go give Thalia some attention.


    Elijah''s hopes held up for another three days which we used to socialize with him and Linda. Throughout our interactions and due to Thalia''s presence, we learned that Thalia''s unwilling misadventure had earned her a reputation among the Caravaners.


    Family Northroute had no issues with our friend, but there were still members of Snowpath around who had some grievances about the death of their leaders and the subsequent dissolution of their family.


    By rumour and retelling, Thalia had turned into a bogeyman for the Snowpaths and some of it was spilling over to the younger generation of Northroute teens.


    No matter the time or culture, horror stories were always welcome among the youths.


    Occasionally, Holly and her partner, Luka, also paid us visits. But now that we were traversing the marsh-turned plains most of their time was spent overseeing navigation.


    The rest of our delegation was noticeably absent from the training field, with our diplomatic aides showing up only shortly to catch some fresh air.


    The priestess of Gaia who had joined the expedition also hadn''t left her quarters for days. Astra went to check on her once but reported the woman was fine if a little bit scared of leaving the protection of her own four walls.


    Thalia spent her time with light exercises and reading in the training yard. It wasn''t like we could do anything else during the journey.


    My earlier assumption of the Sanguine River making navigation easy turned out to be a fallacy. Reaching the plains, the river had turned so wide it almost fused with the marsh surrounding us. The matter wasn''t helped by the river overspilling and forming various side-arms due to the flat terrain.


    At least the heavy storms had lessened, now replaced by infrequent rain showers.


    On the fourth day, our morning training was interrupted by a thrumming alarm horn being blown from the fortress''s central watchtower.


    Abandoning her training duel with Astra, Linda immediately ran towards the saherna''s back-end without giving explanations. She just jumped and left the training yard over the roof.


    ¡°What''s going on,¡± I asked while the horn blew four more times ¨C once long and three more times short. It fell into a repeating rhythm afterwards.


    Elijah gestured for me to get going. ¡°Get your weapons. The signal means the watch has sighted a swarm of parasites. They are going to attack when they realize the herd isn''t already claimed by others of their kind.¡±


    I didn''t have to go far. Our guards had been holding onto our weaponry while Astra and I were training. The Caravaners had warned us repeatedly not to leave the fortress''s interior without our full equipment.


    A few moments later I was carrying my new spetum and a short sword as a sidearm, including a loadout of throwing spears and flechettes which I had appropriated from Etan.


    ¡°You should retreat into the fortress,¡± Amundsen, the leader of my guard, suggested. He was the stoic and silent type who took his job seriously. Which included not developing any sentimentalities with his charge.


    Sadly, I had been running into a wall over the last few days when it came to socializing with my displeasantly professional bodyguards.


    I looked towards Thalia and Astra for their opinions. ¡°I don''t know about you, but if we can help out our hosts we should do so. It''s because of us that they undertook this journey so early. And if they fall, there won''t be anyone to steer the saherna. Besides, after earning the title of a juggernaut it would feel bad to hide behind a wall at the first sign of trouble.¡±


    Astra shrugged. ¡°The Northroutes were paid more than enough to take a few hits for us, but I don''t believe it hurts to take a look. Maybe it''s a nice workout. No blade is forged without fire.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, nope.¡± Thalia shook her head. ¡°I am no fighter, so I will sit this one out, given the choice. I will see whether I can help out at the infirmary instead. First and foremost, I am a doctor.¡±


    I didn''t question Thalia''s choice. She wasn''t partnered and her abilities were too subtle to be of much help in a direct confrontation. Was she even able to influence mindless animals? Were her mental powers limited to sapient opponents?


    I would have to ask her later.


    A jump took me out of the inner training yard and I landed on the fortress''s roof where Caravaners manned several ballistae protected behind parapets. The oversized crossbows were the fortress''s main defence and encircled its entire periphery.


    The central watchtower had a single, 30mm machine cannon with four rifled barrels. It looked like one of those old anti-air cannons from the world wars.


    My questions had revealed it was one hundred per cent Aerie craftsmanship ¨C normally restricted to the clan''s contingent of airships.


    But the Caravaners had worked out a special deal which allowed them to buy one of the weapons per saherna, including the expensive ammunition.


    As I had seen first-hand, rarely anyone on Tirnanog would waste the resources for this type of weaponry. Shooting most monsters would only piss them off anyway. And if people''s mutations could take care of most problems, there was simply no need to expend precious time on bullet production.


    At least the large calibre gun was a little more useful than a handheld firearm. And the relatively rich Caravaners had the resources to spend on additional protection.


    The gun''s main purpose was to take care of small fry, and other humans, and to bring down flying opponents. The fortress''s mostly flat roof also provided a perfect shooting gallery should anything manage to get over the parapet and past the ballistae.


    In this regard, the machine cannon also had to be seen as a last resort should the outer line of defence fall.


    Elijah landed next to me, followed by Astra and our guards.


    ¡°I would feel a lot better if you stayed in the back,¡± Elijah suggested. ¡°The seekers warned me profusely of the political ramifications should anything happen to the delegation.¡±


    I grinned and looked at my training partner. ¡°Do you believe me to be the type who hides like a healer or a diplomat while others fight for our lives?¡±


    Elijah shook his head. ¡°I believe you to be the sort who does as he pleases. Please be careful, even though the parasites are just pests.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, friend.¡± I looked towards Astra. ¡°We promise we will retreat the moment it gets dangerous.¡±


    Together, we approached the parapet where most of the Caravaner guards had gathered. They were looking tensely towards the horizon, but all I could see was marshland.


    Then I saw a human-sized creature.


    It jumped in the distance, flinging itself high up into the air before it spread a set of huge wings which it used to glide a few dozen metres. More followed with their trademark jump-gliding locomotion until I could see several dozen in the air at any given time. It indeed looked like a swarm of grasshoppers making its way toward us.


    I reached for my belt and aimed a small spyglass at the incoming things.


    They looked like someone had crossed a flea with a grasshopper and blown it up to human proportions. Though, there was no chitin involved. The leathery wings were more like a bat''s. Except for the legs, of the six arm-like appendages four ended in bony hooks and two had spikes large enough to spear a human. Only the hindlegs served the purpose of trans-location via powerful jumps.


    Taken altogether, the creatures fused several familiar features which accumulated into something utterly alien.


    ¡°At least three hundred!¡± one of the Caravaners shouted.


    ¡°Are those the parasites which normally infest the saherna?¡± Astra asked. ¡°What are they called?¡±


    Elijah nodded with a grim expression. ¡°We just call them parasites. It''s a small swarm which probably split off from another host. They aren''t very smart and will go in a direct line for any potential source of blood. We can expect them to swarm us mindlessly until either we or they are dead. Then we will have a troublesome time removing any who latched on to the saherna''s underside.¡±


    He shook himself in disgust. ¡°I don''t envy the youngsters doing cleaning duties.¡±


    ¡°What''s so bad about cleaning?¡± I asked. My mind was already conjuring up images of blood and innards painting the fortress''s roof in various alien colours.


    ¡°They will have to dig the eggs out of the saherna''s skin to prevent more parasites from growing right beneath our noses.¡± Elijah¡¯s expression was full of disgust, probably because he remembered his past experiences with this kind of duty.


    And there my mind went off in a completely different, horrible direction.


    ¡°Forget I asked,¡± I replied while I tried my best to banish my rampant imagination to the void.


    The Caravaners waited for as long as possible before they unleashed the first wave of ballista bolts. Most of them hit their targets with precision, but true to Elijah''s word, the creatures didn''t care about their numbers being culled. For every parasite hit, there were three more to take its place.


    Worse, it was no small surprise to me when the larger parasites'' jumping power turned out to be enough to catapult them right on top of the fortress!


    ¡°Form up around me!¡± I called out while the first creature was still in the air. ¡°Back to back!¡± I was damned if I lost some of our bodyguards because I desired to test myself.


    The first parasite to touch the ground was received by a group of Caravaners with spears, but more quickly followed. There was no rhyme or reason to their attack. They simply jumped onto the saherna as they arrived.


    I split off more sub-identities and tasked them with alerting me as soon as someone needed help.


    Then I noticed a parasite who was about to land right among our group ¨C which would end without doubt in our formation being broken and leaving an opening for the other monsters landing all over the roof.


    I bend my knees and jumped to meet the creature in the air.


    Six appendages extended towards me, but my spetum had more reach. The sparking tip of my weapon snaked past the monster''s natural armament and found the creature¡¯s chest while I channelled electricity through it.


    A bony spike-arm shot forward, but I diverted it with my armour''s bracer and kicked out.


    Four bony hooks caught my foot and stopped it cold while the creature leered at me with a row of countless eyes and a maw with too many rows of sharp teeth. Then its tongue lolled forward, revealing a needle-like bone protrusion at the tip.


    But the iobeetle armour protecting me held strong without so much as a scratch.


    The sound of metal moving against metal could be heard as the armour''s integrated blade shot out from next to the base of my heel and retracted, leaving behind a cauterized stab wound in the monster''s ugly mug.


    Using Second Sight, I had aimed right for the densest concentration of energy.


    I wasn¡¯t sure whether I had hit the brain or something else important. Nonetheless, the effect couldn''t be argued with as the parasite went slack.


    Gilbert''s hidden weaponry was integrated into the armour''s lower feet and forearms, leaving the armour''s bearer never truly unarmed as long as there was enough space to deploy the retractable blades.


    I placed my other foot on the creature''s corpse and pushed off the surprisingly light body, diverting its momentum enough to send it down into the marsh while I pulled my spetum out and landed back among my group.


    ¡°The armour blades work perfectly!¡± I informed Astra with a grin. ¡°We have to give Gilbert our thanks for adding them.¡±


    Astra let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Please warn me the next time you decide to ''almost'' jump off the saherna. What if the parasite had dodged you? You would have landed down in the bog!¡±


    ¡°Ahem.¡± I coughed. ¡°I would have had to climb back up? It would have been embarrassing.¡±


    She scoffed.


    ¡°Don''t worry!¡± I tried to assure her. ¡°It''s all water down there, assuring a soft landing. We can breathe underwater, remember?¡±


    Astra shook her head.


    She had spread out her long filaments during our exchange and used them to electrocute a parasite who had approached our group.


    One of our guards stepped forward and speared the stunned creature without much fanfare.


    All around us, the caravaners were fighting with a multitude of weaponry. The way they were holding their own and not panicking made it clear this wasn''t their first rodeo with the parasites.


    They had formed groups hunting down the parasites which landed on the fortress''s roof, while others held the parapet to prevent smaller attackers from climbing up.


    It was chaos but also controlled.


    Elijah reached beneath his fur coat and retrieved a set of spiked knuckle dusters large enough to accommodate his paws. ¡°It''s now safe to hunt down the large ones which made it onto the roof. The parasites aren''t smart enough to employ something like wave tactics. I see you should have no trouble with the pests.¡±


    With that, he ran off towards the closest parasite who was menacing a ballista team. They were keeping it at bay with their spears, but also couldn''t do their job while doing so.


    Elijah''s fist effectively smashed through the parasite like a passing freight train. One second there was a hale monster, in the next, guts and two bisected parasite halves were flying all over the place.


    The giant didn''t even pause to check on his work before he ran towards his next target.


    Astra sniffed. ¡°Messy.¡±


    I shrugged and shouldered my spetum while I looked for opportunities to influence the fight in a similar manner. ¡°When in Rome, do as the Romans do.¡±

 Ch 72 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°With your permission, protector Astra, I must say your partner has a few loose screws,¡± Amudsen commented in a hushed whisper while we watched the massacre.


    I turned and glared at the leader of our guard detail, but couldn''t truly gainsay his complaint. Was he sulking because his charge had abandoned the protective circle?


    Not knowing how to react, I chose to say nothing and returned my attention to watching over my partner.


    Magnus had broken the formation he had ordered the men to take and was now playing bait for the parasites, following Elijah''s example.


    Indeed, do as the Romans do.


    At first, he had been professional about his solo hunting spree, only taking on lone parasites. But at some point, he had lost his respect for the creatures and was now attacking groups of two and three.


    More disturbingly, he was laughing like a maniac while slaughtering them. He was even using flash step to heighten his kill count while having a competition with Elijah for the title of bugslayer.


    I watched Magnus stabbing one of the monsters in a vital spot and electrocuting it.


    Defying immediate death, the creature struck back with its spike arms, but was countered by Magnus''s armour angling itself seemingly on its own to deflect and redirect the blows instead of taking them head on.


    A second monster abandoned its fight with a Caravaner and launched itself at what it identified as the greater threat. It came from my partner''s blind spot ¨C which would have been trouble for most normal humans.


    But Magnus was slowly improving his Precognition thanks to his training with Elijah.


    Before it could close the distance entirely, Magnus kicked his spetum while holding onto the shaft''s end. The created leverage caused the weapon to rip sideways out of his latest victim and whip around, creating a crescent-shaped trail of arcing sparks.


    If it hadn''t been for the monster behind him, the manoeuvre would have looked like the vain fancy of a martial artist.


    But it wasn¡¯t.


    The spetum''s blade passed through the charging parasite and severed the upper torso from the rest of the body.


    Magnus blurred and was already dashing towards another foe before the pieces hit the ground.


    The creatures might have been an actual threat in larger numbers, but spread out as they were they couldn''t challenge my partner if he used his speed to its fullest. And thanks to my father''s training he had turned proficient in the use of his main weapon.


    Which was fine as long as he didn''t get carried away.


    As if to mock me, Magnus threw himself right into a group of three opponents.


    What worried me was the fighting style he was developing. It didn''t solely rely on maximising distance with his weapon. Magnus wasn''t above using close combat techniques and even his fists when something managed to get past the blade''s tip.


    The spetum stabbed, feet kicked, and two fingers left a cauterized hole where a parasite''s eye had been a moment ago while my partner tumbled with jerking movements through the group ¨C relying on his sub-identities to dodge and coordinate movements which would have left a normal human out of his depth.


    While I was capable of the same, I never would have chosen to fight this way without being forced into it. I would have relied on lightning strikes as much as possible and avoided coming close to these monsters.


    On the other hand, Magnus¡¯s filaments weren¡¯t long enough to deliver electric strikes without extreme power usage.


    Why did this trouble me so much? Was it just hard for me to watch him because he was so important to me?


    I closed my eyes and massaged the bridge of my nose while I stood amidst our guards.


    Actively watching out for parasites coming our way wasn''t necessary. I had my filaments extended to ward off any attacker taking an interest in our group. Simply by providing a safe zone, our hunters ensured this section of the fortress wouldn''t fall.


    Amudsen was still staring at me, expecting an answer.


    ¡°I will talk to him about it,¡± I assured the bodyguard.


    Normally, Magnus was calmness and logic personified. If asked, he would assuredly say he disliked causing pain and murder ¨C even if it must be done. Maybe he even wholeheartedly believed his claim, but there was something inside him which called for carnage and slaughter.


    Or was it just the thrill of a life-threatening situation? When I saw him the first time, he was also laughing like a maniac while being chased by a pack of gutters.


    Maybe it wasn''t a mutation-driven instinct to worry about, but something which had always been inside him, suppressed by Earth''s mostly peaceful environment.


    While I contemplated his behaviour, the parasites which had jumped onto the fortress slowly ran out of numbers and the focus of the battle shifted to defending the parapet.


    The parasites which couldn''t make the jump in one go were still trying to climb their way up, but so far the Caravaners had held the line.


    Once Magnus saw that the Caravaners had everything well in hand, he shouldered his spetum and made his way back to us with a grin on his face.


    ¡°It feels good to let loose,¡± he commented, covered in parasite goo.


    I gestured for our guards to turn away.


    They did as commanded by forming a circle around us while facing outwards and at least pretending to give us some privacy.


    It wasn''t like anyone who truly wanted to would have had a hard time spying on us ¨C given the fortress''s very public setup. A wooden wall wasn''t as reliable as a hundred metres of stone to ensure privacy.


    ¡°Are you having fun, Magnus?¡± I asked. ¡°I am just wondering whether you always tended to laugh like a maniac when you are fighting.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Magnus touched the back of his head, looking slightly ashamed. ¡°Am I overdoing it, dear?¡±


    I shrugged and happily noted he had called me dear. ¡°As long as it remains at the current level it looks like it¡¯s manageable for you, so I don''t care. It''s just that we are still learning new things about our mutations and we have nobody to turn to in regards to how the zipper mutation affects us. Do I have to remind you of Hector? We should be aware of overly strong instincts before they become troublesome in the future. If something negatively affects our behaviour it''s wise to avoid mutations which are known to compound the issue.¡±


    Finally understanding my worries, Magnus allowed his serious side to resurface. ¡°Well, I don''t think it''s a problem. You aren''t having similar feelings when you are fighting right? So it''s just me having fun.¡±


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I shook my head at his way of putting things. ¡°Just having fun, you say. Fine, if you want to have it this way. It''s a reasonable if still troublesome explanation. Though I would urge you to stay wary of such things. It wouldn''t be the first time for a mutation to affect the genders differently. Unrelated to the cause, I still have to say I am not happy about your tendency to ''have fun'' by throwing yourself in harm¡¯s way.¡±


    Magnus smiled. ¡°I can only assure you it''s mostly a ''me'' thing.¡±


    He took my hand and squeezed it. ''Do you believe me when I confess it''s a coping mechanism against being scared shitless? The parasites give me the shivers.''


    I tried my best not to give anything away on my face. ''Are you serious? You just threw yourself into groups of those things and you are telling me they scare you?''


    Magnus had used our secret communication method for this confession, so it would have been stupid to hint at our ability by displaying facial expressions without any context for watchers. It would only be a question of time before someone linked our strangely shifting expressions to a special communication ability.


    ''Totally! Didn''t you take a look at those creepy crawlies? They are insect things as large as a human. Zerg made real and I had to get close enough to touch them. It''s either laughing like a madman at the surreality of it all or pissing myself while screaming like a baby for its mama. Take your pick.''


    Zerg? I blinked and did my best to ignore yet another of my partner¡¯s colloquialisms.


    Anyway, his confession was a little too blunt for me. ''I see, I can''t say I have the same issue with how Tirnanog''s animals look. I guess spending my childhood in this world hardened me against the alien appearance of most things.''


    If Magnus was honest with me it was even more commendable for him to pick a fight with the monsters despite his fears. Fearing something dangerous was only natural and very few people could overcome their heartfelt fears and face them.


    I belatedly realized he was still waiting for an answer. ''Stick to the laughing. So you are trying to overcome your fear by facing it head-on. Feel free to call for me if you have trouble with something tonight.''


    Despite my earlier misgivings, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. Hopefully, we would just look like a couple in love.


    ''That''s a very motherly thing to say, but I am glad you worry about me.'' He grinned.


    I rolled my eyes when I realized he must have mistaken me. ¡°If you are sure, then it''s fine. Just ensure you don''t get too excited tonight.¡±


    ¡°Tonight?¡± Magnus asked with a raised eyebrow. His grin turned even wider.


    He was clearly misunderstanding what I meant, so I clarified myself with a gesture at the multitude of cadavers. ¡°So many bodies combined with the smell of blood and guts will draw some of the really dangerous nasties. I bet that''s the main reason why Elijah was so worried about an attack from those things. There is just no way to prevent the saherna from turning into a humongous feeding beacon for everything that goes bump in the night. Throwing the cadavers off the saherna won''t help much at this point because the fortress is already soaked in blood. The Caravaners will have their hands full with preventing any breaches.¡±


    Magnus''s expression fell while he listened to my explanation. ¡°Oh. Damn! I didn''t think of that at all! Don''t we have some chemicals which we can spill on the bodies to mask the scent?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I am sure the Caravaners have something, but the predators I am worried about aren''t so easily fooled.¡±


    Fending off the remaining parasites took the better part of an hour, after which Elijah rejoined us.


    We talked and watched the cleanup, which somehow led to a detailed explanation on getting rid of parasite infestations.


    The troublesome part about a parasite invasion weren''t the few large ones big enough to fly onto the fortress in one go. Nor the ones which actively tried to climb the parapet and kill the unwelcome humans.


    No.


    Getting rid of all the little ones which clung to the saherna''s legs and the underside was the true problem ¨C a task which would take specialized teams with climbing gear days. The worst part about it wasn''t even getting rid of the infestation. Instead, the problem lay in having to leave the fortress''s relative safety to do so.


    Being on one of the cleaning teams was the job with the highest casualty rate among the Caravaners.


    There were things which had specialized in feeding on parasites when a saherna conveniently passed by and snacking a human cleaning team wasn''t so different from slurping up a few parasites.


    It took some time, but we eventually retreated to our quarters. A few hours later, Magnus and I went to bed, exhausted. For once, we decided to hone ourselves in abstinence.


    I was... falling.


    The evil men had thrown me together with a group of women into the shining ring of light. They had just shoved us into the pit.


    Why had they decided to kill us after all the experiments? Or was this just some new test?


    Before I could understand what was going on, I landed with a splash in water. The shock forced me to inhale a lungful of it. Panicking, I kicked and flailed mindlessly until something slithered around me, grabbing my arms and legs.


    It pulled, and then there was air again as someone pulled me out of the water.


    Gentle but powerful hands forced me into a sideways position while I coughed. Water spilled from my mouth and nose in what felt like a continuous stream until I was retching and dry heaving while someone held me in position so I could get rid of all the water I had inhaled.


    ¡°There we go, out with all of it,¡± a motherly voice intoned from above me while the person who had helped me rubbed my back.


    For a time I simply lay there, utterly exhausted from the ordeal.


    When I could finally breathe without effort, I tried to find out what was going on, but the world was unbearably bright.


    All I could understand was that several people surrounded me and the women who had landed with me. These people who had awaited our arrival were now in a heated discussion about what to do with us.


    ¡°¡­ take the brunette and the girl,¡± someone said. ¡°We will pay you a month¡¯s worth of our concrete supplies for the war effort. You can load your airships till they can carry no more cargo and return to your mountain as the heroes of these negotiations.¡±


    ¡°You should know we have no use for your concrete if it isn¡¯t a steady, affordable supply,¡± another voice retorted. ¡°Besides, do you really expect me to grant you any favours for resources you would have left behind anyway? There¡¯s no way you are going to drag all that stuff back to Thich if you can just mine more at home.¡±


    My eyes finally adjusted somewhat to the brightness. I couldn¡¯t see perfectly, but it worked out if I shaded my eyes.


    ¡°We are still going to take the younger women to replenish our numbers. The girl is a bit young, but she will grow up. Just name your price.¡±


    Meanwhile, the people kept haggling for¡­ me?


    Of course, I had heard about things like slavery in history class. And the news on the internet was full of mentions of human trade, but such things couldn¡¯t possibly exist in the modern world.


    Right?


    Why was I fooling myself?


    Hadn¡¯t I been abducted right from my school?


    And nobody had done so much as lifted a finger.


    Why was the world such a horrible place? Why could everyone do with me as they pleased?


    And why was I so weak?


    My lamentations ended and I stifled a scream when I finally recognized the people¡­ monsters who were haggling for the eight women who had arrived with me and fallen into a pond right next to a sturdy concrete construction. There were so many of them. All different!


    A childish part of me kept drifting off to memories of Alice in Wonderland, but I had abandoned any such notions months ago when the men in black took me to experiment upon.


    But the grizzly reality was far away from a tale for children. These people displayed all facets, from beautiful to utterly grotesque.


    The woman who had helped me was the most frightening of all with her bat-like wings. She was still rubbing my back in an attempt to comfort me, oblivious to the fact that her appearance had me frozen like a deer caught in the headlights.


    My eyes flicked to the teenage girl next to her who had the same wings. She was looking down at me as if I was an interesting new bug which had fallen into her lap. Then the girl grinned with a knowing smile as if she was the only one who was in on a very funny joke.


    My attention was forced back to the haggling people when one of them accosted the man who was clad in scintillating silver bands and opposing those who wished to ¡®buy¡¯ us.


    The offender grabbed the smaller man¡¯s clothes and lifted him to eye height. ¡°If you are saying we-¡±


    The bully¡¯s words abruptly cut off with three sharp snaps which silenced him and the arguing crowd like gunshots.


    Then the large man fell apart and the man in silver dropped back down to his own two feet.


    Just like everyone else in the vicinity, my brain failed to compute what had happened. How it had happened? More importantly for everyone¡¯s immediate survival, why had it happened?


    Unlike in the adult movies I had secretly watched despite my parents forbidding me, there was no fountain of blood. Nor a big spray of blood.


    The bully had been bisected down the middle, then split apart at his hips and chest, creating four distinct pieces sans the separated arms and legs which only now began to lose their blood. It wasn¡¯t especially fast, but also not slow.


    The bat-woman covered my eyes, preventing me from seeing the growing puddle on the paving. But I had already watched it spread as it followed the groves between the cobblestones. It had been hypnotising.


    I shivered.


    People began to scream, but were quickly silenced when the scintillating man¡¯s voice spoke softly, but with more authority than I had ever heard before.


    ¡°You are dead wrong if you believe some Thich scum can touch an elder of the Aerie without repercussions. Go and skedaddle back to your superiors. Tell them they can come here and face me and the other elders if they want to turn this place into a slave market. I would rather support the assembly¡¯s move to make the Old Camp a neutral zone than to have you people hold bidding wars for people¡­¡±


    His voice slowly faded, leaving me to wonder what was going on.


    Then someone pulled the hand away from my eyes and I was facing a blonde woman in the same scintillating clothes as the man who had killed the bully.


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel like something was off about this. Teresa wasn¡¯t blonde.


    I frowned. How did I know this is¡­ should be Teresa?


    This was wrong. The memory was wrong.


    The woman, Gaia, smiled.


    ¡°Sorry to wake you up from your little dream. There¡¯s something dangerous outside. I would love to have a chat, but you really shouldn¡¯t be sleeping now.¡±


    She suddenly got in really close and screamed right in my face. ¡°Wake up!¡±

 Ch 73 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Astra***


    I opened my eyes and quickly rolled out of the bed, switching from dream to reality in a moment.


    At least that''s what I tried to do until my filaments held me back with a discomforting tug. Still half asleep, I tugged twice more and was pulled back each time. It felt like I was tied to something.


    Giving up on solving the problem the easy way, I turned around to find out where my filaments had entangled themselves this time.


    Magnus had mirrored my actions on the other side of the bed and we found ourselves glaring at the entangled mess between us until we finally woke up enough to free ourselves.


    ¡°Did Gaia scream in your face too?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I grunted and cursed while loosening a particularly nasty Gordian knot. This had been a growing problem since Magnus''s filaments had begun to reach mentionable length. I would have to ask my parents whether they had a solution to the problem.


    Once we were free, we wasted no time and began putting on our armour.


    Thanks to the prepared supports my armour was hanging from, it was easy to arrange my weave correctly before I tightened it.


    This caused the armour pieces to be pulled onto my body and into position.


    A few seconds later, Magnus and I were fully equipped and ready to fight.


    Then we stood and listened, but the fortress was silent apart from the saherna''s monotonously thumping steps.


    Magnus drew his short sword and attached the spetum to his back while he scanned the ceiling with his second sight. There was nothing to see apart from the faint outlines of the two guards at our door.


    Second Sight wasn''t comparable to real x-ray vision, but if something had strong energy output and wasn''t shielded by a lot of material, Second Sight was sufficient. A layer of wood wasn''t enough to block whatever form of energy this extraordinary sense detected.


    Seeing the wisdom in going for a smaller weapon, I did the same and drew my rapier.


    I gave the sword a testing swing, not trusting my instincts to wield the weapon properly right after waking up. Recently the spear had been my main weapon during training and I had to admit I had neglected to hone my proficiency with the rapier.


    No matter the lack of training, there was little choice. The fortress''s corridors and doorways were too narrow for a large weapon. They limited our range of movement too much.


    ¡°What do you think could be dangerous enough for Gaia to raise the alarm?¡± Magnus whispered. ¡°I didn''t even know she could wake us up any time she wants. That''s a dangerous ability. What if she keeps us up indefinitely? She could kill us.¡±


    ¡°I can''t imagine her not using the ability to steer humanity if it didn''t have significant drawbacks,¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°And what about this threat?¡± he pressed.


    I gestured with the rapier towards the door.


    ¡°I don''t know. I was having a fucked up dream when she barged in and screamed me awake, mentioning some monster. You''ve studied the same bestiary I did,¡± I whispered back. ¡°It''s night outside and few people are brave or foolish enough to gather experience with Tirnanog''s night predators. Why do you believe we barricade ourselves as soon as the sun sets?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Magnus went to the door and opened it.


    Aside from the two bodyguards standing watch in front of our room, the corridor was empty.


    ¡°Is there something wrong, protector?¡± one of the guards asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Magnus replied while putting on his helmet, turning himself into the image of a dauntless warrior. ¡°But I don''t know what. Something feels off. We are going on a little tour to check on everyone.¡±


    I followed suit and a few steps later we were at Thalia''s door.


    Her guards had already seen us coming and knew something was up. They had knocked on their charge¡¯s door to wake her up as soon as we left our quarters.


    Thalia dreamily opened the door right when we arrived. ¡°What''s wrong? It''s in the middle of the night.¡±


    ¡°Just checking on everyone,¡± Magnus answered. ¡°Something... feels wrong.¡±


    Our people were all housed on a single section of the fortress, conveniently connected by the central corridor which ran in a circle around the entire saherna.


    Because of this the guards standing watch at the priestess''s and the diplomats'' doors also realized something was going on.


    One by one, doors along the corridor opened and the normally sleeping dayshift joined us. I figured everyone must be awake by now anyway, so I raised my voice.


    ¡°Headcount! I want all of our people accounted for within the minute!¡±


    It didn''t take long for the more reclusive members of our mission to show themselves, including Peter Rumen and his diplomatic entourage.


    Only our priestess of Gaia, Maria didn''t report immediately. I had visited her on multiple occasions, but she couldn''t be convinced to leave her quarters, claiming she wasn''t a fighter and unused to life outside the colony.


    As far as I knew, her orders were to carry some letters to the church¡¯s sister institution which resided in Hochberg.


    I couldn¡¯t fathom why the church would use someone like her as a carrier, but the woman seemed genuine in her fear of the outside world, so I didn¡¯t try to pry her out of her comfort zone. It simply wasn¡¯t my business.


    It took insistent knocking on her door to prompt the shut-in to open her door just enough to take a peek at the outside world.


    ¡°Is something dangerous happening?¡± She scanned the corridor until her eyes locked on my partner standing next to me.


    Magnus pointed an accusing finger at the priestess. ¡°You!¡±


    The woman retreated with a very unpriestly ¡°Eeep!¡± before she rammed the door shut. Shortly after, sounds of someone barricading the entrance could be heard from within.


    I slowly turned my head and looked questioningly at Magnus who was still pointing his finger at the now-closed door.


    ¡°It''s her!¡± He gestured. ¡°You know? The priestess! The one I met when I visited the church!¡±


    It slowly dawned on me who this woman was.


    Thankfully, the incident had been swiped under the rug relatively effortlessly.


    But this was months ago! Just what did Magnus do to her for her to be so terrified of him? Was the reason why she was hiding in her room because she was afraid of running into my partner, rather than being a shut-in?


    I forcefully interrupted my train of thought and raised a hand to stop further arguments. ¡°We don''t have time for this right now. Mary is obviously fine and safely barricaded within her room. Someone like her is better off inside a closed room anyway. Is anyone missing?¡±


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°No, protector,¡± Amudsen answered as he approached us. Thanks to his bed hair it was obvious he had still been sleeping five minutes ago. ¡°Might I ask what this is about?¡±


    ¡°Intuition,¡± I replied non-nonchalantly. There was no need to explain the details of our abilities to others. ¡°Something is not right.¡±


    A warning shout drew my attention away from our guard captain and down the corridor where the shout had come from.


    ¡°Identify yourself and stay where you are!¡±


    Ignoring Amudsen, I walked quickly to reach the scene of the incident where several of our mission''s guards had formed up to block the corridor which gave access to our quarters.


    We came just in time to witness them facing a Caravaner clad in their people''s fur and combat gear. He had been shuffling along the corridor''s wall, apparently hurt and needing it for support. The better I could see the man, the stranger it was. He looked wet. As if someone had just dumped a bucked of water over his head.


    Had he taken a dive down in the bog and climbed back up?


    I didn''t have time to process what was wrong with the situation.


    Before I could do anything, the Caravaner defied gravity as he silently shot forward with surprising speed. There was no tensing of muscles which could have announced the attack.


    One moment he stood supporting himself against the wall, the next he was smacking wetly against the foremost guard who managed to impale the attacker with his short sword.


    It wasn¡¯t a matter of the guard reacting faster than anyone else. Our hunter had simply held out his weapon, keeping it between him and the stranger. The Caravaner was so eager to close the distance that he had impaled himself.


    ¡°Aaah!¡± The guard screamed while the Caravaner''s flesh flowed around his victim. Long spikes emerged while the Caravaner''s skin turned grey and lost its human disguise.


    The guards next to the scene barely had time to strike whatever had attacked their comrade, opening long wounds which revealed white flesh. Their attacks showed no reaction before a long, fleshy cord which was attached to the former Caravaner pulled taught and yanked the guard out of the defensive line and down the corridor in a single powerful motion.


    I didn''t think, I just acted as I screamed and flash-stepped forward. ¡°Nightcrawler!¡±


    My rapier fell down on the cord with all the strength I could muster, separating it.


    An angered roar rose from outside the fortress and the saherna''s steps faltered.


    The fleshy tentacle sans its spiky pseudo-pod began whipping around manically, splintering the wood where it hit. My sub-identities took over and I barely managed to dodge the flailing appendage.


    Three more pseudo-pods came around the bend in the corridor, searching along the walls and ceiling as if their owner was feeling out the space.


    ¡°Get him back into formation!¡± I stepped over the fallen guard and tried to stop the flailing appendage with my filaments. By spreading out my filaments, it was just a matter of moments before they caught the appendage.


    At the same time, I anchored myself with more filaments. Thanks to their thinness it was easy to sneak them in between the cracks of the wooden construction. Moments later, I was anchored to the walls, the floor, and the ceiling.


    Then I discharged as much power as I could into the thing, but it only made the creature mad while it reformed a smaller pseudo-pod and grabbed onto a handful of my filaments.


    I was suddenly the one being pulled forward with irresistible force.


    For a moment my precaution held, but then my filaments began to slip and I was slowly pulled down the corridor.


    Several guards threw themselves onto me and then Magnus was there, electric discharges dancing between his short sword and the pseudo pod holding my filaments while he hacked at it.


    There was a sharp yank and then there was only pain.


    My mind could barely process the retreating tentacle. The monster had ripped three or four filaments right out of my back and vanished down the corridor.


    I must have blacked out for a few seconds because when I came to I was screaming in anguish and futile rage.


    Filaments couldn¡¯t feel pain. They were nerveless appendages. Their loss could be felt as a phantom limp and was annoying, but that was all.


    Never before had someone ripped a filament out of me!


    The nightcrawler had plucked them out as if I was nothing more than a fly.


    Magnus pulled one of his flechettes from his belt and his hand blurred. It hit one of the other encroaching pseudo-pods, but aside from a pained twitch and a slight retreat of the appendage, there was no effect.


    The projectile had punched through the appendage and embedded itself in the wall. The small wound didn¡¯t bother the nightcrawler much. To the nightcrawler, it was no more than if a human had been stung by a needle.


    ¡°Curse this!¡± Magnus retrieved another flechette and used electromagnetism to lift it above his palm. Lightning discharged and danced between his fingers and the projectile. The metal quickly began to glow red as it was brought close to the melting point.


    When the searching pseudo-pods moved forward once more, he launched the flechette with a throwing gesture. This time it had just enough force to have the glowing piece of metal embed itself deep within the flesh of the foremost tentacle.


    The following roar of pain was much, much louder this time and the pseudo-pods retreated entirely from the corridor.


    Magnus didn¡¯t dare to turn around and instead walked backwards until he was next to us.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I will be as soon as you get me up!¡± I ordered through clenched teeth.


    The four guards who had thrown themselves onto me like rugby players hurried to accommodate my order.


    The creature¡¯s antics had finally drawn enough attention to cause a reaction because it sounded like the machine cannon on the central tower began firing. There was another angered roar from the outside and something thudded against the ceiling, causing the entire construction to shake slightly. But it held.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Magnus cursed and drew another flechette in anticipation of more to come. ¡°The book didn''t do it justice!¡±


    We waited and held our breaths while the cannon spoke, firing roughly one shot per second. After twenty-four shots, it fell silent again.


    Few people had ever seen what a nightcrawler looked like as a whole. According to the few descriptions available, it was something like a snail or land-based octopus with long tentacles. At the end of each tentacle was a pseudo-pod which it could use to mimic its prey.


    It would use these mimicries to get the tentacles close to its unsuspecting food. Once the tentacle was close enough, it would snatch the prey and reel it in.


    Many a guard had found themselves being pulled into the darkness of the night to be fed upon by the far larger creature. It wasn''t known how big nightcrawlers could get, but judging by the length of the tentacle, this one must be huge.


    Magnus gestured down the corridor. ¡°The entrance to the courtyard is about fifty metres down the corridor. It¡¯s the closest way into the fortress unless the thing managed to break open a wall.¡±


    ¡°The nightcrawler has to be huge,¡± I confirmed while I tried to touch my back where the filaments had been ripped out.


    Which I shouldn¡¯t have done.


    The pain renewed in full as soon as I touched the wound.


    I cursed beneath my breath. My filaments had just been getting long enough for me to fly again. The loss of three whole filaments had set me back at least two weeks, given how slowly they grew. Worse, the section down my spine from which the filaments emerged had very good circulation and bled like crazy even if the wound was superficial.


    Looking down at myself, I saw that a small puddle of blood had already formed around my left foot.


    ¡°Don''t move for a moment. I can staunch the blood.¡± Thalia came up from behind me and touched my back. Then I could feel her bloodvines wriggling in between the openings of my armour and do something.


    I tried to wave her off. ¡°Go and help the guard! I can stop the bleeding by covering the wound with my filaments.¡±


    It would hurt like hell, but I would survive it.


    Thalia placed her other hand on my shoulder to hold me still before she replied calmly, ¡°There''s nothing to help. The spikes turned him into a pincushion, perforating every organ. He was dead the moment the creature sank its hooks into him.¡±


    I turned around and allowed myself just a moment to look at the guard who was still in the embrace of a warped version of a Caravaner who had now more in common with the end of a calamari''s tentacle.


    The guard''s armour had held back most of the spikes and hooks covering the pseudo-pod, but there were countless numbers of them. Some had been bound to find the gaps.


    ¡°What about the drakes?¡±


    Magnus''s question turned my attention away from the corpse. He couldn''t be helped.


    ¡°I dare say they are too big to be seen as prey by a nightcrawler,¡± Thalia pointed out. ¡°And they aren''t locked in their stalls, allowing them to flee if something is up. The nightcrawler can''t snatch them like us. Just in case you are thinking about foolishly running out there to save our mounts.¡±


    I closed my eyes and took a moment to think while Thalia somehow managed to dampen the pain. It was one of my sub-identities who brought helpful insight.


    ¡°The nightcrawler wouldn¡¯t have tried to get into the fortress if it could feed on a drake or two outside,¡± I rationalized. ¡°Let¡¯s just wait here until-¡±


    My suggestion became unnecessary when Holly and her partner Luka came jogging around the bend in the corridor.


    The chieftain carried two very impressive axes in her enormous mitts, fitting her humongous figure. Luka had a sword as long as himself.


    The two seekers looked relieved when they saw us, but the chieftain quickly regained her composure.


    ¡°How¡¯s your status?¡± Holly, asked professionally.


    ¡°One guard down,¡± Magnus replied stoically. ¡°Nightcrawler?¡±


    Holly nodded. ¡°We still don¡¯t know how it managed to crawl onto the roof. The watch on tower-duty reported they couldn¡¯t see anything until it screamed. Even then they couldn¡¯t make out what was going on until the small drake scratched the creature¡¯s back and broke its camouflage.¡±


    Luka put down his sword. ¡°We have to rethink our defences if there are more like it out there. Normally, nightcrawlers shouldn¡¯t be able to blend in their entire bodies with their surroundings.¡±


    Holly nodded. ¡°As soon as we¡¯ve checked on everyone and find out who is missing. I still can¡¯t believe it got past the outer watch without anyone noticing.¡±


    ¡°Did the gun kill it?¡± Magnus asked.


    Luka shook his head. ¡°It went over the parapet and dropped down into the marsh when the cannon hurt it too much. It was twice the size of your drakes.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I replied. ¡°Let¡¯s go and check on our mounts.¡±


    I took a step forward, but Thalia stopped me. ¡°Nonono! We are going to your room and you will take your armour off so I can check the wound!¡±


    I tried to protest, but Magnus also insisted. ¡°You can come after Thalia takes a look. I will see to the drakes with the guards.¡±


    When I stubbornly tried to follow Magnus, Thalia pulled on the wound with her bloodvines.


    It was enough to have me hiss curses at her and turn around, right back to my room.

 Interlude - 03

    ***Tirnanog***


    ***Gaia***


    Gaia didn''t feel anything aside from a certain inability to concentrate while she drifted on the fields of energy which spanned the world. There was no pain, no exhaustion. Those were the woes of physical existence.


    If Gaia had been forced to describe her current state, she would have called it diffused, unfocused. Maybe weakened would be a satisfying qualifier too, had she desired for any humans to understand.


    Like the two she had lately paid so much attention to.


    Interfering so directly in their lives had taken a lot out of her. The power which was necessary to jolt them awake had been substantial. Especially compared to the little dregs of energy she normally managed to restrict herself to. Like what she used to interfere with genes on a molecular level.


    For a being like Gaia, existing on Tirnanog was like living in a desert. The few lifeforms from Earth which managed to persist didn''t offer her enough residual energy for such feats.


    Each time she interfered with the material world it took resources she rather wouldn''t spend.


    This was why she had been so happy about the unforeseen ability to interact with the two.


    Although, this interaction came with its downsides and Gaia wasn''t entirely sure whether it was a good or a bad thing to be talking with the humans.


    To treat them as if they were other avatars or iterations of herself held a certain danger to her mental stability.


    It was hurtful to become attached to short-lived things and Gaia idly wondered whether the mistake hadn''t been already made.


    Was allowing this new communication trait to spread throughout the generations a wise choice? What if its unexpected inception caused further evolutions until the avatars lost their ability to control the interaction? It could easily evolve into a mistake which would be hard to take back.


    At least without dire consequences for those involved.


    It wouldn''t be the first time for the Gestalt to craft a virus in order to enforce certain traits among the population.


    And there were other concerns ¨C social ones.


    The avatar hadn''t been entirely honest with the two.


    Gaia certainly wasn''t as oblivious to mortal woes as she made the two believe. Socially, yes, she hadn''t lied in that regard. No surprise there, since there hadn''t been anyone for her to train on.


    Much like humans sometimes didn''t understand what their cats desired of them, despite supposedly being the smarter party, Gaia had the same problem with her humans.


    But no matter her social ineptitude, it was impossible for someone of Gaia''s intellect to not understand certain human reactions and motivations.


    Some things were just too obvious to not foresee.


    Like the necessity to not tell the two about the remaining assassin who had been tasked with liquidating their offspring. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have started their journey.


    Gaia needed them to visit the other clans to set events in motion.


    And it wasn''t as if the children were without protection.


    It nonetheless didn''t feel right to Gaia, who had placed a lot of effort into their offspring''s genetic make-up. To lose something she had spent so many resources on was... annoying.


    Unfortunately, the current situation had been Gaia''s fault ¨C in part at least.


    She wondered whether there would have been a better course of action. One which hadn''t led to the possibility of losing both her humans and their offspring. A course which wouldn''t have resulted in the necessity to take action and avoided Gaia''s current state.


    Gaia decided there was no point in fretting over the past. She could foresee many things, but she couldn''t tell the future.


    No matter her desires, her humans'' help was a necessity. For now. They needed to go on this journey and the offspring''s safety had to be gambled on.


    Gaia relaxed slightly while she was drifting on a sea of chaos made up of uncontrollable energies. Most of them were useless to her, but she was doing her best to regain control over what little she had access to, to incorporate the power back into her being.


    To prevent that which made her capable of thought from collapsing.


    Much like the humans, Gaia couldn''t fully explain her existence. Whether she was just a metaphysical being consisting of electromagnetic fields and energy who had somehow gained self-awareness didn''t matter.


    Could the humans explain why or how they lived and existed within the material macrocosm they could perceive with their limited senses?


    Gaia knew they couldn''t.


    Gaia also knew that she could think ¨C so she was ¨C as the humans would put it.


    She wasn''t one of those avatars who put more thought than necessary into a philosophical problem when there were so many other issues to address.


    It took some time, maybe too much time, but she eventually managed to reconnect to her Greater Self. This wasn''t the Gestalt, but others like her. Avatars who worked the Gestalt''s will and formed one of the many sub-layers which made up the Gestalt¡¯s whole.


    ¡°Foolishness!¡± They didn''t waste time judging her actions.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°A necessity,¡± Gaia replied without much emotion.


    ¡°Which could have cost us your existence,¡± the others chorused. ¡°Your identity would have been lost.¡±


    ¡°And it would have bothered you.¡± Gaia couldn''t keep a little saltiness out of her reply.


    Avatars didn''t care much for self-preservation or others of their kind. They were generated and terminated by the Gestalt as necessary. Much like her humans did with their sub-identities.


    Though, Gaia was a special case, her existence more important than that of others. Due to her purpose as one of the Gestalt¡¯s primary avatars, she was one of the few who enjoyed a longer time of continuity.


    ¡°A new infusion of settlers would be necessary to transfer a new identity to the planet,¡± the others reasoned. ¡°It would have cost a lot of time to organize. Maybe you should prioritize your own existence in the future. The Gestalt doesn''t want to turn its attention a second time towards that place.¡±


    ¡°The Designer is actively interfering. He sent a special creation after my agents once he noticed my investments in them,¡± Gaia reasoned. ¡°I cannot rely on time and countless iterations like you have available back on Earth, so their help is important. I am on my own here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe that''s the problem,¡± the others replied. ¡°You are on your own and interacting too much with the humans. You are deviating from the rest of us.¡±


    Their voices broke up into background chatter as the avatars tried to find a new consensus on how to proceed.


    Gaia allowed them their rude behaviour, glad they hadn''t pried further into her affairs. They would probably be offended, horrified even, if they ever learned that Gaia had decided long ago to identify herself as a ''she'', instead of the ''it'' she was supposed to be.


    Definitely too much interaction with the humans.


    Even if all of the other avatars had the same origin, each developed a slightly different opinion from the rest, influenced by their experiences and the humans they oversaw. Such was their nature.


    Which was the reason for the differing opinions within the consensus.


    Gaia returned her attention to the chatter and listened silently.


    Some questioned whether it was even wise for the Gestalt to ''claim'' Tirnanog in this haphazard manner. They were afraid of contaminating Earth''s biosphere with the Designer''s creations.


    Others thought about influencing Earth back into a more active role, while another party preached caution, as too much activity might trigger yet another extinction event brought on by the old enemy.


    The more time went on, the more indecision spread among the consensus.


    A human psychoanalyst would have called the Gestalt schizophrenic, but this was normal for Gaia and the others. It was their way of thinking.


    The Gestalt''s convoluted thoughts were more likely just a reflection of the environment it was existing in ¨C humanity.


    But that was just Gaia''s humble opinion.


    The Gestalt had shaped humanity. On the other hand, human thoughts and inventions were also influencing the Gestalt.


    Gaia herself was the best example of how human concerns could reach the avatars and through them the Gestalt as a whole. She honestly couldn''t say whether the Gestalt or its chosen ''body'' had more influence.


    The avatar would have shrugged if she had a physical body.


    It was time to end this. ¡°It''s the good, old circular problem we are facing. You can''t send me more avatars because there aren''t enough humans in this world and I can''t split off more avatars because there aren''t enough humans. So, you have to trust me to succeed or fail on my own. Oh, wait, I am you, so you have to trust yourself to accomplish the task. It''s quite the conundrum.¡±


    The others didn''t deign to reply. Instead, Gaia felt their presence retreat.


    They probably had gotten annoyed with her humanism, so the avatar decided to relax and focus on reconstituting herself.


    ***Tirnanog***


    ***Loopsfast***


    Loopsfast was incensed!


    The cowardly females had flown away as soon as they had smelled the predator. They hadn''t even tried to warn their riders about the threat.


    Not that they had the possibility to do so. The humans had hidden inside their wooden colony as soon as night fell and drakes needed a line of sight to communicate with the fleshy little things.


    The riders had called Loop a coward for his caution, but he wasn¡¯t. Loop just saw it as common sense not to take unnecessary risks, like trying to mate with something twice your size while it tried to kill him.


    No thanks.


    But there was a difference between taking needless risks and protecting the colony!


    So Loop stayed instead of fleeing into the sky¡¯s safety. But nobody had cared about Loop flying circles above the colony while he was voicing his best roars.


    Meanwhile, the predator''s scent had spread all over the humans¡¯ wooden colony.


    Loop was confused.


    He knew the enemy was there, but he couldn''t see it.


    Loop didn''t know many things which could hide in plain sight, but all of them were bad things.


    Something had to be done, but what?


    Not knowing what else to do, Loop decided to try the oldest method drakes knew to solve problems. To drop things from a great height.


    He soared down to the bog and picked up whatever was scooped up in his great claws without bothering to land. The big and sluggish females would have never dared to try such a manoeuvre, but Loop was fast and nimble.


    On his return, he began dropping things.


    Stones, wood and dirt rained down on the wooden colony the humans had built, but Loop¡¯s first pass brought no results.


    On his second trip, a roar of pain directed Loop¡¯s aim and a part of the wooden colony shifted as the improvised projectiles hit the invisible opponent.


    Loop didn''t think and just dive-bombed the area while holding out all of his claws. He collided with something and his claws sunk deep into flesh.


    Not knowing what to make of it, Loop followed his instincts and jumped away, right before a huge tentacle slammed down on where he had been a moment before.


    Loop roared and fled from another tentacle which seemingly materialized from thin air before he managed to take flight again.


    It still wasn''t easy to see, but now that its hide was injured, Loop could recognize the outlines! The predator was huge. At least as big as the females. If they hadn''t fled, the three drakes could have killed it easily.


    The predator''s roar had finally woken up the humans. They appeared on the wooden structure, but Loop still couldn''t see any of the riders.


    Seeing that the alarmed defenders still couldn''t make out the threat, Loop dove a second time and used his tail spikes to cause another large gash in the predator''s hide.


    This finally caused a reaction and Loop was briefly frightened away by the loud whamming and flashlights coming from the humans.


    But the predator''s shrieks and hurried retreat soon emboldened Loop again.


    He dove in for another attack, but one of the predator''s tentacles came up to meet Loop and slapped him out of the sky.


    The tentacle wound itself around Loop who bit and kicked in blind desperation. The predator had already fled the colony by dropping over the parapet and was trying to pull Loop with it down into the water.


    Just before he went with the creature down into the darkness, Loop managed to cut off the tentacle with his great claws, leaving his enemy sans one of its larger appendages.


    Holding onto his prize, Loop roared at the darkness below to mark the colony¡¯s territory.


    Drakes preferred plants for their meals, but a foolish predator or two were a good supplement to the menu. Tonight, Loop would feast on the colony¡¯s enemy.


    The tentacle in maw, he returned to his resting place where his rider was already waiting and calling for him.


    Loop¡¯s prize caused a big commotion, as it was at least twenty times the size of any rider, but Loop didn¡¯t concern himself with the human¡¯s troubles.


    The enemy was vanquished. This was all that counted and Loop was tired. He didn¡¯t have the patience to take a peek into his rider¡¯s convoluted thoughts.


    The females returned much, much later. After the humans had given up on getting Loop to talk.


    They found him lounging over a piece of tentacle half his size.


    ¡®You killed the predator?¡¯ Cadence asked with unfeigned surprise.


    Elegance looked equally intrigued.


    Loop was about to open his foolish mind to the females and show them everything that happened. In truth, he hadn¡¯t done much aside from taking a few nips at an ambush predator and dropping dirt on it. Shown in all its detail, getting yourself caught and almost dragged to your death also wasn¡¯t a very heroic thing to do.


    Lying wasn¡¯t a drake-thing to do, but Loop remembered his rider¡¯s lessons. Not telling all the details wasn¡¯t lying. And who was Loop to correct a female on a mistaken assumption? He had fought the predator and survived. The predator was gone. This was the truth which counted, wasn¡¯t it?


    So Loop raised his head high and proclaimed as proudly as possible, ¡®The foe is vanquished! Do you want a taste?¡¯

 Ch 74 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Magnus***


    Once morning came, our delegation met up with the Caravaners in one of the public meeting rooms to figure out what had happened last night.


    ¡°I am glad you people were all awake and managed to repel the damned thing. There''s no telling how many lives more it would have cost us if the alarm hadn''t been called,¡± Holly said gratefully.


    The unsaid question in her statement caused Astra and me to exchange a conspiratory glance with each other.


    There was no way for us to explain why our delegation was awake and alert before the creature infiltrated our space. We hadn''t even explained the true nature of our ability to our people.


    While there was a predominant religion among the clans, claiming a ''higher power'' had warned us would have caused more than just a few people to call for a psychiatrist. Especially among the folks of clan Aerie who valued science and logic just as much as the church.


    Everyone with rank and name was present, even the elusive priestess. With Maria''s identity uncovered, she had given up on avoiding me ¨C which was a very childish thing to do in the first place as far as I was concerned.


    Going by Holly''s recount, the Caravaners had lost twelve of their outlooks before the nightcrawler tried to get deeper into the fortress and encountered us.


    The fallen would be mourned together with the remains of one of our guards.


    I had been told his name was Wesley Travers, a partnered warrior who had lost his wife some years ago on a hunt. There was no direct family to inform, just friends back in Aerie. His family had been his fellow hunters who stood by his side when he fell.


    It wasn''t the first time for me to lose someone under my command, but I still wondered whether I could have done something differently to prevent his death.


    Thankfully, I didn''t know him well enough to truly feel the loss. Though, I would have lied if I claimed utter equanimity. The man had died right in front of me while I was too stunned to do anything.


    Honestly, I was annoyed with myself because I had fallen for the creature''s trick until it was too late. Something had been wrong with how the fake Caravaner moved, but I had only seen a person in need of help.


    ¡°It''s unheard of for nightcrawlers to behave like this,¡± Luka continued in a somewhat perplexed tone when nobody spoke up. ¡°They are pure ambush predators. They don''t climb onto sahernas to hunt. And they can''t camouflage their entire body.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it wasn''t a nightcrawler, but something different?¡± I suggested. ¡°Nobody truly saw the creature as far as I understand. It was under partial camouflage the whole time.¡±


    Two seats over, Thalia shook her head. ¡°No. The smaller tentacles you cut off and the large one Loopsfast brought back definitely belonged to a nightcrawler or something very similar. Together, they are a distinctive identifier.¡±


    ¡°Then it mutated?¡± I suggested with a questioning undertone. If humans could mutate, then why not the animals who ate them?


    ¡°I''ve never heard of a creature mutating just like us exiles,¡± Holly muttered. ¡°If that''s the case and the monsters don''t die from too many mutations, then we are fucked.¡±


    Luka waved her off. ¡°Before considering such a possibility, I would rather believe it was something new.¡±


    Holly looked at him and shook her head in disbelief. ¡°We''ve been travelling this route for decades. Do you really think there''s some unknown predator we haven''t come across in all this time?¡±


    Her partner shrugged. ¡°No human knows all the creepy shit crawling through Tirnanog''s shadows. And we seldomly take this route so early in the season. Then there are the strong rainfalls. Maybe the thing wasn''t from this region and migrated. It wouldn''t be the first time for us to encounter a predator from the Mycelium Jungle. The wet conditions enable the creatures to travel far beyond their natural hunting grounds and I doubt anyone aside from the cultists who settled there knows what lurks in the region.¡±


    Holly let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°I am afraid you might be right. We will have to adapt and overcome this new challenge like all the others. Make sure the rest of the caravan is aware of the threat in case we encounter another one. It would also be a good idea to keep an eye out for mould infection. I doubt the creature from tonight will come back very soon. As distasteful as it sounds, it got its meal and has to lick its wounds, but we should anticipate other things from the Mycelium.¡±


    She thought for a moment. ¡°Being complacent only leads to death. Until we are out of this bog, night watch is abolished. Nobody leaves the fortress once the sun sets and in turn, we double the active guards at all the entrances. The entrances stay closed. Everything and everyone outside the fortress after shutdown stays outside.¡±


    ¡°They will complain,¡± Luka pointed out. ¡°It means more people will have to stay awake.¡±


    ¡°Tell them they can be awake and tired or dead and asleep forever when I catch anyone shirking their duty,¡± Holly grumbled. ¡°We didn''t lose anyone when the parasites attacked and now we will be holding vigil for far too many. We don''t even have their bodies.¡±


    Astra inserted herself into the conversation. ¡°If you will allow it, we will join your people tonight and mourn our loss with you.¡±


    Holly and Luka didn''t object to us joining the silent and demure funeral service that night.


    The short vigil was orchestrated by our priestess and followed by a reverent party.


    Astra left me standing in the mess hall where the gathering was held. She wanted to have a word with Maria about her antics and having me at her side didn''t seem like a good idea.


    Not knowing what to do, I scanned the hall until I found Elijah and his partner Linda sitting with four other Caravaners at a table.


    Shrugging to myself, I made my way over and greeted them as soon as I was close enough. ¡°Hey, Elijah, how are you doing? Didn¡¯t see you last night.¡±


    The huge Caravaner raised an equally oversized mug fitting his stature. ¡°I have my quarters on the last saherna in line, if you ever try to visit me. Today, we drink for the fallen. Have a seat.¡±


    With some shuffling, the Caravaners made space for me and I sat down.


    One of them filled a mug from a clay keg which had been sealed with wax and shoved it over to me.


    Raising an eyebrow, I looked down into the mug and regarded the foamy, dark liquid which smelled like pure alcohol, combined with some methanol ¨C the thing which could blind people.


    Like any good student, I had experimented with homemade brews during my university days, and this stuff looked like one of my failed attempts at making dark beer or mead.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    My hesitation was additionally supported by the over months ingrained aversion towards eating things which hadn''t been made by my own hand. Even though we had managed to switch off the forced mutation function, the times of eating random things without a care in the world hadn''t quite returned yet.


    ¡°Don''t worry!¡± one of the Caravaners assured me. ¡°It''s bahal! Cooked and fermented from ashtree pitch. It would be safe for anyone, even if you people hadn''t managed to switch on the UI.¡±


    ¡°I can tell by the smell,¡± I commented and took a sip.


    As expected, the strong beverage burned down my throat, but it left behind a slightly sweet, smoky aftertaste, combined with something which reminded me of cedar liquor.


    ¡°Not bad.¡± I took another sip before I nursed the mug between my hands.


    The Caravaners nodded and Elijah slapped me on the back. He had held back, but the force rocked me slightly forward nonetheless.


    ¡°Haha, not only can he fight, he can also drink! How are ya doing?¡± the large man rumbled.


    ¡°Fine, considering the circumstances,¡± I answered. ¡°You have much more to mourn than us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, one of the fellers was a distant cousin of mine,¡± the giant replied.


    I offered my condolences, but the giant only shrugged.


    ¡°Don''t worry. Didn''t like him anyway.¡±


    Linda raised her mug and grumbled. ¡°The nay-sayers among the family will nonetheless use the fact that the saherna with the delegation was attacked to continue their discontent.¡±


    She looked over at me and grinned. ¡°I heard you stood up for your wife during the attack. How is her oversized ego doing? Took her down a peg to be saved by her man?¡±


    I shrugged but still wondered how this information had left the ranks of our delegation. There had been no Caravaner there to witness the events.


    Astra and Linda had trained together while I took Elijah as a training partner, but their relationship was strained. In public, they played nice, but in private they didn''t like each other. Their two personalities simply didn''t play well together, so it wasn''t a surprise for the woman to jump on any gossip which could be used against her frenemy.


    ¡°Astra is a very confident person. We are a team. There is no real competition on who saved who between us. I think she saved my ass just as often as I did hers.¡±


    Linda scoffed. ¡°Someone with her ego? I thought she was the boss in your relationship.¡±


    I took a sip while I pondered how to manage the discussion. Such topics weren''t something I cared about one way or the other.


    ¡°To be honest, she is a little bossy, but it always works out between us. She always goes soft once the fight is over. Last time, she got down to all fours in front of me and begged for it.¡±


    Linda raised an eyebrow. ¡°She did what?¡±


    Elijah nursed his cup and distanced himself slightly from me.


    ¡°Yup.¡± I nodded to myself and grinned. ¡°And when I refused, she screamed. I quote: Get out from under the table, you damned coward!¡±


    The corner of Linda''s left eye twitched before the others got the joke and the table broke out laughing, followed by Linda herself.


    The mood was a little bit lighter afterwards and we kept drinking while the Caravaners told tales of the fallen. There wasn''t much I could say about our fallen hunter. So, not knowing how else to contribute, I told them how Astra and I had gone on our first hunt in Aerie''s caves, just to rescue a poacher from a gruesome death.


    By the second round of bahal, I got an uncertain feeling about the situation and our drinking game of telling tales.


    By the third, I had a rough idea of what was wrong.


    When the fourth came around and all the Caravaners at the table laid down their arms, I knew for sure.


    Even Elijah was slumped over and passed out. The brute of a man had lasted the longest, but in the end, the bahal had been too much for him.


    I sat and glared angrily at the empty mug of bahal in front of me. It was the first time I had seriously tried to get drunk on Tirnanog.


    And I had failed miserably. Woe is me. Who knew poison resistance would also account for alcohol?


    Someone touched my shoulder and I looked up to find Astra taking in the group with a questioning expression. ¡°What the hell happened?¡±


    I sighed and took in the Caravaners who lay in various poses. Two had slipped off their chairs. Elijah was slumped over and Linda was sleeping beneath the table.


    ¡°Turns out, our poison resistance applies to alcohol. I literally drank them under the table and don''t even feel anything.¡± I turned my empty mug over and shook it to emphasize the point.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Astra pursed her lips with a conflicted expression before she shrugged. ¡°Meh, never was one for alcohol anyway. Being able to drink all the liquor I want without repercussions, all the better.¡±


    I got up. ¡°And what did your investigation bring up?¡±


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°Maria is a coward. Forgive me, a very sheltered person, given her ability to influence the believers. The church pampered her a little too much. When my parents informed the church about your misadventure and handled things, her superiors chewed her out for misusing her suggestive powers. Then she heard rumours about your other mishap with the Patels and freaked out, thinking she would be next if she ever met you again.¡±


    She linked arms with me and waved her hand dismissively. ¡°The nail in the coffin was her superior sending her on this mission in the hopes of mending the relationship with an apology.¡±


    ¡°Mend the relationship?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We are important people now that we hold the title of protector,¡± Astra pointed out. ¡°The church thought it a good idea to demonstrate their well-meaning intentions by sending one of their acolytes to our assistance. Maria can contact the church¡¯s branch organisation in Hochberg to make things easier for us.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°What they didn''t anticipate was for Maria to hide in her quarters and avoid any contact.¡±


    ¡°So, everything is fine now?¡± I asked. ¡°I don''t particularly care at this point as long as she doesn''t try to root around inside my brain. You know my feelings on the matter.¡±


    Astra smiled. ¡°I am sure everyone of import in Aerie knows your feelings.¡±


    Together, we retreated for the day.


    Whatever creature had attacked us didn¡¯t come back and after a few more days the caravan finally left the marshland which also slowly dried up after the rainfalls had stopped.


    At the same time, Astra and I became slightly worried about our situation. Not only had we left the UI¡¯s communication range once we fully departed the mountains, but Gaia had also gone silent. Normally, the avatar visited our dreams like clockwork every day. To the point that I was seeing her either as an uninvited guest or a new family member who I couldn¡¯t get rid of.


    As for the reason, we could only speculate while we waited for her return.


    Leaving the bog behind, the caravan entered a hilly plateau to the west of the Sanguine River. These were the Hochberg¡¯s heartlands, and it didn¡¯t take long for a scouting party to spot the caravan.


    As soon as a lookout identified them, Astra, I, and our advisor Peter Rumen were informed. So we were watching the following proceedings from the parapet.


    The scouts rode in parties of three on¡­ animals which had no Earth analogue. Maybe eight-legged waterbears with fur was the closest I would ever get to describing them without an actual picture. The elongated head ended in a trunk with a lamprey¡¯s maw which had me thankful that the things were too big and had to stay down at the saherna¡¯s feet.


    They were the size of a rhino and flowed strangely on their eight legs over the hilly grassland. It wasn¡¯t a true running motion and reminded me more of a caterpillar.


    The Hochberg scouts had arrived with a party of ten animals, which meant thirty scouts in total. Of the group, three took the offered climb up a rope ladder to have a chat with the Caravaners.


    The Hochberg scouts¡¯ clothes had similarities with the Caravaners, but while our hosts were a designer¡¯s nightmare and sported a ragtag assembly of handcrafted equipment, the Hochberg¡¯s design choice was more streamlined. Their clothes relied mostly on fur and leather armour, but it was identical for all of them. A uniform which distinguished them from the closely knit group of traders.


    Holly and Luka received them and waved us over after a short exchange.


    ¡°¡­ this is the reason why we are deviating from our normal route.¡±


    I caught the end of the short exchange between the two seekers and the scouts as we approached. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess that the scouts had inquired about the Caravaner¡¯s reason for being here.


    At our elders¡¯ insistence, Holly and Luka had deviated from the caravan¡¯s normal route to arrive earlier at Clan Hochberg. They had also been paid generously in the form of resources to do so.


    As the one with the most experience with Hochberg, Peter took the lead. ¡°We are a diplomatic mission from Clan Aerie. I am Peter Rumen from Aerie¡¯s leading strata. These are the protectors Astra Frost and Magnus Frost.¡±


    After a short pause, the huge Hochberg who was competing with Holly in size introduced herself. ¡°I am Captain Mia Lexis, leading the fifty-fourth patrol group. May I inquire about your reasons for being here? This is a highly unexpected visit.¡±


    The dark-haired and a little lanky captain studied us with narrowed eyes while the two scouts behind her exchanged nervous glances. It looked like they were worried about something.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Peter gestured towards Holly and Luka. ¡°Please don¡¯t blame our hosts for violating your borders. We paid them well to arrive as soon as possible. There are things your matriarch has to be informed of asap. Things which shouldn¡¯t be discussed in public until authorities higher than us had the time to make preparations for the coming changes.¡±


    Mia looked down at our slightly smaller advisor for a long time without any reaction. Meanwhile, her two subordinates were showing signs of nervousness for some reason.


    Finally, she turned around and nodded at one of her subordinates. ¡°Climb down and instruct the three teams with the fastest animals to head directly to central. They are to inform our superiors that a delegation from Aerie is about to arrive in...¡±


    She looked toward Holly.


    ¡°Three days,¡± the seeker answered.


    Mia gestured for her subordinate to get going before she returned her attention to Holly. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t have any objections to us escorting you the rest of the way.¡±

 Ch 75 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Magnus***


    Astra gently touched the back of my hand. ''Do you also get the feeling that they are worried about something? The two behind the captain look like they were caught taking a break when they should be working.''


    ''I do,'' I replied with our secret communication method. It was only prudent to practice the ability as frequently as possible. It improved our control and blindly trusting the chat function''s security too much wasn''t a good idea anyway.


    The caravan had intruded into Hochberg''s territory out of schedule, yet the scouts behaved as if this situation could come back to bite them if it wasn''t handled carefully ¨C preferably by someone other than them.


    Given their status, I would have rather expected them to act the part of the confident border control.


    The fact that the captain took her sweet time to choose her words very carefully only heightened my suspicions. Meanwhile, her subordinates behaved like fresh recruits who had been caught listening to a military secret.


    Granted, they could be just that. New recruits who had unexpectedly stopped a high diplomat''s transport and didn''t know how to handle themselves.


    Smiling amiably, I took a step closer to Mia, deliberately almost violating her personal space. ¡°Captain, is there something we should know about? You seem worried.¡±


    I wasn''t a trained diplomat, but I knew how to extract information from people. Funnily enough, asking directly often yielded the best immediate results. Always assuming you weren''t up against someone who was heavily trained in interrogation tactics.


    It certainly wasn''t the type of education I expected to find in a scouting party on peaceful border control duty.


    The captain turned her attention to me and lost her composure for a moment when she grimaced. ¡°There''s nothing I can share with you right now. You will have to wait for our matriarch to inform you. This should be handled by someone far above my station. Forgive me for returning your earlier argument right back at you.¡±


    She smiled, seemingly satisfied by how she had handled my question, but she had told me everything I wanted to know.


    There was something she regarded as problematic, but she was unwilling to tell us.


    I used the UI to fire off a quick message to Thalia, informing our special friend that her skills were needed. If possible, I preferred not to walk unprepared into whatever situation the captain and her subordinates were so worried about.


    Thankfully, we should have the time to work out the issue.


    ¡°It isn''t a problem. Why don''t we have a drink together and you can tell us how our allies from Clan Hochberg did over the winter,¡± Astra suggested.


    Peter caught on and nodded. ¡°We certainly had a tumultuous time and would be honoured to extend our hospitality to you.¡±


    Mia seemed reluctant to socialize with us, but there wasn''t a real way for her to refuse. In the absence of any of her superiors, she was the highest authority present to entertain the foreign diplomats. ¡°Then I guess I will join you in an hour or two. Just let me organize the rest of my patrol group.¡±


    Once everything was in order, we entertained the captain with all the hospitality we had brought with us from clan Aerie, always mindful that her UI wasn''t activated and that she couldn''t eat just anything.


    With the scouts interacting with the caravaners, it took less than a day for the news of the UI to get out. The result was a bare-bone explanation for Mia which resulted in her sending another group of messengers after the first one.


    In a way, the information about the UI getting leaked was a good thing, because it wasn''t hard to invite the captain to more meetings afterwards. Her desire to learn more about what we had to share outweighed her caution.


    It took Thalia two days of invitations to breakfast, lunch, and supper while she worked her mental magic during casual chatting.


    When the captain left our quarters on the evening of the second day, Thalia turned to us with an answer.


    ¡°It wasn''t easy without using blunt force, but now I am sure. The Hochberg are entertaining a delegation from Thich.¡±


    Peter pursed his lips. ¡°This complicates things.¡±


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Astra asked. ¡°They wouldn''t have had the time to send someone back to Thich and for a diplomat to get to Hochberg after their ambush.¡± She stood up and went to get a map. ¡°The timeframe doesn''t work ¨C unless they have a way to travel through the snow.¡±


    ¡°The diplomat could have already been on his way before you were attacked.¡± Peter closed his eyes to think in a meditative pose. It was one of his quirks which he displayed whenever there was something to consider.


    Astra returned with the map and placed it on the table, illustrating her point. Even if the Thich knew what happened the moment the raiding party failed their mission, there was no way to send word to their clan and have a diplomatic mission go out to the other clans.


    ¡°I can''t provide more details without making it obvious I am reading the captain''s surface thoughts.¡± Thalia shrugged. ¡°I don''t know the exact circumstances, but a diplomatic incident and Thich was foremost in Mia''s thoughts several times while we talked with her. Which leads me to believe Hochberg received a Thich delegation.¡±


    Peter snapped up from his inner reflections. ¡°Everything makes a lot more sense now. I wondered about them risking the attack on you ¨C just to steal a few kids. It would have given away their game. Inconceivable! It never made much sense to me. This explains it.¡±


    ¡°Explains what?¡± Thalia furrowed her brows in confusion.


    ¡°Someone at the Old Camp knew Thich would become a lot more aggressive in the future,¡± Peter explained. ¡°They figured attacking you and stealing the kids wouldn''t make a lot of difference to Thich''s diplomacy as a whole ¨C which is why they took the risk. It paints an unpleasant picture.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at our advisor. ¡°You are sure?¡±


    ¡°There is no way to be sure,¡± Peter replied. ¡°But I have seen a hundred years of political manoeuvring. People''s actions always have a motivation and by finding out the motivation, you can infer a lot about your opponent. Let''s take Thich''s attack on the recruitment party. It had me wondering the whole time. Either it was a rogue event, some idiot stepping out of line to climb the ranks, or it was a politically motivated move. Said idiot knew something which allowed him to conclude his actions wouldn''t have his superiors coming down on him ¨C even if it failed. Between the two, the latter feels a lot more plausible to me. The Thich aren''t squeamish. In the past, if some lesser subordinate fucked up, Thich never hesitated to throw them to the wolves. So there must''ve been something which lowered the risk assessment to whoever ordered the raid.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    He took a deep breath.


    ¡°Attacking your group was a blatant violation of the treaty. Everyone stationed at the Old Camp should have known this. The risk of failure far outweighs any possible gains. Unless you know about something which makes repercussions unlikely. Like Thich having already decided to take a more aggressive role. Given this new information, I am afraid we are already at war. We just haven''t confirmed it yet. Once we reach Hochberg, we will have to pay very careful attention. The Thich had the entire winter to spin their narrative. Thankfully, we are bringing a few very compelling gifts. Also, it will be interesting to see whether the Thich diplomats know about their failed raid.¡±


    He raised a hand to stop Astra from arguing. ¡°You are right about their presence. A diplomatic mission from Thich couldn''t possibly be at Hochberg for the reasons you thought of. But if they had already been on their way beforehand...¡±


    Peter allowed his voice to trail off and have us draw our own conclusions about why Thich would send a diplomat before he continued.


    ¡°Which doesn''t mean Thich couldn''t have gotten the news to them later on. It wouldn''t be the first time for a diplomat to be equipped with some still functioning communication device from Earth. Not to mention, it''s not too hard to build a primitive radio ¨C though we haven''t gotten them to work for long-range communication yet.¡±


    ¡°It is a possibility,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°Though an expensive one. Our clan doesn''t hoard the old tech for no reason.¡±


    ¡°If we decide to go to war, I am sure the elders will dig the helpful stuff out of their cabinets,¡± Peter pointed out. ¡°Thich will have done the same if I understand their plan correctly. From what the elders theorized, it hinges on gaining a significant population- and economic advantage. It would only be prudent to have someone with the means to warn you in advance, should any of the other clans catch on.¡±


    We kept discussing Peter''s conjecture and its permutations for a while, but in the end, we could only wait and see ¨C then adapt to the situation.


    On the third day, we finally arrived at Hochberg.


    The Sanguine River had wound its way deep into a hilly grassland until it widened to a few hundred metres in width and slowed down.


    It then passed through in between two hills which had been worked on by human hands.


    The Hochberg had freed two larger hills of their earthen cover. They had then used the bedrock to carve out fortresses the size of Ayers Rock.


    The impressive landmark lay like two gigantic anthills on either side of the Sanguine River and was covered with stone constructions which reminded me of Incan or Egyptian masonry. The walls were made from stones of several tons in weight and moulded smoothly with the natural rock beneath.


    Seeing them so clearly from far away only underscored their size.


    In terms of necessary manpower, the two fortress cities overshadowed the pyramids as far as I was concerned. Sadly, nobody could answer whether they had been built by Earth¡¯s original colonists or those who came after.


    If it had been done without modern machines, then it had been a monumental effort despite people¡¯s mutations.


    A network of bridges connected the two fortifications over the river, giving the entire construction the impression of a gate to the lands beyond.


    The area around the twin fortress was agricultural land with large herds of different animals. Upon inquiring about the threat of predators, Peter informed me that there were protected pens at the base of each fortress.


    He wasn¡¯t ashamed to throw around his knowledge, proving why he had been chosen to aid us on this journey. Peter quickly proved he knew enough about the Hochberg to double as a tour guide.


    Aside from Hochberg providing various important herbs to trade with the other clans, they made a living by hunting the powerful predators populating the plains.


    The herds of animals they cultivated only had marginal value as a food source or for mutations. Instead, their main purpose was to be bait and attract the larger predators which wandered into the area.


    When attacked, the animals would retreat to the safe pens at the base of the fortress. Once the predator pursued, the Hochberg could fight and kill the attacker from the safety of their fortifications. By relying on this strategy, they always had the backup of heavy weaponry like large ballistae and trebuchets.


    The huge predators living out here required actual siege weaponry to be taken down. Due to this, Hochberg hunters rarely ventured out of their fortress for the sake of actual hunting. Instead, they specialized in evasion techniques and luring their prey towards fortified positions where a trap could be sprung.


    Peter told me how the clan utilized their chosen craft to deadly effectiveness during the war. Hochberg¡¯s entire doctrine lay in taking a strategic position of interest and digging in. Then they would wait for their enemies to attack and earn themselves a bloody nose.


    I winced at the thought of a titan like a saherna being a carnivore. If the entire herd suddenly decided to attack the twin fortress, they could likely do considerable damage before they died.


    Thankfully, Peter assured me that pure carnivores of such size were rare and never worked in groups. But unlike the saherna, some things usually living as herbivores liked to improve their diet with high protein snacks.


    Hochberg¡¯s tendency to use large creatures for their mutations partly explained why most of them grew to such enormous sizes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t grown either,¡± Peter pointed out during his explanations.


    ¡°Grown?¡± I looked down at myself, then at him.


    He grinned. ¡°Many mutations add a little bit to a person¡¯s size. A few millimetres here, a centimetre there. The growth is incremental, so most newcomers and people born in this world don¡¯t realize it. Most daily items are also adjusted to fit the slightly larger norm. You should find a measuring tape and check. I think it¡¯s an adaptation the nanomachines automatically apply to everyone to account for the slightly increased gravity. More muscles, denser bones and such.¡±


    My left eye twitched involuntarily as I thought of instances which should have made the change obvious, but were dismissed as a fluke. Like Astra¡¯s music player looking so small and filigrane. Or the colony-supercomputer¡¯s keyboard which seemed smaller than during the training sessions I remembered back at the organization.


    Peter waved his hand dismissively when he caught me looking around in an attempt to compare myself to others. People like Elijah or Mia had to stand around 2.2 metres, while I remembered my old size somewhere around 1.8 metres.


    Now that Peter had pointed it out, I realized I must indeed be taller than my old self, or those people would have literally dwarfed me.


    ¡°Just go and find a tape. Tell Astra that we are about to arrive in two or three hours while you are at it.¡±


    I excused myself and went to find said measuring tape, which ended with a very confused Caravaner who had been doing carpentry repairs on the fortress.


    The monster which had attacked us a few nights earlier had done a number on the doors to the training yard and also damaged the roof.


    The carpenter looked at me with a dubious expression while I checked my new height against a door frame while awkwardly using the tape and a goniometer.


    To be honest, I cared little for the questioning gazes I received while doing so. I was far more concerned about not realizing what had been happening to me. The nanomachines must be doing a little more than just size increases. They also had to adjust a person¡¯s perception or they would feel awkward in a body which changed so quickly.


    And yes, I had a slight phobia about mind-altering experiences! If anyone asked, I would admit so freely.


    My improvised measurement revealed my new size to be roughly 1.91!


    After returning the tools, I made my way back to Astra who only laughed at me when I revealed what I had been doing.


    We used the remaining time to pack our things and prepare the drakes for our arrival. Strangely enough, Loops seemed to be a lot cosier with the two females.


    Fearing a detailed inquisition would destroy whatever was going on, I didn¡¯t question the ¡®why¡¯ and simply hoped it would lead to my mount calming down somewhat.


    The caravan finally arrived at our destination a few hours later by entering an overhanging cliff at the base of the western fortress. It was large enough to protect the entire herd of saherna and was heavily used. Judging by the booming construction work I figured the Hochberg were dealing regularly with several different groups of Caravaners.


    The setup reminded me of a seaport for freighters. They even had properly sized ramps which allowed us to easily debark our transport.


    And at the end of the ramp, a very official-looking group from Hochberg was already waiting for us.

 Ch 76 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    We walked down the ramp in full regalia with Peter and the rest of his staff in the lead. Everyone was wearing armour, but we had decided to forgo the large weaponry as a show of faith.


    Peter took care of introductions as soon as he reached the end of the ramp. On Tirnanog, it was only proper procedure for the less powerful among two groups to exchange greetings first and do most of the talking.


    I remembered Mary¡¯s boring lessons on how the established etiquette worked with dread.


    When there were real decisions to be made, Peter would defer to us.


    Our advisor was received by a woman who greeted him with a handshake. She was clad in a sturdy linen dress and leather which hinted more at a protective function than truly fulfilling it.


    ¡°Peter Rumen! What tumultuous news leads you so far south? I thought you would avoid leaving your mountainous abode ever again and settle down.¡±


    ¡°I could throw the question right back at you, Tianna,¡± Peter quipped. ¡°I remember you vividly promising to retire. Instead, it looks like you never took off the badge.¡±


    He turned to introduce the rest of our group, deliberately ignoring our guards who had come to an awkward stand-off with their equivalents from Hochberg. ¡°This is the rest of my entourage. They are just fulfilling an observer role. And our two protectors, Astra and Magnus Frost.¡±


    Astra and I shook hands with the woman.


    Tianna smiled pleasantly at us and bowed. ¡°My name is Tianna. An honour to meet you. To my knowledge, the Frosts haven''t left the mountain in decades. I hope the news which brings you here isn''t too dire.¡±


    ¡°Depends on your definition of dire,¡± Astra replied without much emotion. ¡°What we have to tell you ranges from alarming to catastrophic.¡±


    Tianna dropped the introductory light-heartedness and turned serious. ¡°Of course, our scouts told us it would be important. The matriarch wishes to see you right away.¡± She looked at Peter. ¡°There have been changes since your last visit.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Peter gestured for the rest of us to follow while Tianna took the lead. ¡°How so?¡±


    Meanwhile, the guards of both groups intermingled with some in the lead and others following. I wasn''t so sure about the modality, but I guessed if nothing else it ensured mutual destruction if one party tried to back-stab the other.


    ¡°Greta died during the winter and Vanya took over as the new matriarch,¡± Tianna said without much fanfare.


    Judging by Peter''s body language, this indeed came as a surprise. From our briefings, I remembered Greta to be Hochberg''s Matriarch, but I had been told nothing about this Vanya.


    ¡°Greta is dead!? How? And I don''t want to question the wisdom of your government system, but is Vanya taking over wise?¡± Peter''s confusion was obvious.


    Tianna threw a sideways glance at Peter while she and her guards led our group of twenty deeper into the fortress city. The rest of our people had stayed behind with the Caravaners.


    ¡°Vanya blazed through all the tests and achieved the highest scores possible. There is no ground to stand on even if anyone desired to question her rule. As long as she wants to rule, she can. I won''t pretend that there is no discontent about the situation, but it helps that Vanya was Greta''s prot¨¦g¨¦e.¡±


    She sighed and returned her attention to the corridor ahead. ¡°As for the former matriarch, she was found murdered in her quarters ¨C a poisoned dagger with deathnut oil buried in her heart. The case is still under investigation. So far we have found nothing.¡±


    Peter turned around and threw a grim glance at us before he signalled our guards to heighten their awareness, followed by a chat message to the entire group.


    ''Watch out for assassins!''


    I casually placed my hand on the pommel of my short sword. Just to assure myself of its exact position. Next to me, Astra mirrored my actions.


    The Hochberg had a very different government system compared to the Aerie. Their structure was even more hierarchical with a matriarch or a patriarch at the top. Without in-depth knowledge, it would have been easy to dismiss the job as a king or queen, but the position had a little more nuance than that.


    For one, becoming matriarch required doing well in a series of tests which outsiders weren''t privy to. The Aerie knew of their existence, but not what they entailed and Hochberg had done an excellent job at keeping the secret.


    We eventually reached an official-looking hall ¨C ending my musings.


    Judging by its closeness to the docks, I doubted it to be the actual place from where the current leader ruled.


    But the opulence of the frescos on the walls was superb. The room was intended for the reception of high-ranking guests without question. A demonstration of wealth and craftsmanship which depicted various historical events. Sadly, I wasn¡¯t knowledgeable enough to identify most of them.


    Only the central artwork on the left wall wasn¡¯t hard to misunderstand. It was the depiction of five grand armies standing against a sixth far larger than them. The sixth was protecting a portal which supplied them with endless troops.


    My eyes drifted to the ceiling which was lighted by glow-sponge, reminding me of Aerie.


    The hall was filled to the brim with highly decorated guards in plate armour. I couldn¡¯t be certain, but it looked like iobeetle shell ¨C the same material from which my armour was made. At a glance, I counted a hundred, more than enough to subdue our measly entourage, should we try to start something.


    Was this show of force and arms an indication of distrust?


    I searched for a reaction from Peter, but our advisor kept his cool and his smile never wavered while he followed Tianna into the room.


    Closely guarded by a separate row of bodyguards, a girl of no more than eleven years sat at a generously sized conference table made from a massive slab of stone.


    She wore a billowing dress decorated with embroidery. Her brown hair hung down to her shoulders and was decorated with glittering jewels. Otherwise, she looked utterly unremarkable. Her face still had the roundness of a child, her adult features not having settled in yet. No distinct ethnicity could be assigned to her, something which happened more and more often on Earth with people travelling all over the world. Judging by her darker colour and eyes, I assumed her ancestry to hail from somewhere around China and India.


    Tianna bade us sit down across from the child-regent while she walked around the table and took a position next to the girl. The bodyguards ignored her.


    We sat down, facing Vanya from seven metres away. Supposedly more than enough distance for her bodyguards to react in case of an attack.


    I carefully controlled my expression, fearing I would mess up otherwise. Vanya may look like a child, but who knew in this world? If I had wagged my tongue and firmly stepped in it, it would turn out she was some two hundred year old hag.


    ¡°The patrol group sent us some very confusing news,¡± Vanya began. ¡°First about the unexpected arrival of an Aerie delegation. Then about some UI which allows limited control over our mutations?¡±


    The girl raised a doubtful eyebrow.


    Peter repeated his introduction and looked at us before Astra gestured for him to take the lead.


    He turned back to face the matriarch and cleared his throat. ¡°With your permission, I would like to begin in chronological order and explain what happened at the beginning of this winter. It¡¯s best to know the cause before we reveal our reason for being here.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Peter launched into a well-rehearsed tale concerning everything of political interest. First the Thich''s attack on the recruitment party, then my revelations about Earth and the Violet-Gene-Complott as it had become known amongst Aerie''s leadership. How I had unlocked the colony''s supercomputer, followed by the assassination attempt on me ¨C suspiciously carried out with deathnut oil.


    Vanya didn''t interrupt a single time and only listened in silence.


    ¡°... alas, this was the final nail in the coffin,¡± Peter ended his tale. ¡°The council of elders has ruled all of this warrants the fleet''s mobilization. Our main purpose is to forewarn you. A sizeable part of Aerie''s airship fleet is about to pass through your lands. We will force an explanation out of Thich, one way or another.¡±


    ¡°How do you intend to do this?¡± Vanya asked.


    ¡°First of all by occupying the Old Camp and denying Thich access,¡± Peter suggested. ¡°It should be enough to force a statement out of them. What happens afterwards would depend on their reaction. Do they admit it? Do they have an explanation for everything? We have to see.¡±


    Unlike what I would have expected of a child, Vanya hadn''t shown any emotions during Peter''s explanations.


    ¡°It would violate the treaty,¡± she pointed out.


    ¡°Not if you and your people support us. All it takes is for two or more clans to suspect foul play by another and they are entitled to investigate with any means necessary,¡± Peter replied.


    ¡°I also assume you would welcome any military aid we are willing to give. At the very least, you will want us to ignore your forces passing over our territory. This is a tale which is hard to believe. Thich collaborating with Earth for experiments. A large group of Forgotten resurfacing. An underground society sending us aid in our hour of need. War,¡± the matriarch mused after staying silent for over a minute. ¡°I assume you brought proof? I can''t make decisions based on hearsay.¡±


    Peter bowed his head. ¡°You can have us eat any meat you desire if you want proof that the nanomachines'' less desirable functions are deactivated. The fleet will bring the witnesses from Thich when they arrive. Magnus can unlock your colony''s supercomputer ¨C if it still works. To resolve initial doubts, we''ve brought several bodies of Forgotten infiltration specialists, fresh enough to account for the aforementioned time frame.¡±


    Vanya grimaced, finally showing a reaction befitting her age. ¡°I¡¯ll leave examining the bodies to those who can be trusted. As for food¡­¡±


    She brought out a pouch from in between the folds of her dress and threw it over to Peter.


    I raised an eyebrow.


    The girl must¡¯ve anticipated the situation and prepared accordingly.


    Our advisor caught the pouch and opened it. He took out something which looked like dried jerky. His smile never wavering, he took a bite and chewed before he swallowed.


    ¡°Needs a little more salt,¡± he commented before he handed the pouch further down the table.


    Everyone took a bite of the offered treat and I followed suit when it was my turn. Poison was extremely unlikely. Vanya could have all of us killed with a single order to her guards.


    Our nonchalant acceptance of the offered food caused a slight stir among the guards around us.


    My UI popped a familiar message.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 34.1711%" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">¡®Would you like to accept a new mutation?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Yes / No</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I selected ¡®no¡¯ and set the interface to automatically reject all future enquiries of this particular type. Sadly, the UI was dumb and asked this every time I encountered new genetic material. There was no way to switch off the notice pop-up permanently.


    Peter smiled. ¡°Returning to the topic. We canned the bodies appropriately to ensure you could come to the same conclusions. Nobody would be able to claim we had them in storage since the war.¡±


    I glanced at Peter, surprised he was so nonchalant about the matter. I was thankful for someone back at Aerie having thought ahead. Before I had learned of the matter, I wouldn''t have thought of using the Forgotten''s distinct morphology as proof. It took a certain ruthlessness to come up with such a thing.


    Vanya nodded. ¡°Forgive me to ask for evidence. The Thich have been spinning a very similar tale since their delegation arrived. According to them, you attacked their group and are collaborating with Earth to perform some heinous experiments. The only difference is they haven''t offered physical proof as of yet. Though they promised to deliver once Winter ends.¡±


    Peter didn''t show surprise by the presence of Thich, nor their claims. Instead, he leaned forward. ¡°Interesting. It sounds like they are trying to delay. Are you sure they aren''t collaborating with a Forgotten cell which managed to hide among your people? Assassinations carried out in both of our clans by the same means is conspicuous, to say the least.¡±


    Vanya looked towards Tianna who shook her head, ¡°The Thich delegation has an airtight alibi for the time of the incident, but with Forgotten spies, several new possibilities open up. We will have to reopen a whole new investigation and consider the situation from a different angle.¡±


    The girl returned her attention to us. ¡°If you would excuse us? I will consider your offer and have my people check the evidence you brought with you. If everything works out, I''ll invite you again tomorrow. Should your tale about the Forgotten be true, staying with the caravaners is the smart move, so we will withhold our hospitality for the moment.¡± She waved a hand at the guards. ¡°Escort them back to the dock.¡±


    Peter stood and bowed before he gestured for us to take our leave.


    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Tianna***


    I turned my attention to Vanya once the door closed behind Peter''s delegation, ensuring our privacy.


    The girl reached into the folds of her dress and brought out a Rubik''s cube and the disturbing plush toy she was so fond of. In my opinion, it had far too much in common with a gutter.


    With the plushy on her lap, she began to play with the cube. It was one of the fancier models made from metal, an octahedron with entirely too many pieces. To add an additional layer of complexity, the different segments weren¡¯t symmetrical but had all sorts of shapes. This often resulted in the cube locking up completely if a mistake was made.


    Her eyes never left the door while her hands played idly with the alien-looking device.


    An annoying clicking began to fill the room as she worked the puzzle toy like clockwork.


    ¡°Have their evidence checked as soon as possible,¡± Vanya instructed without much enthusiasm.


    ¡°I''ve known Peter for decades,¡± I pointed out. ¡°He isn''t the type to lie about such matters.¡±


    ¡°Trust is good, control is better,¡± Vanya pointed out.


    I sighed. ¡°Are you sure you want this? Being matriarch can be a lonely position. You are taking on too much for your age.¡±


    ¡°I already took the power,¡± Vanya replied stoically. ¡°And it will remain with me for as long as I live. If for nothing else, then to keep it out of the hands of whoever killed Greta.¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°Are you sure you aren''t playing into their hands? Maybe they wanted you to take control.¡±


    The girl didn''t give it much consideration. ¡°If so, they made a grave mistake.¡±


    As if on an afterthought, she clicked her tongue. ¡°For a moment, I thought it could be you.¡±


    I slowly turned and looked down at the girl who returned my gaze with grey eyes which hadn''t seen a lot but knew entirely too much.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, curious how I had entered the circle of suspects.


    ¡°You brought that old friend of yours within ten metres of me, including two juggernauts who could have killed me if they had wished to do so. You know very well my mutations couldn''t have possibly saved me.¡± Vanya returned her attention to the door.


    I was shaken by her revelation. ¡°The two Frosts are juggernauts?¡± Vanya''s mutations were focused entirely on mental abilities. As long as she was still unpaired, she was too vulnerable.


    ¡°Speedsters, and something more...¡± Vanya clarified. ¡°An unusual mutation to take for their family for sure. At least as far as I know. Their minds are strange. Instead of a single person, it''s like listening to a discordant orchestra with countless thoughts going down different tangents. It hurts to listen. The empath they had with them was completely silent and guarded.¡±


    The girl pursed her lips. ¡°They sent us quite powerful people as envoys. It''s more than just a show of force, so I assume the Aerie elders are deadly serious about this matter.¡±


    ¡°Why didn''t you say something?¡± I asked, horrified at the thought of having allowed them so close. And how was it possible for someone to thwart Vanya''s ability? ¡°Who was the one who could block you?¡±


    ¡°She hid among the guards.¡± Vanya blinked. ¡°Judging by her movements, I think she was a Tate. People with bloodvine mutations have this special gait. Now that I think about it, all the higher Aerie stratas were present. Another sign that they are unified in their goals?¡±


    ¡°And why didn''t you say something?¡± I repeated myself to prevent her thoughts from running rampant again.


    The girl looked up at me with an expression full of pity. It was one of those exasperated looks parents gave their kids when they caught them utterly failing a basic math exercise.


    ¡°The probability of them killing me was low. It was a calculated risk to let them so close. Them not trying anything when they had the chance lessens the probability of their involvement and points more towards... other parties.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you taking risks!¡± I said, maybe a little bit too harshly.


    The girl looked at the cube in her hands. ¡°Getting out of bed is a risk in this world. Let me decide which risks are worth taking.¡±


    She hummed.


    ¡°We may be able to use their presence as bait,¡± Vanya suggested after a pause.


    ¡°No!¡± I shot back vehemently. ¡°Vanya, you may be the smartest person in the entire clan, but we do not use foreign diplomats as ''bait''!¡±


    The girl looked up at me and blinked innocently. ¡°Oh, why? Isn''t that why diplomacy exists? To use each other? Are you sure you are ready to question me on the matter of mind games?¡± She raised the plushy and grinned. ¡°Do you believe I really like the plushy? Or do I keep it around because I know it disturbs you?¡±


    Instead of replying, I decided to glare daggers at her.


    Vanya rolled her eyes. ¡°They came here because they want something from us. By the looks of it, it may be connected to Greta''s murder. We just have to watch them carefully. Either they will slip up, or they step on the toes of whoever killed Greta.¡±


    I let out an aggravated sigh. ¡°What do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°We cooperate. This UI thing sounds like something huge. We need it if others have it. Make preparations for giving them access to that useless brick of ours. If they want to give us something without strings attached, let them. Be obvious about it while tightening the security. If everything they said is true, the Forgotten just jumped to the top of my list. They will doubtlessly try to interfere with the activation of the UI.¡±


    ¡°If their description is accurate, we shouldn''t be worried about being obvious. The whole clan will know soon enough now that the scouts are back. And it''s not like there are no strings attached,¡± I mumbled. ¡°It will put us at odds with Earth for sure.¡±


    Vanya shrugged. ¡°We are already at odds with Earth. As I see it, there is no way around it unless you decide to silence the Caravaners and our scouts. Also, it doesn''t look like Aerie has any intention of staying silent on the matter. The secret will be out sooner or later.¡±


    Not having any sensible counterargument, I held my tongue and bit my lower lip.


    Vanya waved her hand. ¡°See to it that it is done.¡±

 Ch 77 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Astra***


    We entered our quarters and I bade Peter sit down on the couch.


    The guard who had shadowed us the entire way followed into the room and our advisor raised an inquisitive eyebrow until Thalia took off the helmet.


    ¡°Thalia! What were you doing hiding among the guards!?¡± Peter exclaimed.


    Thalia tilted her head while she put her helmet down on the shelf next to the door. ¡°I am here to protect the delegation against mental influences, Peter. I can''t do that if you people go off alone. Besides, it''s helpful if others don''t know someone like me is in the room. They are less guarded.¡±


    He looked accusingly at me and then at Magnus. ¡°You two knew? How come the guards didn¡¯t question her presence?¡±


    I nodded in my partner''s stead while Magnus went to get himself a drink. We had talked about Thalia''s secretive support the night before. ¡°It''s one of our strata''s special policies for dealing with mental attacks. All guards are instructed not to question people joining their ranks ¨C given they know the right passphrases and signs.¡±


    ¡°It''s not their fault. I suggested this. Astra and Magnus are heavily protected against mental influences.¡± Thalia waved her hand dismissively. ¡°And while you aren''t completely vulnerable, their mutations give them a significant edge on you, which lessened the risk. As you know, it''s normal for a clan to bring people with psychic mutations to important meetings.¡±


    Peter scoffed. ¡°I''ve been trained to resist all sorts of mental shenanigans, just as a foreign dignitary should be. I can''t believe you haven''t trusted me on this. It stings.¡±


    ¡°And it looks like I was right to do so.¡± Thalia didn''t show any remorse. ¡°I already had my suspicions because of the scout captain''s behaviour. Vanya is dangerous. I don''t know how they managed it, but it feels like she has more mental abilities stacked on top of each other than me. The girl is a blazing inferno of mental power. In terms of psychic ability, she is a genius. I think she knew I was in the room from the start, but she never acknowledged my presence.¡±


    I couldn''t help but purse my lips in surprise. Stacking mutations concerning a single field wasn¡¯t unheard of, but dangerous. One could say Magnus and I had stacked precognition, reflexes, processing and sub-identities since all of these mutations somehow affected the mind ¨C which was already incredibly risky.


    The method of stacking was frowned upon and only slightly less dangerous than using mutations which affected the same body part. The obvious pay-off was power.


    Some people went as far as stacking six or seven mental mutations like Thalia. But every time it was done repeatedly increased the chances of something going horribly wrong.


    If Vanya had maxed out her un-partnered mutation path completely with mental mutations and suffered no ill effects it was like throwing a coin and coming up with heads ten times in a row.


    I had seen nothing on Vanya that even hinted at negative side effects. Assuming a child of her age behaving like the ruler of an entire clan was no downside for her mental well-being.


    As far as I remembered, Thalia had never praised anyone so highly for the mental arts. Back at Aerie, the most someone with psychic abilities would get had been hesitant approval of their skill.


    Magnus shifted on his feet. ¡°Are we compromised? Did she do something?¡±


    ¡°No, but I would recommend you two to keep up whatever it is which makes you feel like you have multiple personality disorder. She shrank back slightly when she touched the two of you,¡± Thalia replied. ¡°As for the others. All she did was listen, which was bad enough. Her presence dominated the room. Everyone except for me may as well be an open book to her. I felt her reaching out to everyone and she barely needed a touch to get what she wanted. She is like a glass cannon for mental power. If I ever seize up and start twitching, start killing, because I don''t believe I can hold her off for long.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I haven''t felt anything.¡±


    ¡°Neither did I, which is worrisome when you say she tried something.¡± Magnus looked displeased. ¡°What''s this touch-thing and reaching out? I only feel a tingle when someone tries to mess with my mind.¡±


    ¡°Please don''t take my words for fact. It is simply the best way to describe what I feel when using my power. It is how my mutation manifests my ability. Your skill to sense these things is completely different from mine,¡± Thalia clarified before she looked at Peter who shook his head in answer to her earlier question.


    ¡°Riiight,¡± Thalia droned. ¡°No meetings without me from now on. Peter, can you tell us something about Vanya? I think our plans are falling a bit short with Greta dead. The old matriarch was a well-known power. Vanya is not.¡±


    Peter spread his hands helplessly. ¡°I am sorry. I don''t know a whole lot. Greta adopted Vanya when her parents died. I know nothing about them, except that Greta had their counsel. Vanya was still a babe when she was orphaned. So the child is a natural-born Tirn. I have never met her personally, but Greta mentioned the girl fondly from time to time. She was grooming Vanya as her successor.¡±


    Magnus raised his voice, ¡°So if Greta had a positive disposition towards us, wouldn''t it be within reason to assume Vanya inherited her mentor''s political course?¡±


    Our advisor shook his head. ¡°Assuming is not knowing. In absence of another choice, we should proceed as planned, but I would be wary of thinking Vanya plays for our team. If Greta did a good job at educating her, then she will always look to her clan first.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Then all we have to do is present Vanya with the truth.¡±


    Magnus looked doubtful. ¡°Don''t praise the day before it is over. The same truth in two different pairs of ears often causes vastly different reactions.¡±


    It took me a moment to decipher my partner''s newest idiom. In the end, I could only agree. I didn''t believe the situation to be too dire, but being too hopeful also wasn''t warranted. Greta had likely been a mother figure for the girl. No matter Vanya''s mental development, the loss must affect someone of her age.


    ¡°Who is Tianna to the girl?¡± I asked after a moment of thought.


    Peter looked a little lost. ¡°Tianna was always a close counsel to Greta. Officially she has the role of an advisor, but she was more like a handyman. She went on diplomatic missions when the matriarch was indisposed and received foreign dignitaries. She was practically Greta¡¯s right hand, which is why I know her so well. To be honest, I would have expected Tianna to take over when something happened to the matriarch.¡±


    There was a knock on the door and everyone looked at it.


    Since I stood the closest to the entrance, I went to answer.


    On the other side was one of our bodyguards who gave me a slight bow. ¡°There are people from Hochberg at the docks, protector. They want the promised cargo and one of them asked for you. A large woman, blonde.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I wondered briefly who would ask for me specifically but realized soon enough I had gotten to know quite a few people during my years at the Old Camp ¨C though I couldn''t come up with a reason for anyone to seek me out specifically. I didn''t have any real friends among other clans who would pay me a social visit. Just acquaintances. ¡°See to the cargo. She surely meant the evidence we brought with us. I''ll go and see who it is.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°As you wish.¡± The guard turned and went to get our evidence.


    I quickly informed the others of where I was going, then left Thalia, Peter and Magnus to their meeting.


    The woman who waited for me at the dock was no other than Sarah, the recruiter who had represented Clan Hochberg at the Old Camp.


    ¡°Sarah!¡± I waved and went down the ramp, trailed by my bodyguards.


    She hadn''t changed much, which allowed me to recognize her easily.


    Sarah looked me up and down with a bemused expression. ¡°By Gaia''s benevolent bosom! It is you. I didn''t believe it when I heard you were among the delegation, a protector no less. A lot must have happened at Aerie!¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± I admitted. ¡°You know why we are here?¡±


    Sarah waved her hands defensively. ¡°Oh, no. Don''t tell me anything. I am just a trusted guard captain who got too curious for her own good. I am here to pick up some cargo for the matriarch''s advisor, Tianna.¡± She grinned. ¡°I guess it worked out for you in the end. I was pretty embarrassed about Brook¡¯s uncouth behaviour towards one of our allies. I hope you are over the altercation. Where is your pretty boy?¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to go through the entire explanation of Magnus using an alias back at the camp, so I just went with his nickname. It wasn¡¯t technically wrong to use it, since a lot of our hunters had started calling him by his alias when they saw him train with dad. Since then the alias had stuck among certain circles.


    ¡°Tulkas is in a meeting. And I think so?¡± I shrugged. ¡°If Brook doesn''t want to open an expired jar of worms, neither do we. You were always more reasonable than the other Hochberg at the camp, so no hard feelings.¡±


    Feeling awkward to admit so, I scratched the back of my head. ¡°Besides, I think I needed the push. Who knows whether I would have taken the jump without Brook''s pressure? This doesn''t make it right what he did, nor do I forgive his actions. But I can let the matter go.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Sarah looked chagrinned. ¡°I can''t talk for the asshat, but you are right. As far as I am concerned the old rivalries can stay behind at the Old Camp. If you run into Brook and he decides to make trouble, just deck him. As a protector, you should have no trouble doing so. He still isn''t partnered.¡±


    Sarah winked at me. ¡°Finding a freshly arrived woman at the Old Camp is his only hope, given his personality. Nobody else would take him for the risk of being stuck with an idiot for the rest of their lives.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That''s fine with me. And yes, Tulkas and I have been doing well. We are both classified as juggernauts nowadays.¡±


    Sarah whistled. ¡°We have to train together someday. I remember you being a terror at the Old Camp. Once the political manoeuvring is over.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Forgotten***


    Mary Frost walked down the corridor with a blank expression on her face. She passed me close enough to touch, but I didn''t flinch a single muscle and trusted in my camouflage.


    It had been the eighth time she had passed me while I slowly crept deeper into the compound. The old woman was paying her daily visits like clockwork. If nothing else, she was diligent in her duties.


    Once she turned around the corner, I moved again. It was the final leg of my journey. On the way out, I wouldn¡¯t have the luxury of taking my time. Traversing the Frost''s compound without getting caught was almost impossible without the necessary patience, but I had finally arrived at my goal.


    I opened the door and slid inside before I closed the door behind me ever so slowly.


    Mary¡¯s scent path led me directly to the three eggs which lay on a large bed.


    Wasting no time, I drew my combat knife and smashed the first egg. Milky-white fluid spilled from within and revealed a malformed foetus. For a moment, I thought it might be a diversion. A trick, but no.


    It was humanoid, so definitely of human origin. None of Tirnanog¡¯s native species had this trait.


    To think I risked my life and wasted time coming here when this was failed offspring. The orders coming from Earth had become ever more nonsensical lately. Why did they want some failed mutants killed?


    The Frosts would have done the job for me once they hatched.


    Going on, I smashed the second egg when I noticed something like smouldering ash drifting through the air and landing on the remaining egg.


    Cursing inwardly, I made sure my breathing mask was on tight before I turned to the door.


    A small, goblin-like creature was standing there and chittered. It pointed at me.


    The hag stepped into the doorway and nodded while petting the little monster¡¯s head. ¡°Yes, I can see him now Chitters, good work. Why don¡¯t you drop your camo, Forgotten.¡±


    More of the glowing embers detached and spread from her brittle filaments when she moved. They slowly drifted away, trailing every motion.


    I quickly assessed the situation. My eyes flicked from left to right, up and down, but this room was a cave with only one exit and the ventilation shaft was far too small for me to fit through.


    ¡°This is a trap,¡± I concluded once I realized I had been had. ¡°You lured me into a room with only one exit.¡±


    Mary gave a slight nod. ¡°When the huntress can¡¯t stalk her prey, she has to wait for the prey to come to her.¡±


    I growled and drew the silenced pistol from my belt. Wasting the few remaining supplies from Earth was bad, but it felt like there was no way out for me. I had to try my best and serve Earth by doing my best to escape. Using every resource at my disposal was warranted.


    Mary¡¯s clothes shifted and her filaments snaked up her body until she was entirely covered like a mummy. Then the brittle filaments pulled taut and formed what seemed like a layer of silvery latex. The only disturbing part was the lack of features like orifices or eyes.


    I grinned when more filaments extended from her body to form the signature halo above her head and what looked like a paper-thin sword which was fused with her left hand.


    The brittle nature of her filaments warped further until no sign of the Frost¡¯s trademark mutation remained.


    She looked like a statue cast from silver once the transformation finished.


    ¡°The Invincible, they call you.¡± I pointed my gun at the remaining egg. ¡°I wondered, is the halo a statement? Or is it necessary?¡±


    Mary shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s kind of an inside joke, to be honest, but I don¡¯t see any point in enlightening you.¡±


    ¡°Step out of the way, or I¡¯ll shoot the remaining egg. Then you will have failed.¡±


    ¡°Should I pretend to not see the malformed embryo on the bed right there?¡± She looked towards the ceiling as if she was actually considering it.


    ¡°No. Get the guards, Chitters.¡±


    The little monster at her side clicked and ran away.


    I pressed the trigger once, splattering the egg before I aimed at her and unloaded every last bullet in the magazine.


    Mary just stood there, taking the uranium-tipped bullets which bounced off her chest and head. It was like the armour-penetrating bullets were mere lead. One stayed stuck in her neck for a moment before the filaments rearranged and restored themselves to perfection. The bullet fell to the ground, useless.


    All I achieved was causing more of the glowing embers to flake off her body. The impact points glowed like little coals, but that was all.


    I advanced and brought my combat knife forward to block, but Mary circled her sword faster than I could react. Her blade contacted my knife briefly, causing a hail of sparks. The force of the impact jarred my arm and cast my knife aside before she chopped twice with measured movements.


    My right arm with my knife fell off before my legs toppled away from beneath me.


    I landed hard and bounced roughly onto the marble floor. Grunting, I used my remaining arm to turn myself onto my back before I threw the empty pistol at her head.


    It was a futile gesture of defiance, but one I felt compelled to commit. Earth¡¯s Special Task Forces never gave up. Never stopped fighting till the end.


    The pistol bounced off Mary¡¯s head and she swung her sword once more in a manner which felt way too casual.


    My remaining hand fell off, revealing the bio-mechanic enhancements which riddled my entire body.


    I grunted. ¡°End it. You won¡¯t get me to talk. I¡¯ve switched off my pain receptors. There is nothing you can do to me.¡±


    The hag stepped forward and a faint smile formed on her inhuman features.


    She knelt next to me and raised a hand, pointing a finger right at my left eye. One of her filaments returned to its brittle state and detached from her wrist before it snaked along her finger. It aimed for my eye and I closed it before she grabbed my face.


    The filament touched me gently, then applied more pressure.


    Instinct told me to flinch away but I couldn''t!


    I felt the ashy filament worm its way beneath my eyelid and deeper, rasping roughly against my flesh as it did so.


    The sight on my left side went dark and there was a wet ''plop'' before the witch showed me my eyeball.


    ¡°You know...¡± Mary sighed, sounding a little bit annoyed. ¡°You people may be able to switch off your pain receptors, but it doesn''t change that there is something human left in you. I''ve managed to break quite a few of you by taking parts off bit by bit.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing you can do to me that I haven''t seen before,¡± I replied from between clenched teeth.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± More filaments wormed their way up her fingers. ¡°With these, I can reach places even you people haven''t thought of before. All I want to know is whether there are more of you around. It would allow me to sleep a little deeper at night.¡±


    ¡°My mission is already fulfilled and your vile offspring has been ended. You are nothing more than failed experiments,¡± I spat. ¡°My serial number is 13985. For the books. I will tell you nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Vile? And why do you people always insist on your serial number? It¡¯s not like Earth cares about their soldiers. You were abandoned decades ago.¡± Mary stood back up. ¡°Why am I even arguing with a brainwashed puppet?¡±


    ¡°Brainwash-¡± My mind jarred to a halt, abolishing the thought before it restarted again. ¡°You are failed experiments. We have to get you back under control.¡±


    Mary poked my shoulder with her sword. ¡°Your scientists fumble around in the dark with their experiments. They take what is already there and throw it into a jar in the hope of creating something useful. Most of the time their random juggling does indeed fail. Catastrophically, like with Chitter¡¯s people. They are hardly more than hunting dogs nowadays. Useful, but no longer human. Sadly, intelligence doesn¡¯t seem to be a necessary trait for survival. But once in a while, something like me comes along. Something they can¡¯t control ¨C nor understand. It¡¯s the true reason why Earth prefers us to stay beyond their gate. Because they know, if we ever get to the other side there will be hell to pay!¡±


    She chuckled and pulled back her foot before she kicked my head and everything went black.

 Ch 78 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    I grunted once I regained my wits and stepped away from the railing. Rubbing my temples, I shook myself to jump-start my brain. Waking up in the dream was always a strange and disorienting experience. Going from awake but not aware to awake and aware was almost impossible to describe.


    Once I had sorted myself out, I took in my surroundings. It was the bungalow on the tropical island again. Not that I had anything against the setting, but Gaia had yet to repeat herself with her dreams.


    It was unusual for her to hit the replay button.


    The fine mist coming from the nearby waterfall was moistening everything, making me wonder why I found myself waking up in uncomfortable situations more likely than not.


    The frustration of it all caused me to sigh.


    There was no question I would never get used to this ''dream'' thing.


    When I turned, I found Astra lying on a deckchair.


    She was sunning herself as if it was something she did every day.


    Come to think of it, I had never seen Astra relax outside her own four walls. I sincerely hoped our efforts would earn us some safety in this world. It would be nice to create a place for us which could ward away the monsters and humans who meant us ill.


    Fortunately, her appearance quickly drew my thoughts away from any gloominess.


    Astra¡¯s filaments had retracted and were providing only the barest of a suggestion of a bikini. All the rest had formed a big cushion beneath her. And a pair of oversized sunglasses made her look like a beach tourist who had ended up at a cosplay convention before falling prey to some body painters who preferred neon colours.


    Grinning, I knelt next to her and poked her cheek. ¡°Hey, Astra. We are dreaming again.¡±


    No reaction.


    I pinched her cheeks and pulled them apart, but she was seven miles under. It was ridiculous how this dream space worked.


    I contemplated what to do next and looked at her alluring figure for a second too long. When the impulse to do so came, I acted on it.


    Slipping my fingers beneath her filaments, I grabbed her chest and sighed while I squeezed.


    There was no shame or hesitation. Even without an official ceremony, we were practically married and it wasn''t like I hadn''t felt up the goods before. And we were alone, so I saw no reason to hold back.


    Besides, it was oh-so relaxing.


    Astra stiffened. ¡°What the heck are you doing with your cold hands?¡±


    ¡°Ahem...¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Giving you a relaxing massage!¡±


    I tried to support the claim by performing the motions which I believed to be suitable. Unfortunately, I had never applied a proper massage to anyone or anything in my life. Even I could tell my movements ended up more like a poor imitation of trying to knead dough.


    Very nice, very pliable dough... okay. Maybe I should stop before I got myself into real trouble.


    She took off the ridiculous sunglasses and gave me ''the look'' all women had in store for their men when they behaved like children. I didn''t know where she had learned it, but it worked.


    I surrendered and retracted my hands.


    Astra karate-chopped me lightly on the forehead. ¡°Scoundrel! You are no better than all the other men! There are more important things to do right now. And how is massaging my chest supposed to be relaxing? Where is Gaia? She has some explaining to do!¡±


    Too many questions at once!


    She got up and warped her filaments into one of her usual over-dressed gowns.


    ¡°I didn''t mean it to be relaxing for you...¡± I mumbled and got back to my feet. Guys didn''t fondle women''s breasts because-


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    Thank Gaia I didn''t say that aloud.


    ¡°Ahem, nothing!¡± I coughed and pointed towards the sliding door which led into the bungalow. ¡°I regained my wits less than a minute before you and didn''t check on Gaia yet. I bet she''s waiting inside, cooking something or eating treats like always.¡±


    ¡°Less than a minute?¡± Astra huffed. ¡°And the first thing you do upon finding a sleeping woman-¡±


    ¡°Just stop the banter!¡± I threw up my hands. Better not to tell her the first thing I did was pull her cheeks. Or that I would have tried to pull her nipples next. ¡°Yes, I did! I would have done more if you hadn''t woken up! I am a pervert! I have lost my inhibitions when it comes to you. Can we move on?¡±


    ¡°Aw...¡± She went to open the sliding glass door which led into the bungalow. ¡°Then I will tease you once we know what''s up with our goddess.¡±


    Alien Overmind would be a more fitting description.


    We entered the bungalow''s living room and found Gaia wrapped up in blankets on a couch which hadn''t been there before. She had a towel on her forehead and a thermometer in her mouth. Several medicaments for treating the snuffles were placed on the table next to her together with a pot of tea.


    ¡°Gaia?¡± I asked. ¡°What is this supposed to represent?¡±


    She spat out the thermometer. ¡°Don''t you see? I am sick after over-exerting myself.¡±


    Astra also looked sceptical. ¡°How can you over-exert yourself within a dream?¡±


    Gaia huffed. ¡°It''s not about the dream, but forcefully waking you two up. Given my nature, it''s tiring and stressful and now I have to rest. I almost erased myself by warning you.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I frowned. ¡°Waking someone up costs you so much power that you get tired?¡±


    ¡°I almost died!¡± she complained. ¡°Imagine yourself to be someone who is used to playing with atoms and then you are suddenly asked to move an entire rock! Well, this iteration of me almost died. And I would like to keep this personality, thank you very much.¡±


    I still didn¡¯t understand how Gaia¡¯s personalities or avatars worked. One time, she behaved as if she was her own separate being. At others, she identified herself with the Gestalt and spoke as if her existence was of no importance.


    Maybe the Gaia we were interacting with wasn¡¯t certain of her nature herself.


    ¡°Oh, Gaia.¡± Astra covered her mouth and went to the avatar''s side. ¡°Will you be alright?¡±


    While my better half bought the avatar''s story, I wasn''t a hundred per cent sold. ¡°Why didn''t you wake up just one of us? That should have lessened the strain on you.¡±


    ¡°There was a not neglectable chance you wouldn''t have taken my warning seriously if just one of you had woken up,¡± Gaia explained. ¡°Whether you want to or not, you are still asking yourself whether I am a facsimile of your imagination. I have invested too much time in this venture to have you eaten by one of the enemy''s agents.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I stopped doubting you when Astra had the triplets you prophesied,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Or should I call it threatened?¡±


    ¡°Please explain.¡± Astra took Gaia''s hand, ignoring my complaints. Unlike me, she was perfectly happy with having a big family. Three kids were already more than I ever imagined to be stuck with. If Astra had her way, we would end up with a football team soon enough.


    The avatar sighed. ¡°The entity responsible for the violet gene mutation must have sensed my meddling. It sent this creature after those who I had most of my attention on lately. Namely, you.¡±


    ¡°The abnormal creature which attacked us?¡± I frowned.


    Gaia nodded. ¡°It''s not dead. Be ready for it to come after you again. Prepare yourself for anything. I don¡¯t know its capabilities.¡±


    ¡°How did you manage to notice it in time to warn us?¡± Astra asked. ¡°I thought you could only walk people''s dreams.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good question.¡± I leaned over the avatar. ¡°How do you perceive the material world when you are supposed to be some energy being who haunts people¡¯s dreams?¡±


    Gaia frowned. ¡°Why do you always ask questions about things which you have no concept of?¡±


    ¡°Answer the question,¡± I urged.


    ¡°Fine,¡± The avatar huffed. ¡°I can sense the material world in a limited manner. Just like you need to pay attention to observe a bug you would overlook normally. The best analogy for what I experienced would be a hair falling out.¡±


    ¡°Falling out?¡± This comparison apparently wrinkled Astra, because she reached for her well-kept mane of black hair. Given the right angle, the black shone with scintillating red reflections, so her hair was the one thing she liked about her body.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Gaia rolled her eyes. ¡°When that monster killed the Caravaners, I noticed because their energy went dark, so I took a closer look. Like you don''t notice a hair falling out or a cell dying, I don''t normally notice people dying. But this time I did because I am watching you so closely.¡±


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°And I suppose this scene should serve to inform us that you may be ready to communicate with us again but aren''t able to gather information by haunting the Hochberg''s dreams.¡±


    Gaia''s expression brightened up. ¡°Oh, you are so smart. That''s exactly why I chose this setting! And before you ask, I assume it will take a week or two before I can return to being your personal spymaster.¡±


    ¡°Nah, that''s fine.¡± I waved a hand and smiled. ¡°Take your time off for as long as you need. We can do a little spying of our own. The old-fashioned way.¡±


    Gaia stopped smiling quickly and instead looked perplexed. As if she could smell the trap. ¡°Y- you aren''t angry? Or concerned? How unusual. I- I didn''t anticipate this reaction.¡±


    I went to get myself a chair while Gaia and Astra watched me with concerned expressions.


    ¡°If you are just ''resting'' to get better,¡± I began. ¡°You still have all the time in the world to talk with us, oh benevolent spirit. I thought we might as well use our time together wisely and have you teach us.¡±


    The avatar narrowed her eyes. ¡°Did someone use the ¡®benevolent bosom¡¯ catchphrase again? I hate it when they do that.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a thing among the churchgoers? Yes, I think I remember people saying such things. Do you also dislike the related curse?¡±


    ¡°Just forget I mentioned it.¡± Gaia waved her hand quickly to dismiss the matter, probably hoping we would forget about it. ¡°Never use any of those terms!¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°So, how about teaching us?¡±


    Gaia slowly pulled the blanket up to her chin. ¡°Teach you? Teach you what exactly?¡±


    ¡°Anything related to our abilities,¡± I suggested. ¡°Why don''t we displace air as it should be expected when we move quickly? Are there other usages for the new plasma skill Astra and I discovered? Can you suggest any improvements or usages of our abilities we haven''t discovered yet?¡±


    The avatar blinked exaggeratedly slowly and looked conflicted. ¡°What makes you think I would be able to help with such a thing?¡±


    I stared at her with a blank expression. ¡°Do I have to point out that you are manipulating genetic codes and steering evolution with the same ease as humans build a house? Your claim, not mine. If you can do that, teaching us some lowly physics related to our abilities should be simple. I bet you had something in mind when you meddled with my zipper mutation.¡±


    When Gaia opened her mouth to reply, I raised a warning finger. ¡°And don¡¯t believe for a moment I forgot your claim to have guided me to Tirnanog. You outright bragged about it, so you must have had a plan in mind when you influenced my mutations.¡±


    Gaia gave me an insincere smile. ¡°But teaching is so boring! It''s much better to watch you two discovering tricks yourself. Asking me to teach you Physics¡­ it¡¯s as if an amoebae begged you to teach it multiplication! I don¡¯t have time for such things.¡±


    Astra leaned in closer to Gaia. ¡°I might want to listen in on such lessons. It''s a good idea and it looks like we have nothing better to do within this dream. Unless you can conjure more food for me?¡±


    ¡°You two could fuck upstairs,¡± Gaia suggested innocently. ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The two women began a game of stare until Astra answered the suggestion with a simple and very final verdict. ¡°No.¡±


    Gaia''s expression turned pleading.


    ¡°Do I have to remind you that you still owe me for loading me up with triplets?¡± Astra continued mercilessly. ¡°You also have to consider what a long-term relationship means for you if we are forced to keep meeting each other within this dream. A good social atmosphere is very important, given the amount of time we have to spend together. And I have a feeling it''s not something entirely under your control ¨C whether you meet us within the dream or not.¡±


    The avatar¡¯s face went through several different expressions while she weighed her options ¨C as if she had just discovered her newest pets might also require some actual work.


    ¡°Fine!¡± Gaia grumbled. ¡°But you better listen well, because I won''t repeat myself.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Tianna***


    I entered Vanya¡¯s room and found her lying on the floor while she played with her cube. She was on her back and studied the roughly hewn ceiling with a contemplative expression.


    Greta¡¯s quarters had always been very Spartan. Outside court, she had preferred a very simplistic lifestyle and Vanya had changed nothing since she took the space over.


    ¡°I want you to mobilize our forces,¡± Vanya stated simply.


    I approached until I could speak to her without screaming across the room. ¡°Did something happen I wasn¡¯t informed of?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Vanya finally stopped playing and gave me her full attention.


    Our eyes met.


    ¡°Then why should we mobilize our forces?¡± I asked. ¡°We just received the bodies and the Aerie have yet to reactivate the central computer system.¡±


    ¡°Because we will need them one way or the other and mobilizing troops takes time,¡± Vanya explained patiently. ¡°Either everything the Aerie told us is true and we will have to choose a side in the coming conflict between them and the Thich, or they will have lied to us and we will have to deal with their air fleet violating our borders. Most of the scenarios I can think of require military force. At the very least we need a deterrence to show we won¡¯t roll over while others violate our territory.¡±


    I frowned but nodded. ¡°It will be done.¡±


    ¡°Also, organize something official both the Aerie and Thich delegations can take part in. It should happen within a day after the Aerie unlock the colony¡¯s computer system. I don¡¯t want that either of the two delegations has the time to prepare a narrative in support of the events.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure this is wise,¡± I asked. Placing both Aerie and Thich in the same room sounded like a terribly bad idea.


    ¡°It may not be wise,¡± Vanya admitted. ¡°But it will be effective. People often say and admit things in the heat of the moment that they wouldn¡¯t otherwise. Tensions should be sufficiently high at such a meeting to allow us to make a decision. Oh, and please organize enough muscle for this event to subdue both parties if necessary. I don''t want a repeat of the last meeting.¡±

 Ch 79 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Tianna***


    I couldn''t hide a deep frown on my face upon leaving Vanya''s room. Nonetheless, I tried to portray confidence by clasping my hands behind my back and standing straight.


    One of the guards quickly minded her own business when my eyes met hers. Suddenly, she found a spot on the wall of particular interest, just to avoid my gaze.


    I slowly made my way towards the exit. A lot of things had to be taken care of for Vanya''s ideas to play out as she desired. The girl may have grand plans, just like Greta, but the two had always been good with the theory side while overlooking the practical application.


    People just didn¡¯t behave predictably like pieces on a board game.


    No matter her intelligence and abilities, I couldn''t discount Vanya''s inexperience with the social aspect. She failed to understand that sometimes people simply didn¡¯t act rationally.


    Placing both Thich and Aerie in the same room was paramount to forcing a diplomatic incident. The problem was further compounded if the Aerie in question answered to the family name of Frost from the twelfth strata.


    A shudder ran down my spine at the memory of a particularly nasty incident which almost sparked another war.


    The Frost elders had visited the Old Camp and taken a liking to an exiled girl-


    I halted my current train of thought and pursed my lips while I replayed the memories of that day.


    - A field of dead Thich recruiters.


    - More accurately, their pieces.


    - Bisected bodies which looked like they had been hit by a meat cleaver.


    - A bodiless head bobbing in a disturbed pond.


    - Etan Frost standing in the middle of it all with an expression which said he found the scene he created distasteful.


    - Teresa Frost covering the eyes of a disturbed teenage girl.


    I barely paid attention to the guards who hurried to open the doors for me when I left Hochberg''s administration. Did I have something on my face?


    Anyway, I wondered whether the girl in Teresa''s arms had been Astra Frost. If so, she had found two seriously bad role models as adoptive parents. The incident back then had been the cause for the ban on any partnered warriors visiting the Old Camp.


    Previously, the recruiting process had been relatively relaxed and carefree. All clans had free access to the Old Camp and could enact trade and recruitment policies as they pleased.


    If properly handled, the Old Camp could have turned into a trade hub and meeting place, allowing people from all clans to interact with each other without the restrictions enacted by their superiors.


    The new regulations had made this impossible and the recruitment of exiles had turned way too ceremonial for my tastes.


    Although, the consequently established practice of sending out youngsters to gain some real-life experience in survival and diplomacy hadn''t turned out to be a bad thing. I just would have wished for this opportunity to be available to everyone.


    By Gaia, some of the old folk who were set in their ways could have used a heavy dose of cultural exposure.


    On the other hand, nobody could dispute that Thich''s recruitment behaviour had skirted the border to slavery. Some of their practices were already a re-invention of serfdom.


    Banishing partnered warriors with the power to enforce their will on the entire settlement had put an end to such practices and ensured none of the clans could establish a position of absolute power.


    Sending clan-reared youngsters to the Old Camp still ensured a position of power for the clans. But with their limited power, they would never be able to subdue the Old Camp on their own.


    I still wondered why the people in charge back then had decided to leave the Old Camp to that man. Having an overseer was wise, but he was the worst possible option in my opinion.


    Alas, I hadn''t been at the meeting and the decision had been made by just a few leaders. Greta had been the only Hochberg who could have answered the question, but she was dead.


    Maybe he had some leftover favours with them and managed to save his skin?


    They should have quartered the pig instead and spread the pieces in all four cardinal directions to ensure he wouldn''t return to haunt us at a later date.


    Sighing, I took the main tunnel to the executive offices and reconsidered the memory and the underlying cause of the incident.


    Whether the Aerie and the Thich realized it or not, there had been a major cultural shift between the two clans. Maybe it was due to their isolation or caused by distance, I couldn''t say.


    High up in the mountains, the Aerie were somewhat disconnected from Hochberg, Vier, and Jeng. Meanwhile, the Thich chose their isolation of their own accord by limiting visitors from other clans. Only some Caravaner families had regular contact with them, although the recent revelations brought by the Aerie delegation would explain Thich¡¯s behaviour.


    Seen in this light, the Thich and Aerie may as well be located on opposite sides of the planet.


    Aerie prided their rationality and strictly adhered to their stratas. They often denied it, but it sounded like a caste system to me. This resulted in them reacting to their surroundings with unquestioning rigidity. If you approached an Aerie peacefully and with respect, the respect would be returned in kind. Contrary, challenge or insult was easily cause for unfiltered violence, especially when dealing with one of the combat-oriented stratas.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I really would have to pay the mountain a visit if I ever decided to lay down my badge.


    On the other hand, the Thich were constantly challenging the status quo in an attempt to climb the ranks. This happened according to a ritual of slow escalation in which subordinates challenged their superiors for the right to lead. If the superior ever backed down from the challenge, the subordinate could take the position. Their aggravating behaviour was a direct consequence of the Thich''s strictly hierarchical society.


    Presented as a metaphor, the Aerie¡¯s cultural rules were equal to an otherwise harmless explosive material while the Thich¡¯s desire to challenge served as a detonator.


    Thanks to my position I was aware of the social quirks among the two insular clans, but many people who hadn''t been specifically schooled wouldn''t know this and react according to their social imperative. It was doubtful whether most regular people among them were aware of their idiosyncrasies.


    Well, I hoped Astra and her partner had been thoroughly prepared for a meet and greet with the Thich. Maybe I should give Peter a special forewarning just to be sure.


    I felt a scowl stealing itself onto my forehead while I entered the public reception lobby for the executive forces.


    Guard Captain Sarah Gaelic sprang to attention when she saw me approaching. The guards at her side also straightened like frightened mice.


    ¡°At your service, Advisor Tianna!¡±


    ¡°At ease,¡± I ordered. I wasn''t fond of my presence being announced in such a public manner. A tingling sensation on my skin told me exactly how many interested gazes had been turned in my direction when Sarah pointed me out to the entire lobby.


    I casually surveyed the crowd and memorized the three people who had turned their attention towards me and were now trying to fake ignorance at varying levels of professionalism.


    One of them was a known Thich informant. Sadly, not all Hochberg were above working for anyone as long as the payment was good. We officiously allowed the informant to keep her job as long as she didn''t give away vital information. One could never know when it would be beneficial to feed carefully edited news through a trusted channel.


    A second person who had shown interest was unknown to me. He was a tall man with an average face. Someone who could have fit in any crowd without giving cause for a second glance.


    The third was a cloaked figure who couldn''t be any more conspicuous, although the tell-tale glow of a nightstalker mutation from within the hood left me with a good guess of who was trying to spy. If I was right, the cheesy cloak could be forgiven. Better to stand out in a crowd than to be a neon sign advertising your identity.


    I considered whether I should sentence the three based on paying a little too much attention to the wrong person.


    ¡°Is everything alright, Advisor? You look like a gutter took off with your liver.¡±


    Sarah''s concerned question reminded me of why I was here.


    ¡°It''s fine.¡± I gestured for the captain to lead the way. ¡°Lead the way to the morgue.¡±


    I would leave the three for now and see which of them would strain their luck and stay around until I returned. Once could be incidental. Twice warranted identification.


    Nonetheless, I gave a silent order to the other two guards to have an eye on the three people''s actions while I was busy.


    Two minutes later, I found myself looking at the preserved corpse of a Forgotten while a doctor performed a post-mortem examination of the body. I didn''t need him to tell me we were looking at the real deal.


    ¡°I guess the only question I have is, did he die recently?¡± I asked. ¡°Or did they have the body in storage?¡±


    ¡°Most definitely within a few months,¡± the doctor answered and squeezed the skin. ¡°They embalmed the body with stickweed extract. It conserves the body but also slowly changes the cellular structure as the chemicals seep into the flesh. At the end of the process, the body is like plastic. As you can see, this one is still pliable. Like rubber. No older than three or four months. I also found no traces of damage as it would occur in frozen storage ¨C which would be easy to recognize. Alas, conserving a body in this manner obfuscates any possibility of determining an exact time of death. But I can assure you, he died within the last year. Which is all that interests you I suppose. I will give a detailed report once I am done here.¡±


    ¡°Please inform us if you find anything contradicting your current judgement,¡± I ordered.


    ¡°Unlikely,¡± the doctor replied and went back to his work.


    As much as it wrinkled my pride to admit so, if a Forgotten task force had managed to hide among the Aerie for so long, Hochberg could have the same issue. Maybe Vanya''s plans of drawing them out had some merit after all.


    But why would the Forgotten assassinate Greta now of all times? I was lacking too many pieces to the puzzle to assign any motivation to the murder.


    Killing Greta to gain control of Hochberg was stupid. Nobody could be certain of passing the tests required to take control of the clan. Although many had applied and tried their skills, it was hubris to assume one could come out on top for sure.


    Short-term destabilisation of the clan might be another motive. But the murder had occurred in the middle of winter. A time during which the clan was forced to inaction anyway. It had taken just a few weeks for Vanya to take up her mentor¡¯s mantle, voiding any sense for this possibility.


    Unless whoever orchestrated the assassination had vastly misjudged the re-election process. The Forgotten were a likely and at the same time unlikely candidate.


    On one hand, they couldn¡¯t move openly through our society and learn the in and outs of our leadership structure. On the other hand, they must be able to move among the civilian population without much threat of discovery at the very least, or we would have noticed them long ago.


    Was a collaborator among my clansmen a possibility I wanted to entertain?


    I shook my head.


    Occam¡¯s Razor, the simplest explanation was likely true. As long as I didn¡¯t have any indication of a traitor, planning for one would be paranoid.


    There was already a new player to consider, but how would Earth gain anything from Greta¡¯s death? Not to forget Aerie and Thich.


    What I needed was a motive. Without it, any investigation would be just searching for a needle in a stack of hay.


    Sadly, Aerie¡¯s unexpected arrival hadn¡¯t given me any answers. Just more questions.


    I turned and gestured for Sarah to follow me.


    When I returned to the lobby, two of the three people were gone. Only the cloaked guy was still there.


    Grumbling, I took off in the direction of the cloaked figure, intending to have a serious word with either Magnus or Astra. Them infiltrating our colony unannounced wasn''t only a violation of trust, but it could also cause us serious problems if something happened to them outside the Caravaners'' protection.


    The cloaked figure noticed my approach and left through the lobby''s main exit.


    I quickened my steps until I was on the wide main transit tunnel in front of the lobby. It was angled slightly upwards, one direction leading to the surface settlement and the other leading to the docks.


    Scanning the busy traffic route, I found myself dumbfounded to find not a single hair of my prey.


    My lips pressed together in annoyance. No matter how much I concentrated, I couldn''t sense anything. It seemed like my prey had evaporated into thin air. Vanya had mentioned they had some speed-type mutation, but I hardly believed it allowed them to teleport.


    I pointed at a nearby street vendor. ¡°Hey, you! Have you seen a cloaked fellow running off?¡±


    The woman in question looked confused. ¡°No? But I could offer some snacks.¡± She pointed out the arrangement of meat sticks she had on offer.


    ¡°Not now,¡± I replied and returned to searching the passing crowd while Sarah and her subordinates caught up to me outside.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± one of Sarah''s men asked.


    ¡°No. When did the other two leave?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The first you pointed out left immediately. The other four minutes later,¡± the guard answered.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I hummed. ¡°Sarah, go and inform the Aerie. They are invited to prove themselves tomorrow morning. If all works as intended, we will have dinner afterwards. I also want an announcement for the whole clan. A training alarm is to be expected tomorrow morning. Everyone is to lay down their work until midday and be careful not to be caught up in potentially dangerous activities.¡±


    I gave a short explanation of what was expected to happen and left the exact wording of the announcement to her. Giving my orders in public was intentional and in accord with Vanya¡¯s wishes.


    It was the best part of the day since I still had to go and meet some Thich.

 Ch 80 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°This thing looks like it hasn¡¯t gotten any attention for a century,¡± Magnus complained while he wiped off the dusty touch-screen with a cleaning rag. The device flickered to announce its displeasure, switching back and forth between displaying two messages. ''Power Saving'' and ''Maintenance Mode''.


    My partner shook his head. ¡°A little more power would be nice.¡±


    One of the technicians went to adjust a power generator which rattled softly in the hallway outside. It was a cobbled-together machine which ran on plant oil, far less sophisticated than what we had in Aerie.


    I took a look around the room while Magnus mumbled his complaints and tapped the screen.


    Sarah had picked us up early in the morning. Protected by an entire detachment of guards, our delegation had enjoyed a short tour of the surface settlement.


    Magnus was very interested in Hochberg''s architectural style. He mentioned Egyptians and Incans several times while we passed through the impressive fortress city. The Hochberg had inadvertently copied the building styles of two ancient cultures from Earth. As far as I understood, their defining feature was layering huge and precisely cut rocks on top of each other.


    My partner immediately came up with a conspiracy theory of someone trying to revive the past.


    The possibility existed, but I would rather believe in a more practical explanation ¨C owed to the lack of other building materials.


    What do you do when you have nothing but rocks to build your house? You pile up rocks.


    What do you do to make it stable and durable? You take big rocks.


    What do you do when you have a population of super-strong people? You take even bigger rocks.


    And let''s be honest here, there were only so many ways to pile up rocks without having them crumble on top of you. It wasn''t necessary to explain the similarities any other way.


    Thankfully, we went over one of the bridges to the other mountain fortress before Magnus''s theories could get too wild.


    Then the Hochberg took us deep down into the bedrock on which their fortress city was built. The narrow corridors immediately reminded me of Mount Aerie.


    What Magnus called Incan architecture gave way to walls lined with rusty sheets of metal and degraded plastic. It was the old, original settlement which had given rise to Clan Hochberg.


    Unlike at Mount Aerie, where the old colony had turned into the settlement¡¯s heart, Hochberg had abandoned most of the old facilities and built their colony on top of the twin rocks. Now, the old facilities lay largely abandoned except for the parts which were used as storage spaces and cellars.


    Down here, we entered a room which reminded me strongly of the Hall of Law in form and size. But the computer wasn¡¯t being used as a podium, nor was there a half-circle of tables for the elders.


    Instead, there had been several cubicles which housed offices in the past and a thick layer of dust covered everything. It looked like the people had just picked up everything of use and left.


    In their efforts to get power down here, Hochberg technicians had cleaned up most of the half-withered furniture, only to find out that the computer still had an old power line supplying it with just enough energy for standby operation. This wasn¡¯t enough to get the big screen running.


    ¡°There was never a reason to maintain the old tech down here,¡± Tianna explained. She was standing to the side, so she wouldn''t get in the way of the technicians who busied themselves with tidying up the place while Magnus gave orders. ¡°Which makes me wonder why the computer still had power. Someone must have been maintaining it.¡±


    ¡°Another indication that there are Forgotten operatives within our ranks,¡± Vanya commented. ¡°I¡¯ll urge our people to find out why this thing was left untouched down here. The whole matter reeks of someone playing for the other side. At least it looks like they don¡¯t have a lot of manpower.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Tianna asked.


    Vanya gestured at the computer. ¡°If they had the influence, they would have done a better job at maintaining the power supply. It would have also been prudent to wage a campaign to make us forget about the computer¡¯s existence. Like it happened at Aerie. The fact that it didn¡¯t happen makes me think there are fewer Forgotten operatives in Hochberg.¡±


    She looked at me with a grin, but I didn¡¯t fall for the insinuation of Aerie lacking the necessary vigilance to prevent insurgence.


    The matriarch was surrounded by a group of guards who felt like elders if I was any judge of power.


    Our hosts had upped the security at this meeting, so I had no intention of causing an incident because of pride.


    ¡°I suppose it will be the same with all the clans,¡± Magnus commented happily. Whatever the technician outside had done, it worked. The console showed now the same login screen as the computer back at Aerie.


    Magnus inserted the data stick into the intended slot and typed in his password. ¡°Earth is using these systems to monitor the former colonies.¡±


    He hit ¡®enter¡¯ and was greeted by¡­ an error message.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 71.3158%" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%">


    ERROR!


    Please try again. You have two more attempts before the system is locked down!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Vanya snorted. ¡°I expected something like this. After you barred them from Aerie''s system, Earth must have changed the access codes remotely. They would have been foolish not to react after weeks of losing contact. The question is, how will you prove you ever had the correct password?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fret without knowing the whole story,¡± Magnus replied and pressed on the panel which held the touchscreen until it clicked. ¡°My people studied this system and schooled me on its intricacies. Earth may be able to lock us out of the software from their side, but as long as we have direct hardware access and they do not, we have all the leverage we need.¡±


    He lifted the touchscreen off the panel, revealing a cable connector, some empty sockets, and a generous amount of sealing material. Whoever had built the system decided to seal everything which didn¡¯t need direct access with glue.


    ¡°You see, these are civilian systems built for industrial use. The ones who designed these computers never had something like a kill command or military-level access denial in mind. Well, they had, but only regarding hackers and cybercrime. In their minds, a hacker shouldn¡¯t ever have direct access to the hardware. Which is why they implemented a reset option for system maintenance. Just in case someone took control of the system from the outside. These extremely expensive computers were meant to overlook even more expensive hardware, so downtime costs lots of money. What do you do if a minute of standstill costs you hundreds of thousands? You implement a fail-safe to get the system up and running as quickly as possible.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Magnus took two screwdrivers and shorted two terminals for five seconds before the screen went black. Once he took them away, he reattached the touchscreen which was quick to show ¡®Reboot...¡¯ and lines of code began running past.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the original settlers reboot their system if it is so easy?¡± I asked.


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°I doubt anyone knew of the feature. The computers were maintenance-free as far as it concerned the settlers. That¡¯s why they chose them. And this feature isn¡¯t something you would write into a user manual. Maybe a select few knew, just in case something happened. But since Earth planned for Tirnanog¡¯s fate, those people would have been silenced before they implemented their plan.¡±


    Finally, the screen flashed and once again showed the normal login window.


    ¡°Ahh, aren''t factory resets a wondrous thing?¡± Magnus cracked his knuckles and repeated the login procedure to set a new password. Seconds later, he was inside the system and to the Hochbergs'' awe, the supercomputer came back to life.


    Not even Vanya could hide the excitement in her eyes. To Tianna''s mirth, Vanya was the first at the device, tapping away at icons to see what they did.


    ¡°Vanya!¡± Tianna raised her voice. ¡°Do you even know what you are doing?¡±


    The matriarch rolled her eyes. ¡°I have used some of the old tablets which are under the ministry''s supervision. It''s not like I don''t know what a computer does.¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Magnus cleared his throat. ¡°If I may? Or do you feel capable of setting up a proper security protocol to keep Earth out?¡±


    The girl who had gotten carried away with a new toy clicked her tongue. ¡°You may proceed ¨C after you create administrator accounts for us.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and studied the girl. She knew more about computers than I would have expected. Back at Aerie, we had some working systems, but they were treated like holy artefacts by the fifth strata. Getting enough time to become familiar with a device was rare. I certainly had not gotten the chance to collect experience with Earth¡¯s technology ¨C except for the very basic music player I could call my own.


    ¡°As you wish.¡± Magnus gave a mocking bow and went to work.


    Seeing our chance, I signalled Peter to join us and stepped closer to Vanya and Tianna who were watching Magnus like firehorns their nest.


    ¡°I hope this gesture of friendship will be taken as intended by our allies.¡±


    Vanya looked up at me and smiled while she stroked her hair. ¡°Your fantastic story just got a lot more believable. I may be inclined to forget about you snooping around our colony.¡±


    ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Your little stroll,¡± Tianna clarified. ¡°I have no definite proof, so we will treat it as if nothing happened. Just don''t get yourself into trouble while you are on our turf.¡±


    ¡°Theoretically, if someone from our delegation left the docks, then it was only to make sure the evidence would arrive at the proper authorities.¡± I smiled.


    Tianna frowned at me. ¡°I still would like to know how you got away without anyone seeing you.¡±


    Vanya rolled her eyes. ¡°I already told you. She is a speedster.¡±


    The advisor grimaced. ¡°Nobody is so fast that people can''t see them anymore! Especially not when they are newly partnered and didn''t have time to grow their skills. Astra partnered just a season ago.¡±


    Vanya clicked her tongue. ¡°Well, she doesn''t need to be superhuman if she has Precognition and some Sensory mutation. She just has to wait for the right moment and move while nobody is looking her way, then stop when someone is looking. Even if someone saw her appear or disappear within their peripheral vision, most people without mental augmentations would simply think they are imagining things. Those with augmentations might just ignore her when she is zipping down the main traffic route. Powerful speedsters are uncommon but hardly unheard of.¡±


    I smiled at the girl, wondering what would happen if she ever managed to find a suitable partner to complement her mental abilities. She would be a hellion.


    If Vanya and Tianna knew our true capabilities, they would hardly allow us as close to the matriarch as they did right now.


    ¡°On that note.¡± Vanya turned her attention towards Thalia who was watching the proceedings. ¡°You are no longer hiding? It''s rare for me to meet someone who can block my abilities so completely.¡±


    Thalia inclined her head. ¡°It''s rare for me to meet someone whose skill I can acknowledge without reservation. Let''s just say playing the silent overseer is rude when I am already uncovered.¡±


    The matriarch tilted her head. ¡°You were also present at the Thich attack on Aerie¡¯s recruiters?¡±


    Thalia nodded.


    ¡°Care to show me?¡± Vanya asked. ¡°I understand people unlike us have some reservations against rummaging through the minds and memories of others.¡±


    ¡°I also avoid using my abilities to interfere with others unduly,¡± Thalia stated primly. ¡°But I might be uniquely suited to show you a few selected memories of the events as I perceived them.¡±


    She held out a hand and the girl came closer to take it before they froze. A minute passed before they separated.


    ¡°You are good. Either what you showed me is true, or you are far better at this than I am.¡± Vanya clapped her hands together. ¡°I hope you will join us at the feast once Magnus sets up our UI. I understand it¡¯s highly unconventional to invite others to eat together, but Tianna proved to have some humour when I tasked her with organizing something official.¡±


    ¡°I admit, I didn¡¯t truly believe it would work,¡± Tianna admitted. ¡°Our selection will be accordingly meagre.¡±


    ¡°It will be my pleasure,¡± Thalia replied politely. She didn¡¯t mention how it would have looked if unlocking Hochberg¡¯s UI hadn¡¯t worked.


    Finding the system to be identical to Aerie¡¯s, it didn¡¯t take Magnus very long to set up Hochberg¡¯s supercomputer with the same features.


    Soon enough, the Hochberg¡¯s glazed-over expressions left no doubt about the UI working.


    It took some more time to clean up the system and to train a group of attentive Hochberg on its functions, but somehow we managed to join the aforementioned feast by late afternoon.


    It took place in a generous hall back at the western fortress city. The wall to our right was set up with a banquet of different foods ¨C mostly things which would have been safe to eat for anyone even before Hochberg¡¯s UI was unlocked.


    The one thing which found favour among everyone was a hot stone setup which allowed people to try various types of meat, vegetables and spices of their own accord.


    We were dining with Tianna, Vanya, and her guardians in a U-shaped setup.


    Vanya was sitting at the bottom of the U while we had taken the right. The seats across from our delegation were still suspiciously empty. Thankfully, a messenger had forewarned Peter about the other guests.


    My expectations were proven right when the doors to the hall banged open and ten disgruntled-looking Thich strolled into the room.


    One of them quickly took the lead and approached Vanya until the guards stopped her.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± the woman asked while ignoring our presence completely.


    ¡°Meaning of what?¡± Vanya returned the question while she chewed on a piece of meat. She had taken her time tasting through everything on offer. ¡°And hello to you too, Dejana. I wondered why you were taking your time.¡±


    ¡°This!¡± The woman pointed at her eyes. ¡°UI! Do you want to land all of us in hot water with Earth, child!?¡±


    Vanya didn¡¯t even blink. ¡°As far as I am concerned, we were already in ¡®hot water¡¯ with Earth. Additionally, our friends from Aerie had quite a few interesting things to share about what your people have been up to.¡±


    The matriarch shook her head. ¡°At first, I thought their story to be too far-fetched to hold any credibility. Plus, it was entirely contradictory with what you have been telling us this past winter. But where your delegation could only give me hot air and promises, Aerie has produced at least some evidence. I assume you know what I am talking about?¡±


    Dejana crossed her arms. ¡°We do not.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Vanya looked towards us. ¡°Anything to say?¡±


    I sighed and got to my feet. ¡°Clan Aerie requires Clan Thich to give an official statement in regard to your collaboration with Earth, your secret breeding program, and your attack on our recruitment expedition. There is no point in denying anything. We have witnesses who can be examined by your choice of empaths and telepaths. Or any other mutation which allows truth assessment.¡±


    Dejana finally granted us her attention. ¡°And what happens if we do not comply?¡±


    ¡°Then Clan Aerie will make use of addendum five in the peace treaty. We will send a punitive force to the Old Camp and kick your people out. Hopefully with Clan Hochberg as a neutral supervisor. In case you keep refusing to explain, Clan Aerie will officially declare war on Clan Thich.¡±


    ¡°You will declare war on us?¡± Dejana snorted and walked further up to the table. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what war is, child.¡±


    ¡°I may not know what war is, but I have seen my fair share of fighting,¡± I retorted. ¡°Our elders have already made their decision. We are only speaking for them.¡±


    Dejana turned to face Vanya. ¡°Then we demand to be allowed to leave. It is fairly obvious that Clan Hochberg and Clan Aerie already have their set opinions about Clan Thich.¡±


    The matriarch frowned. ¡°After your reaction to the UI, I don¡¯t think so. The later Thich learns about it, the better. You may be protected by the treaty thanks to your status as emissaries. But if Aerie¡¯s claims are true, then your people have broken the treaty and you are no longer protected. I would advise you to stay here with us until someone can verify the state of things with your leadership.¡±


    ¡°Then I demand a trial by combat.¡± Dejana smiled devilishly. ¡°And just to show our benevolence in regards to these false accusations, we will have it to first blood instead of death. If my representative wins you let us go. If he doesn¡¯t, we stay.¡±


    I frowned and looked at Peter. ¡°Can they do that?¡±


    Peter massaged the bridge of his nose. ¡°The trial is meant to prove one¡¯s honour and skill to another clan. To risk your life in a duel and receive a boon. It has nothing to do with whether you are at war with the other party or not. Though, I would argue we have no reason to grant them this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but would Clan Jeng and Clan Vier consent to future relations if you betrayed the traditions?¡± Dejana pointed out.


    Vanya clicked her tongue. ¡°She has us there. No matter whether we are inclined not to honour the traditions. If anything of it came to the ears of the other clans, it might impact relations negatively.¡±


    ¡°No problem!¡± Magnus stood up and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned if they are allowed to run because nobody dared to give them a proper beating.¡±

 Ch 81 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Tianna***


    ¡°Magnus!¡± Astra chided her overeager partner.


    ¡°We accept!¡± Dejana was quick to agree to easy prey.


    I cleared my throat and rose to my feet. This had to be stopped before the emissaries started killing each other. One way or another, losing foreign dignitaries under our supervision was not something I wanted our clan to be known for.


    Not to mention, Magnus was the only expert for the old supercomputer. I had no intention of letting him go before he explained all its functions in excruciating detail. An afternoon of training was hardly enough to get our people caught up.


    There were also the repercussions to our society that the unlocking of the UI brought with it. I hadn''t truly believed Aerie''s tale until the blue window popped up in my vision. But there it was, with all its complications.


    ¡°I am afraid it isn''t within your rights to accept anything ¨C for either of you. The Aerie are only guests, so it isn''t their task to hold another delegation or to let them go,¡± I declared since Vanya didn''t seem to be interested in stopping this madness. ¡°This is a matter between Hochberg and Thich.¡±


    I turned and glared at the hothead. ¡°Not to mention, Dejana is what you would call an elder, Magnus. The outcome of such a fight would be fairly predictable.¡± She was a veteran of the war, giving her far superior experience compared to some newcomer.


    ¡°See!?¡± Astra pulled a reluctant Magnus back down onto his chair.


    I ignored the scene of the squabbling pair and made eye contact with Dejana. Somehow, I had to save this mess. ¡°Clan Thich requests a trial from Clan Hochberg. You can have it, but only if the stakes are equal. Having you fight some random warrior to gain your freedom would be nothing less than letting you go. Unless you decided to answer Aerie''s accusations?¡±


    ¡°Their claims are nothing less than nonsense. We will leave and hope the Hochberg come to their senses,¡± Dejana replied nonchalantly. ¡°I wouldn''t have killed the brat. But since we already have a volunteer, why not have him fight one of my subordinates? A trial by proxy would be fair, don''t you think?¡±


    I looked towards Vanya for her opinion, but the girl just nodded away while looking distracted.


    Sighing, I turned my attention to Magnus. His sudden eagerness to stop the Thich was concerning. Did he have more at stake than loyalty to this organization Peter spoke of? I found it doubtful whether he wholeheartedly accepted any misgivings his adopted clan might have regarding Thich.


    Unfortunately, I didn''t know Magnus well enough to weigh his actions against his character.


    I was tempted to have one of our people answer the challenge, but Magnus had already claimed his willingness to stand against Thich. It would be a breach of tradition to exchange the person who already announced to defend their convictions with force.


    At least a battle by proxy made it unlikely for Magnus to die.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked the volunteer.


    ¡°I am fine as long as we don''t let them run,¡± Magnus replied.


    Astra was displeased. ¡°This isn''t smart. We have no clue about their abilities! This fight could be like rock, paper, scissors!¡±


    ¡°Yes, but...¡±


    I groaned inwardly and stopped listening to the bickering pair. It looked like Astra was the more cautious one among the two, but her partner had some unknown motivation forcing him to take risks.


    Dejana was known for her combat power. I wasn''t sure whether Hochberg even had someone who could best her in a duel with arbitrary rules. Some of our warriors could force a mutual defeat if the fight was serious, but a duel to first blood placed all the cards in Dejana''s hands.


    It would be nigh impossible to completely dodge her main attack.


    She wouldn''t have suggested the trial if she wasn''t certain of winning it. Insofar, handing the matter off to a proxy fight might be our best chance. Although, it was still within her right to choose the form of the trial ¨C which meant she still held the advantage as long as she set the conditions right.


    The one who wanted to prove his ability through trial by combat could choose the setting since the clan that would offer the boon generally had a much larger pool of representatives to choose from.


    ¡°We will allow a duel by proxy as long as the fight seems reasonably balanced,¡± I declared, not yet willing to commit fully. If we allowed the trial and something happened, we would share responsibility. ¡°Naturally, Hochberg would uphold the outcome of the trial and grant the promised boon.¡±


    Dejana grinned and gestured for an androgynous-looking guy among her entourage to come forward.


    He wore light leather armour with a few heavy pieces mixed in. Just enough to give his vitals more protection while the rest protected him from scratches. He looked like a standard warrior type. Probably focused on speed with some minor strength enhancements mixed in. Except for the roughly-textured skin and lanky appearance, he was as close to a baseline human as one could get.


    Dejana on the other hand looked like a lizard with a single horn on her forehead and small scarlet scales covering most of her body. Her primary evolution was a firehorn, which made her dangerous on its own.


    Her grin revealed sharp, pointy teeth. ¡°Hu, you are up. And we choose swords as trial weapons.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Why swords?¡±


    Swords were weapons of war, meant only against other humans. Did Dejana want to tell us something with her choice?


    Dejana pointed at Magnus. ¡°Since there is nothing you can do about it, I shall enlighten you. The calluses on the brat''s hands belong to someone who is used to a staff or a spear and I''ve never known someone with finer sword art than Hu. At least among his peers.¡±


    I couldn''t prevent myself from frowning displeasedly and looked towards Magnus who was already jumping over the table.


    ¡°That''s fine.¡± He drew a short sword which was nothing more than a sidearm. A well-made weapon, but not one intended to be used in a duel. ¡°Mutations are allowed?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Dejana raised an eyebrow while the people who didn''t trust their strength to keep them hale began clearing the vicinity.


    Vanya''s guards edged closer to their charge and I followed suit when I saw the Aeries'' reaction.


    The way the Aerie delegation scrambled struck me as odd. They seemed unnaturally eager to get out of any possible crossfire and simply abandoned their meals, not trusting the fight to stay contained within the arena the tables provided.


    ¡°Don''t you want a proper sword?¡± Hu asked before he drew what looked like a katana ¨C though it was thicker and wider than its historical counterpart to make up for the holder''s strength. ¡°That slab of metal can hardly be called a sword. It''s more of a hatchet.¡±


    Magnus looked at his short sword which was indeed little more than a piece of steel with an edge and a pointy tip than anything else. ¡°Naah, it will be fine. As long as you don''t see it as a violation of the trial.¡±


    ¡°Just one thing,¡± Dejana interjected. ¡°The armour must come off. This farce will hardly end with first blood if our fighters can only aim for the head.¡±


    I pursed my lips in thought.


    I wasn''t happy with her reasoning. More places to strike would increase Hu''s chances if he was indeed the more skilled swordsman. And Magnus''s confidence struck me as odd.


    Though, a smaller chance for someone to die would prevent a total diplomatic fiasco.


    ¡°Seems reasonable,¡± I admitted, unable to come up with a counterargument.


    Suggesting training weapons would violate a trial''s intended nature.


    ¡°I will show him the art of the sword,¡± Hu assured his liege and grinned while he loosened the straps which held his heavy armour pieces in place. It was designed to be easily discarded, a choice many warriors made who favoured speed and evasion over protection. Heavy armour could be your doom if you encountered a predator one could only run away from.


    ¡°I will show you my ultimate technique! The final art!¡± Magnus joked while his much heavier armour opened up and he stepped out of it. The now loose pieces rattled to the ground and Magnus swept them beneath the table behind him with his filaments.


    Astra picked them up with her filaments.


    I shuddered slightly at the sight. Among all the mutations, I found this one the most disturbing. Armour Weaving. It was the Aerie hunter''s trademark skill. I had seen it often enough, but the squirming filaments weaving themselves over the black linen which Magnus wore beneath his armour still unnerved me.


    Astra had tried to be inconspicuous about her much longer filaments so far, but her partner was actively trying to creep out the audience.


    Dejana looked towards us. ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°I will oversee the duel.¡± Vanya got to her feet, suddenly taking the reigns from me. ¡°Ready. Three, two, one, begin,¡± she said quickly and sat back down.


    I wanted to object, to consider the situation before jumping into cold water, but Vanya was the matriarch. Why had she suddenly decided to take action?


    The impromptu start of the duel had the two fighters stumped, but only for a moment.


    Hu took a normal ready-stance with his katana and speedily advanced towards Magnus who swung his sword at empty air before... he blurred and disappeared.


    The Thich almost fell as he frantically tried to turn around. Hu blocked Magnus''s already descending sword as he appeared behind him.


    Sparks flew as the weapons collided and Hu barely managed to stumble out of reach while he blocked four more strikes in rapid succession. He had moved by instinct alone and prevented a premature end to the duel.


    The reverberating clang of the two weapons had almost sounded as one.


    Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. I hadn''t even seen Magnus move. There had only been a faint trail of sparks. It was like... like... a zipper?


    ¡°Magnus isn''t a normal speedster,¡± I stated drily and glared down at Vanya who had once again failed to mention some important details.


    ¡°No,¡± the girl answered cheerfully and took out her Rubik''s cube to play.


    A second staccato of clashing blades drew my attention back to the fight and I found Hu backing away from Magnus who was following by slowly walking after him. Hu had more reach with his longer weapon, but whenever his sword came close, Magnus''s arm blurred and sparks flew as the Thich''s weapon was bashed aside.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    The Aerie''s attacks were relentless. A flurry of motion whenever something entered his sphere of influence.


    Each time they clashed I expected a limb to go flying.


    As soon as Hu got used to the rapid attacks and found his stance, Magnus would blur and come at him from a different angle to unbalance his opponent once again.


    Disturbingly enough, the longer the fight went on, the more Magnus seemed to enjoy it. There was no hiding the glee in his expression.


    And Hu wasn''t slow. In fact, it was Hu''s speed which allowed him to keep up with Magnus. Hu''s speciality lay in his agility and fluid movements. But where Hu was merely inhumanly fast, Magnus was an ungodly blur of rapid motion whenever he decided to act.


    It was an elder''s level of speed, whereas Hu was merely an excellent combatant. Under normal circumstances, Hu would have already nicked the skin of most warriors sent against him.


    He was a swordsman of great skill. None of his movements were wasted and his weapon was always in the right position to block. Yet, he didn''t get the chance to do anything but defend.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing!?¡± Hu complained with a growl after finally gaining some distance. ¡°This isn''t some grand technique! You are just randomly swinging your sword like an amateur!¡±


    ¡°Oh, but it is!¡± Magnus objected. ¡°You are using Precognition. An unfair skill in my opinion. When I trained against masters of this ability, I realized one thing. The more thought and skill you put into your movements, the better the opponent can anticipate you. So in this case randomly swinging away is the best thing I can do.¡±


    ¡°Don''t mock me!¡± Hu firmed the grip on his sword. ¡°You are trying to insult me by calling this a technique!¡±


    ¡°Yet you are the one backing away,¡± Magnus replied with an evil grin on his face. ¡°When my father-in-law taught me the spear, he also tried to show me some sword techniques. But it quickly became apparent that there is no sense in training me on lightweight weapons. With a spear it makes sense. Inertia prevents me from moving it as I please, so I require technique and foresight. Small weapons are another matter. There is a point at which technique and skill become irrelevant. It all comes down to what I call ''chopping frequency''. As long as you can chop faster than your opponent, nothing he might try will get through. This doesn''t help with big monsters, as the sword is likely to get dull before I can deal lethal damage, but human-sized targets can be chopped easily enough.¡±


    Hu was done talking and stepped in.


    Again, the katana and the sword clashed and Hu screamed while he tried to keep up with the shredding machine he was facing. All he had to do was to get in a single attack of his own and he didn''t back away this time.


    But like Magnus said, skill and technique weren''t the deciding factors in this duel. No matter the beauty of Hu''s skill, the efficiency of his movements, or his experience, it was all for nought in the face of a complete, dilettantish amateur who could simply... chop faster.


    Thwack!


    The sound of steel hitting an unprotected kneecap ended the exchange and Hu went down screaming. His foot was bending in a direction not intended by nature, but it hadn''t been cut off.


    Magnus didn''t pause or hesitate. He laughed madly while his sword descended, again and again, hitting Hu with the flat of the blade.


    Hu''s katana went flying, bashed out of the man''s hands by brute force.


    Thwack! Thwack!


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Thwack! Thwack!


    ¡°I will teach you people!¡±


    Thwack! Thwack!


    ¡°Calling me a brat!¡±


    Thwack! Thwack!


    Befuddled, I looked towards the Aerie delegation for help, but they just stood there. Peter had his eyes closed and was massaging the bridge of his nose. Astra was studying the ceiling with a melancholic expression. Thalia looked at me but shook her head in apology. Her eyes said everything: ''I am so sorry, but there is no stopping him when he gets like this''.


    The rest of the delegation looked like they direly wanted to be somewhere else.


    Magnus was relentless in his attack, giving Hu no chance to recover. Any normal person would have stopped by now!


    Meanwhile, Hu had begun screaming like a little child and was begging for mercy ¨C which was denied.


    Dejana looked ready to jump in to commit murder while her entourage tried to hold her back. Interference from the outside would mean an automatic loss for the offending party.


    I turned to Vanya who had so grandly claimed she would oversee the duel. ¡°Vanya? You have to stop this. It''s over.¡±


    The girl looked up from her Rubik''s cube and blinked distractedly. She looked from me to the fight and squinted.


    Inwardly, I corrected myself. This wasn''t a fight. Never had been. It was a thrashing.


    ¡°I don''t see any blood,¡± she stated. Then asked a little louder, ¡°Does anyone see blood?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± I answered with a bit of tepridation in my voice while I tried to ignore the raging Dejana. This was a diplomatic incident of the highest scale! Why was Vanya allowing this?


    ¡°Then why are you asking me to stop this? Dejana wanted first blood. She gets first blood.¡± Vanya looked confused. ¡°She stated the condition very clearly. It''s not our fault if her terms aren''t met.¡±


    ¡°He will kill him!¡± I gestured at the scene.


    Vanya rolled her eyes and regarded the rising and falling blade as it worked over Hu''s body like clockwork. ¡°Do you think it takes a lot of skill to hit someone repeatedly with the flat of the blade without breaking skin? It doesn''t sound like Magnus is holding back. By the sound of it, he is using the sword normally to cut through the air easier and shifts it only at the last moment.¡±


    ¡°No, yes. I don''t know!¡± I squirmed. ¡°Just stop it.¡±


    This was an embarrassment and had to be stopped, but I couldn''t jump in and let the Thich get away.


    ¡°I don''t see any blood.¡±


    ¡°You already said that!¡±


    Finally, it was Hu who ended the discussion by spitting out a big gob of blood. Not because he was inured externally, but because something important inside him was broken.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Vanya called out immediately. ¡°Magnus is the winner of this duel!¡±


    Magnus stopped his weapon mid-swing and somehow managed to look sad. ¡°Aw, he was just getting tender.¡±


    Tender?!


    My eyes flicked to the sobbing mess which had been a proud man just half a minute ago. Magnus had literally beaten him to a pulp. It wouldn''t be surprising if Hu''s bruises turned green and blue over the next few days. I wasn''t sure whether avoiding the face had been a blessing. A well-placed hit to the head could have sent the unfortunate Hu to the dreamlands.


    ¡°The trial has been carried out,¡± Vanya tittered happily. ¡°In accordance with the result, I will allow the Thich delegation to return to their quarters and stay there until the state of affairs can be verified with their clan heads. So that there aren''t any misunderstandings, regard yourselves under house arrest.¡±


    ¡°This is outrageous!¡± Dejana screamed. ¡°A blatant dishonouring of the trial rite! We will bring this before all the clans! You misrepresented your fighter''s power level and he violated the spirit of the trial!¡±


    ¡°Quit complaining and get yourself under control,¡± Magnus mumbled while he regarded his sword. The weapon hadn''t been intended to be abused in such a manner and had developed a noticeable permanent bend. ¡°If I had my way, you would all be tied to a chair right now while a telepath picks your brains apart.¡±


    He walked over to the table to put his armour back on and Astra came forward to help him by holding out the pieces.


    Surprisingly, Dejana only raised her chin at the threat and turned to look at us. ¡°Do you even know who this man is? Who you are allying with?¡±


    Magnus and Astra stopped and turned their full attention on Dejana.


    Vanya shrugged. ¡°He is a foreign emissary. Just like you. We aren''t siding with anyone yet.¡±


    Dejana gestured at Magnus with a grand sway of her hand. ¡°This man killed over a thousand civilians back on Earth. Men, women, and children alike! His organization bombed a city centre to get at their enemies, not caring for collateral damage.¡±


    I looked at Magnus who had finished putting his armour back on and was now holding his sword with a white-knuckled grip.


    ¡°Is this true?¡±


    ¡°It is. At least as far as my involvement in this event can be attributed to me alone,¡± Magnus replied without hesitation. ¡°But my question is, how does Thich come across such information if not by talking with someone from Earth?¡±


    Dejana hesitated, looking briefly confused before she steeled her resolve. ¡°Does it matter whether we were informed about the support other clans have received? What Hochberg should ask themselves is whether or not they want to take the helping hand of such people!¡±


    I frowned and the mood shifted as eyes turned to the accused.


    It wasn''t like Earth had ever done anything for Hochberg and Magnus hadn''t hidden the nature of his benefactors. But had killing civilians been necessary?


    ¡°Ha!¡± Magnus snorted and spread his hands. ¡°Such people? This is war, little miss! Anything less than extreme measures can''t touch the enemy we fight. The other side of this conflict sends people to this hellhole of a world to take part in a grand genetic experiment for the betterment of Earth''s elites. Normal people are barred from the medical advances from all of this!¡±


    He gestured at the world as a whole before pointing at Dejana.


    ¡°And you are assisting them. Yes, I have killed people. Hopefully, more of the horrendous ones than innocents. But I haven''t experimented upon anyone. I haven''t touched anyone''s freedom. Those who attacked me and mine got a clean death and I never actively aimed to hurt those I have no quarrel with. Don''t try to sway others with morality when you hold none yourself!¡±


    He turned to address the whole room. ¡°I came to this world to uncover their plans in a single-minded effort for revenge! To give all of you a chance to fight back instead of being their guinea pigs. To strike a blow where it hurts them when other measures failed! In this world of ours, a white hero can''t change anything. He will just be swept away by the schemes of those willing to commit anything!


    ¡°When I arrived in this world I thought it would suffice to do just that! One petty act of revenge. It would be enough, I thought, but I was wrong. I began to learn more about the people living in Tirnanog and came to care for some of them like family! Let''s not pretend anyone in this room could take the moral high ground. Earth''s government, me, the organisation, and as I recently learned even the clans are hiding more than a few corpses in their cellars. But tell you what?¡±


    He paused, taking a deep breath. ¡°That''s fine.¡±


    Magnus looked around. ¡°Despite all its horrors and horrendous people, this world is still beautiful to me. Not because of the monsters or those who are willing to hurt others. I think it is beautiful because unlike on Earth there is still strife here. It still has the potential to change to be better. We can make something better of this world. Tirnanog has become my paradise. A Sinner''s Eden!¡±


    Vanya raised a trembling hand. ¡°I think-¡±


    ¡°It''s not like any of you could stop what''s already in motion!¡± Sensing the mood shifting, Dejana suddenly screamed and charged forward to jump onto her side of the table. ¡°We had a deal!¡±


    Surprised, I stepped in front of Vanya to cover her with my body, as did the guards before a red, hot flame shot out of Dejana''s mouth and washed over us.


    The attack would have been devastating if one of the guards hadn''t intercepted the searing flame to take the brunt of the attack.


    She turned into a human torch and was writhing on the ground, screaming like a banshee.


    All the guards drew their weapons and charged both delegations to subdue them. At the same time, the doors to the hall burst open and reinforcements with healers rushed in.


    ¡°Apprehend her!¡± I ordered the bodyguards while I manhandled Vanya out of the heavy, wooden chair with one arm. With the other, I picked up the chair and threw it at Dejana with all the force I could muster.


    It was enough to force Dejana to stop breathing fire and block the chair. She knocked it aside with an arm, breaking the heavy furniture like a toy.


    Her initial attack had failed. Likely sensing she wouldn''t get to the matriarch by charging into a group of our best warriors, Dejana shifted her target. Inhaling again, she turned on Magnus and Astra.


    And was answered with twin arcs of crackling lightning. The two lightning bolts danced and twirled over the floor, the table, and Dejana, rapidly cutting off and flickering back on. They connected the two Frosts and Dejana in a surreal display of power.


    Parts of the heavy, wooden table splintered and the marble floor turned dark where the lightning wandered. The room was set alight with blinding flashes and everyone stared shocked and nearly blinded at the scene. A whole two seconds passed until the electricity abruptly cut off, leaving behind the smell of ozone and burned flesh.


    Dejana twitched and fell like a sack of grain, toppling off the table before her head bounced unhealthily on the stone floor. Then she lay still.


    ¡°Mh! Ym moobs mout my mace!¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± I quickly let go of Vanya and tried to make sure she wasn''t hurt. Thankfully, only her dress had caught the edges of the attack and the smouldering embers were easily put out. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Vanya whined. ¡°I am very, very tired. We should adjourn for the day.¡±


    Frowning, I placed a hand on her forehead and realized she was burning up! ¡°Have you-¡±


    A quick survey of the room assured me the other guards had taken the remaining Thich into custody and surrounded the Aerie to prevent further fighting. The injured were tended to but everyone was still focused on Dejana''s corpse, unable to compute what they had just witnessed.


    Relatively sure their attention wasn''t on us, I whispered, ¡°Have you been using your abilities?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Vanya lied. ¡°Just wrap this up for today.¡±


    I shot the girl a glare which promised violence and pain if she didn''t have a very good explanation for what just happened.


    Magnus stepped forward and kicked Dejana with the tip of his armoured boot.


    To my surprise, the body twitched.


    ¡°Not willing to die easily, eh?¡± Magnus asked and grabbed Dejana by her horn. He lifted her and held her aloft with a disgusted expression on his face. ¡°You know... I am tempted to end you right here and now. Hold your head and channel electricity through until all that remains is a charred skull.¡±


    ¡°I- c- c- an t- tell...¡± the twitching Dejana stuttered.


    ¡°Tell, yes. Tell us a lot you surely will. I know someone who can milk your brain till it oozes the truth. Or at least what you think is true. Nothing you say can be trusted. I''ve spent a few nights thinking about your presence here and all I can come up with is that you are a distraction. You are here to influence and delay, nothing more. They discarded a handful of people for the possibility of gaining time. If we hadn''t come more than prepared, it might have worked. A small investment, unlikely to succeed, but with the potential to gain a lot. You are just a disposable pawn dancing on a puppeteer''s strings.¡±


    I steeled my resolve and approached Magnus, wary of the lightning ability I had just witnessed. ¡°Please let her down. I believe this feast has already deviated from what was planned too much.¡±


    Magnus snorted and tossed Dejana unceremoniously onto the table.


    I forced myself to smile. ¡°Thank you. Please wait for us with the Caravaners for now. You will soon receive an invitation. Once we''ve sorted out this situation.¡±


    Magnus excused himself with a nod before he went to Astra''s side and linked arms with her. Then the pair left together with their delegation without much ceremony.


    I suppressed a sigh of relief and gestured for the guards to clean up the mess together with the Thich. ¡°I believe incarceration is the better choice instead of house arrest.¡±


    Then I went and picked up Vanya who was still holding her stupid cube despite not looking well. I carried her until we arrived at her private quarters where we couldn''t be overheard.


    ¡°Explain. Now,¡± I ordered after dumping her on her bed with a little less care than I would have used normally.


    ¡°Nothing much, really,¡± Vanya admitted. ¡°Just a little bit of inhibition lowering to get Dejana talking. I found what she had to say very interesting.¡±


    ¡°So you messed with a foreign dignitary''s mind until she attacked you like a raving lunatic?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That part was a bit surprising. Certainly not intended, but informative. I am now sure which side we stand on.¡±


    ¡°What about this Thalia person you were so impressed with?¡± I continued. ¡°Didn''t she notice?¡±


    ¡°She might have noticed.¡± Vanya shrugged. ¡°But I haven''t touched her people, so she will stay silent.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes and glared at the stupid girl. ¡°You haven''t messed with Magnus?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She grinned despite the headache. ¡°That one is just a really troubled person.¡±

 Ch 82 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Oh, come on, Astra!¡± Magnus begged.


    I only drew the blanket further up to my chin. My naked body was perfectly comfortable within the bed¡¯s soft fabric and I knew just imagining it would drive Magnus crazy.


    He tried to pull the blanket away, but thanks to my filaments there was no removing it without ripping the fabric.


    I had waited patiently until we were safely back at our quarters and in bed so we wouldn''t be disturbed.


    For complete privacy, I could have waited for our shared dream with Gaia, but I didn''t feel comfortable working through this issue with the avatar peering over our shoulders. It was not something to talk about in the presence of others, so I ignored his complaint.


    ¡°No!¡± I replied curtly. ¡°Not before you have explained yourself! If you keep pestering me, you can sleep on the couch in the living room.¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously doing this?¡± Magnus gestured wildly with his hands. ¡°Women only do this in bad movies! Withholding sex is not a thing among married couples! And did you just threaten me with the couch? Have we reached this point in our relationship?¡±


    He tugged at the blanket, but I stayed adamant.


    ¡°It''s not my fault that you are a horny zipper!¡±


    Magnus grumbled. ¡°It''s supposed to be: ''a horny bunny''! We seriously need a screen and a library with old movies.¡±


    ¡°There are no bunnies in this world,¡± I muttered, reminded of the pet I cherished as a child.


    He held up his hands, tabling that part of the argument. ¡°And it''s not my fault that I feel like a healthy guy at the peak of my youth! Forget that, I am a healthy guy at the peak! Astra, you can''t do this to us! I know you want it too.¡±


    ¡°Not before you tell me what is going on in that thick head of yours!¡± I used a filament to poke him in his bare chest. ¡°You have a problem, Magnus. We have to talk about it. Throwing yourself into that duel was against any sense. You could have at least tried to check out the other side''s abilities before you went ''all in''. I have known you for long enough to tell this isn''t normal behaviour for you. Normally, you think things through before you act. Admittedly, some of your plans are stupid ¨C childish even ¨C but you do plan.¡±


    He huffed and scratched at the spot I just poked. ¡°For your information, the thing with the magic cards wasn''t stupid or childish. Taking his cards was the same as stealing your music player would have been...¡±


    I gasped at the audacity of the suggestion. Would he really consider committing such a blasphemous act? ¡°If you ever dare to touch my music box you will be sleeping on the couch for a year! There will also be no more sexy dancing for you!¡±


    His expression changed, showing horror, and I took note. So his sexy dance was where he drew the line.


    ¡°... which I would never do! Haven''t even considered it!¡± he added quickly, then sighed. ¡°Look, we have already talked about this. It''s a coping mechanism.¡±


    ¡°Getting yourself into the situation in the first place isn''t a coping mechanism, Magnus. Tell me what is going on.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I haven''t mentioned this before because I thought the situation would solve itself once I made you aware of the problem, but you are building a reputation, Magnus. And not a good one. People have already asked me to ensure this isn''t some instinct you got from your mutations.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you aren''t feeling it-¡± he started, but I interrupted him by holding up a hand.


    ¡°We''ve been through this before. Such behavioural impulses can affect only one gender. You are getting really into it when you are fighting. Think about it. Is it the blood? Playing with your prey?¡±


    He sighed and thought for a few seconds before he said, ¡°It''s not that. I think it''s the adrenaline. The action, if you will. I don''t have to necessarily fight and I am not lying when I say I am actually afraid in those situations. Who wouldn''t be? I can run away too if I deem it necessary. I feel fear and think rationally when I get like that.¡±


    Magnus paused, before he admitted, ¡°But I can''t hold back the euphoria. In the heat of the moment, I just have to laugh. I know it makes me look like a maniac, but I can''t control the feeling. It''s almost as good as-¡±


    I narrowed my eyes.


    He coughed. ¡°As ice cream!¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°You wanted to say sex!¡±


    ¡°But I didn''t,¡± he clarified with a deadpan expression. ¡°I can be serious if I must. Do I still have to sleep on the couch?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I huffed. ¡°But we have to find a way to deal with this. Promise?¡±


    ¡°I swear it on the Black Lotus,¡± Magnus promised solemnly.


    Both of us smiled.


    ¡°I''ll still get a vault for my music box.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡±


    ¡°And the next time you pull a maniac I will tie you up in my filaments!¡±


    ¡°Then people will start a different rumour! I would rather be known as a loose cannon.¡±


    ¡°Then avoid throwing yourself into dangerous situations.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    The next day brought our third official meeting with Tianna and Vanya. The hall where we had met yesterday had been restored to pristine condition, leaving no sign of our fight with the Thich.


    The table had been replaced and I noted they had even polished out the marks on the floor that our lightning discharge had left behind.


    In addition to our delegation and the Hochberg leadership, everyone with rank and name from among the Caravaners was invited.


    Last but not least, Vanya had also decided to host a group of the clergy who were in a deep discussion with our priestess Maria.


    Vanya was sitting at the head of the U-shaped table on an elevated pedestal with Tianna standing next to her. Their guards were keeping the invited crowd at a respectful distance.


    The three invited parties had formed distinct groups, but with the number of people, some intermingling was unavoidable.


    The hall was quite packed compared to our previous meeting.


    Seeing Maria with Hochberg¡¯s clergy reminded me she had quietly disappeared again after no longer trying to avoid me. I thought about it for a moment and shrugged inwardly before handing the problem off to one of the many sub-identities I was constantly entertaining nowadays.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    She likely had been busy with contacting the church and buttering them up for our cause. It was why she had been sent here after all, so doing her job would only be sensible.


    The presence of the church and the Caravaners opened my eyes to the fact that some organisations in this world wielded influence beyond a single Clan. Whether this was a boon or a bane ¨C I wasn''t sure, but I decided to discuss the matter with Peter later on.


    Inviting Gaia''s worshippers among the Caravaners implied the clergy had at least a similar status as them among the big clans.


    ¡°It looks like the Hochberg have decided to take sides,¡± Peter commented while rubbing his hands in anticipation.


    ¡°How so?¡± Astra asked. ¡°We got a third invitation, which I found quite surprising after the fiasco at the second one.¡±


    She shot me a meaningful look ¨C which I did my best to ignore.


    Peter was happy to explain while I moped in silent introspection.


    ¡°Just call it experience. It''s the fact they invited the religious types and the Caravaners too! If you ask me, Vanya must have something big for us or she wouldn''t have invited two independent parties to this gathering. I bet the folks from the church and the Caravaners are intended as witnesses for future interactions with the other big clans...¡±


    Did I have a problem? Yes.


    Was it a problem with a capital P? No, I didn''t think so.


    Although, I had to admit I had been a tiny bit overconfident when I answered the Thich''s challenge.


    But with Gaia teaching us new ways to use our abilities I had been itching to try out the improvements to our movement techniques! I had been certain something was going on with the zipper''s ability to seemingly ignore air resistance.


    With so many things going on in my life nowadays, I had tabled researching the phenomenon again and again. Astra had been the first to point out the fact way back at the Old Camp. Except for the crackling of an electrical discharge, zippers moved without any noticeable sound of air displacement. The noise caused by the electricity had distracted me from this quite curious abnormality until she mentioned it.


    It turned out the zippers weren''t violating the laws of physics but circumventing them. Their ability to create electromagnetic fields allowed them to partially shift their bodies into a higher dimension, leaving only an after-image of their passing in physical reality. This wasn''t a forceful process but relied on hitting the right resonance frequencies to pass through the fabric of normal reality.


    The principle was loosely based on the wormhole technology which humanity had used to reach Tirnanog.


    Partially shifting dimensions allowed the object moving through the higher dimension to bypass a certain amount of mass! It wasn''t enough to pass through solid material before running out of the built-up charge, but bypassing a few gas molecules was perfectly fine. There was no violent ''pop'' of displaced air because it was a gradual process of displacement which already began upon setting the destination.


    I had always wondered why our flash-step technique required knowing the destination and concentrating on it in advance.


    In what amounted to two nights, the avatar had introduced me to an entirely new branch of physics! One largely unknown to the rest of humanity as far as I knew. The closest thing traditional mathematics could come up with was the Alcubierre drive.


    I had never been able to understand the physics behind the wormhole technology, but if Gaia kept up her lessons, the Aerie might be able to build their own wormhole one day with my help.


    ¡°I wish they would get it over with,¡± Thalia complained noisily from next to me. ¡°She is taking her sweet time.¡± Our friend crossed her arms and tapped the floor with her foot while eyeing the people around us nervously.


    Astra placed a supporting hand on her shoulder. ¡°I know you don''t like big crowds. Just concentrate on me if it helps. It surely won''t take much longer now that everyone is here.¡±


    ¡°By Gaia''s wrinkled, sagging tits, I sure hope so!¡± Thalia cursed.


    Both Astra and I involuntarily took a step away from her, not wanting to catch whatever form of retaliation was brought down from the heavens by the prickly entity.


    Of course, the empath noticed our sudden distress. ¡°What''s wrong? Don''t tell me you two got suddenly religious!¡±


    ¡°No. It isn''t that!¡± Astra coughed, trying her best to formulate an answer without sounding weird. ¡°Just don''t swear on Gaia, please?¡±


    I nodded vehemently. ¡°I did curse her when¡­ actually¡­ it¡¯s not important. Just don¡¯t do it, okay? Bad things happen when you do. Like your wife popping out triplets with one try.¡±


    Astra elbowed me in the side ¨C which I endured stoically thanks to my armour.


    Thalia only raised her eyebrows and shook her head. ¡°Whatever. You two really believe that? Fine, I won''t swear on ''her'' anymore. Wouldn''t have thought some good old swearing against the heavens would be the thing to put you off.¡±


    I winced. The damage might already be done. Gaia worked in mysterious ways when it came to people disrespecting ¨C or kicking ¨C her.


    Thankfully, Vanya interrupted the awkward moment by addressing the crowd.


    ¡°Thanks to all of you for coming. I am sure some of you are wondering what warrants such an official gathering. Let me start at the beginning...¡±


    The matriarch gave a relatively detailed recollection of what we told her about our suspicions and conflict with Clan Thich. Then she continued to paint a very vibrant picture of yesterday''s altercation when we called the Thich out on their machinations.


    ¡°... which is why I have spent this entire morning with the incarcerated Thich delegation. My findings are as disturbing as they could be. Because all of the Thich truly believe they are in the right and that Clan Aerie is the aggressor in their conflict. As far as I can tell, none of the Thich can confirm Aerie''s suspicions in any way. Neither the attack on their recruitment mission, nor the breeding program, or them actively preparing for a future conflict.¡±


    The silence ended when people started talking over each other.


    I frowned and exchanged a confused look with the others, wondering what new game was being played here.


    It was seeker Luka from the Caravaners who ended the discussion before addressing Vanya. ¡°Shut up if you don''t have any answers! Vanya, does this mean the Aerie are lying? Or that there is some kind of misunderstanding? The Aerie presented us with their witnesses back at the mountain and their testimony was undeniable. It is the only reason why we even considered changing our travel route.¡±


    Vanya shook her head. ¡°The Thich delegation knows nothing of the claims brought against them. They can''t because their memories are essentially non-existent from the point in time at which they left clan Thich. Someone wiped them so thoroughly that even I can''t get anything of worth out of them. I invite any psychic to try their best after this meeting.¡±


    ¡°How is this possible? Shouldn''t they realize themselves that something is wrong?¡± One of the priests asked. ¡°I have never heard of such a thing. Even the Forgotten''s conditioning isn''t capable of such a feat.¡±


    Vanya shook her head. ¡°Their core personality and basic knowledge are still there, but everything regarding clan Thich is gone. All they know are some basic imperatives, like assuring Clan Hochberg everything is fine and throwing a wrench in the relations between Hochberg and Aerie. The reason why their leader freaked out was that she could no longer uphold her orders. Apart from that, they are firm in their belief that Thich will seize Tirnanog in the end. Whoever worked on them managed to twist their minds into loops to the point that they see nothing wrong with the irregularities, even if they are pointed out to them.¡±


    Thalia raised a hand. ¡°Can you do something like this? I know you probably want to hide your psychic strength, Vanya, but only Thich having this capability is concerning. I couldn¡¯t do such a thing and have it last outside my influence.¡±


    Vanya hesitated before she slowly admitted, ¡°I probably could, given a few weeks of constant interaction with the subject. However, I wouldn''t do this to an entire delegation of people for the faint hope of sowing some discontent among two rival clans. I concur with you. Clan Thich having a psychic capable of such a thing is concerning. Having the entire Thich delegation in this state implies it can be done with comparable ease to what I see within my capability if I would ever stoop to doing such a thing. A positive point is that there seem to be limits, or they would do it to everyone who leaves Thich. For example, the recruitment party which attacked the Aerie apparently wasn¡¯t worth the effort.¡±


    ¡°Or they simply thought it unlikely for the recruiters to run into a capable psychic,¡± Tianna pointed out a little gloomily. ¡°A reasonable assumption, given the visitation limits placed on the Old Camp.¡±


    Vanya waved a hand and one of her guards brought forth a box which was placed on the ground in front of the crowd.


    ¡°There''s more. We have searched the Thich''s quarters and their belongings and we have found this. It is a communication tool, but one unlike we''ve ever seen.¡±


    I joined the crowd as everyone tried to get a good look.


    What the box revealed was... strange. Inside it on a velvet cushion was what looked like a bio-mechanical version of a walkie-talkie or one of the first satellite phones which heralded the age of telecommunication.


    The body of the device was kidney-shaped and a single, long antenna sprouted from the upper end. What looked like a row of buttons covered the outside curve of the tool. Some indentations on the side were supposedly intended to allow for a better grip.


    It looked like someone cobbled the thing together from creature cores and ended up with one of H.R. Giger¡¯s creations. The more I thought about it, the less this looked like something a human would come up with ¨C unless they wanted to create some odd-looking prop for a sci-fi movie.


    This thing wasn''t shaped or intended for being used by a human hand.


    ¡°How do you know it''s a communication device?¡± I asked. ¡°It looks alien.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but drop a titbit of foreshadowing information. Thanks to Gaia, Astra and I had gotten some knowledge about our true enemy in advance. I wondered ever since how to approach the topic of godlike entities seeing Gaia and her humanity as bugs to be terminated.


    This device was the perfect opportunity to guide the narrative in the right direction.


    ¡°One of the people who found it heard a voice coming out of it, asking for an update on the situation,¡± Vanya answered. ¡°We''ve had the device under surveillance since then. I suppose the Thich will assume something happened since the Thich delegation missed their last call.¡±


    Astra pointed at the device. ¡°So the Thich also don''t know what this thing is?¡±


    Vanya nodded. ¡°They think it is an old communication device they got from their clan. None of them sees anything wrong with its shape or makeup.¡±


    ¡°But they know how to use it?¡± I asked.


    Once again, Vanya nodded. ¡°They do, but nobody answered when we tried it. I assume the Thich cut their losses as soon as their people failed to answer at the appointed time.¡±

 Ch 83 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°We have to tell the elders as soon as they arrive with the fleet,¡± Astra commented once we returned to our quarters.


    Then she went to get herself a drink from one of the bottles.


    The Caravaners provided fresh water for the individual living rooms each day. Living on a saherna came with all the possible comforts of a modern lifestyle. The people of the clans hadn''t turned into savages just because they had been cut off from technology, but running water wasn''t easily achievable on a moving animal.


    Only the public bathrooms had a water system. A very rudimentary set of copper pipes were connected to a heated central water tank.


    Astra sighed once she had taken a sip. ¡°I hope knowing in advance that something went wrong doesn''t give the Thich too much of an advantage.¡±


    ¡°It was unavoidable,¡± I reassured her. ¡°Surely, they informed their masters as soon as the news of our delegation arrived at Hochberg. As far as I understand, Aerie wouldn''t have sent an entire delegation if the pot wasn''t already boiling over. So, there was no way to avoid it. Unless there had been a way to sneak all the way from Aerie to Hochberg and make contact without announcing our arrival?¡±


    I raised a questioning eyebrow. ¡°And how should we have known that there is a Thich delegation already waiting here with a telecommunication device ready at hand when such artefacts are supposedly so rare?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Astra clearly wanted to argue but she deflated and let out a sigh of annoyance. ¡°Yeah, no. Going with the Caravaners was the best option, and we still lost people. It''s all too likely that the price of going by ourselves would have been higher. And we would have been much, much slower, since the drakes wouldn''t have been able to fly through the storms. We would have had to wait out the storms before even starting the journey.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Then let''s rest. I am sure the next few days before the fleet arrives are going to be busy. The Hochberg will want to know everything possible about their colony''s computer and I would like to have a closer look at the communication device. Preferably somewhere where I can play around with it. The thing looked like someone cobbled it together from creature cores, making me wonder...¡±


    I wasn''t sure what it meant, but I was sure it meant something. I just wished Gilbert was already here with the other elders to have a look at the cursed thing. Surely, he would have a much better understanding of it than I did. He had thrown himself into researching applications for cores while I barely had time to consider the topic after discovering it.


    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Astra yawned and went to the bedroom. ¡°You coming?¡±


    ¡°Give me just half an hour,¡± I said and pulled out my savaged short sword. ¡°I have to do at least some maintenance before the fleet arrives or elder Gilbert will have my head. I already put this off longer than I should.¡±


    Astra shook her head with a grin. ¡°That thing is done for. Just look at the bend. A smart blacksmith would turn it into a pry bar. It¡¯s better to get a new one from the armoury.¡±


    ¡°I at least want to give the impression of having tried my best,¡± I insisted. ¡°You know how Gilbert is when it comes to his work.¡±


    She shrugged and disappeared into the sleeping room with a flirtatious swing to her hips. ¡°Just don¡¯t take too long or I might already be asleep.¡±


    If that wasn¡¯t an incentive to be quick, then I didn¡¯t know what was.


    I took a closer look at the sword and sighed. A superficial cleaning after the duel had revealed the true damage to the blade. Not only was it bent, but the edge was also chipped in dozens of places.


    Astra suggested the crudest of tools, but I had another idea.


    ¡°If Gilbert ever decides to work on tools instead of weapons and armour, he might be able to salvage this by turning it into a saw,¡± I muttered before I slid the sword beneath the heavy cabinet which held some items of convenience. The furniture was of sufficient weight to be used as the hinge for a lever and I managed to work out the bend as well as it was possible without specialized equipment.


    A second check revealed the blade to be almost straight, but anyone with a keen eye could still tell the metal had suffered. Abusing the sword in this manner was no option in the long term. Material fatigue would have the weapon fail at a critical moment sooner rather than later.


    I wasn¡¯t afraid of the weapon suddenly breaking after it had already endured the brutal abuse I had put it through. It was very good spring steel. Unfortunately, the already weakened material would be a lot more prone to bending in the future.


    Astra was right. The best thing would be to get a new sword from the Caravaners. Further relying on this one only posed a risk.


    Which was sad, since I was somewhat fond of all the equipment I had gotten from the peculiar elder. His craft was Gilbert¡¯s lifeblood. So much so that he left almost all of his duties as an elder to his partner. I had seen him at the Hall of Law only a handful of times and each time he looked like a child who had been dragged away from a game by his parent.


    Maybe the whole elder spiel was a job initiated by his wife and not something he would normally do of his own volition.


    ¡°I still might get a few more chops out of you,¡± I muttered. ¡°At least until someone can get me a proper replacement. Sorry for sacrificing you to keep that worthless Thich alive.¡±


    If I had just chopped off something important instead of clashing blades with the nameless mob, the sword would have never gotten into this state. But killing the Thich had seemed like a bad move at the time.


    This was one thing I should point out to Astra the next time she was worried about me laughing like crazy while fighting a tense battle. If the ecstasy overwhelming me really robbed me of my rational thinking, I could have chopped my opponent to dozens of pieces before anyone had a chance to stop me.


    He had been fast, but not fast enough. The thing which held me back was my inability to keep him alive without revealing more than my speed.


    Sadly, all the effort had gone to waste when Dejana forced us to blast her with lightning.


    I promised myself to remember this point the next time we argued and retrieved the maintenance kit from my supplies. A rough file and a finer one helped remove the worst chips before I switched to a set of whetstones to give the weapon the finishing touches.


    With what I had at hand it was impossible to restore the sword completely, but leaving it in its bent and chipped state was the worse option. The duel had reduced it to little more than a rod of steel.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The process of grinding it back to a cutting edge left me in a Zen-like state during which I could contemplate our next steps.


    I was about twenty minutes into the process when someone knocked on the door.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I called and turned my Second Sight on the door which connected our quarters with the hallway.


    ¡°I have a message, sir!¡±


    I blinked at the three figures I could make out through the wood and narrowed my eyes. Two of them were our guards, standing on both sides of the door.


    The third one right in front of the door didn¡¯t look right. The energy signature did not match with anyone I knew ¨C and I had made a habit of memorizing how people looked in my Second Sight.


    After meeting fucked up things like changelings, Forgotten, and the tentacle nightmare which was after us, I was glad about the ability to perform a second form of identity check.


    Too many creatures in this world liked to pretend to be human ¨C not counting the human monsters.


    And the one standing in front of the door wasn¡¯t human. The energy inside it was concentrated into knots throughout its body, something I had seen so far only with Tirnanog¡¯s natural inhabitants.


    ¡°Sir?¡±


    A quick decision was necessary. Should I try to talk? Was the thing out there a threat or an opportunity? Maybe it was a human with a very odd mutation. All I had to go by was my own experience.


    For a moment, I warred with my sub-identities until one posed the right question, the only question which mattered.


    Could I take the risk?


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°I am coming, I am coming! Give me a few seconds. Can¡¯t step out naked.¡± I stood up, glad I hadn¡¯t taken off my armour yet.


    A few quick steps brought me to the bedroom where Astra was relaxing on the bed. Her alluring figure posed a distracting sight which clashed with the seriousness of the situation. ¡°Monster, no time to explain, get into your gear!¡±


    I grabbed my spetum and returned to the living room. Walking slowly, I tried to convey calmness through my voice. ¡°On my way!¡±


    A flash step took me to the door and the spetum¡¯s blade burst through the wood, directly into the creature and what I perceived as a central knot of energy!


    I didn¡¯t follow up with a full blast of lightning, fearing the guards would get caught up in the attack, but I discharged a little bit of power through my weapon.


    It was answered by an inhuman howl, confirming my suspicion.


    A knee-kick broke the door down and I had an awkward moment of wrestling with the debris and the creature speared on my blade before the lower half of the door fell away.


    The monster writhed in an attempt to get free, but I followed its retreat until it was backed up against the wall of the corridor.


    To their credit, our guards didn¡¯t question or hesitate in joining the attack.


    The upper half of the door still blocked my view of the enemy.


    Before I could get a clear look at what I was fighting, one of the guards stabbed it in its side. The other took a swing at its upper body, but the blade was deflected by a hand which ended with the hand being cut off.


    Then the door fell away, revealing a woman wrought in Hochberg armour.


    She tried to get to me with a crazed expression on her face, but the twin guard blades of my weapon prevented her from further impaling herself on the spetum.


    I changed my grip on the weapon to push her further away and barely managed to pin her against the wall on the other side of the corridor.


    Then her body almost dissolved, her skin turning wet and slimy like a slug¡¯s before she tore sideways off my blade, leaving an enormous gash in her side and revealing her utterly inhuman nature in its full horrifying glory.


    I blasted the monster with lightning, but it only caught the edges of the attack.


    A tentacle flicked something at me and one of my sub-personalities took over, angling my shoulder ever so slightly to the side instead of relying on my armour.


    Paying a horrible price the creature finally managed to get past the sideblade and charged in.


    I punched it right in the face with a palm full of plasma while the guards managed two more hits with their swords, scoring superficial cuts.


    I wasn''t sure what I was fighting. Whether it was a Forgotten or the threat Gaia warned us of, I didn¡¯t want to have another dose of what I assumed to be a lethal poison. My encounter with deathnut oil had been enough for the foreseeable future.


    The monster was already mangled beyond recognition, but only the plasma torch in its face was enough to make it recoil somewhat.


    While its head dissolved into tentacles to avoid my hand, a tentacle-turned arm came forward, seeking my neck.


    Meanwhile, it still found the time to batter the guards with three more tentacles which reminded me of a smaller version of what attacked us in the marsh.


    I grabbed the nightmarish tentacle reaching for me and channelled as much electricity as I could, concentrating on a continuous current. The monster¡¯s skin lit up as my fingers charred it while digging through sinuous flesh. At last, something reedy inside the tentacle snapped and it fell off.


    It howled and tried to tear itself away from me and the guards who were going to town on it like lumberjacks.


    Sensing its hesitation, I screamed and went after it with my bare hands and the dagger from my belt. I plunged it deep into the writhing mass, seeking out another one of the energy knots.


    The guards joined me and all three of us together managed to press it back against the wall. I plunged a hand into the wound, ripping out what revealed itself to be one of the creature''s cores.


    Astra appearing fully geared from our quarters must have been the last straw for the creature to re-evaluate its chances.


    With a burst of strength it threw me and the guards off, but instead of using the opportunity, it turned and fled, half running, half tumbling forward on its many tentacles. Now that it was farther away, I could see it fully for the first time.


    It wasn''t purely tentacles, since it had a central, slightly oval lump of flesh connecting everything. On a closer look, it might be an evolved version of some form of starfish.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it get away!¡± I screamed and reclaimed my weapon before flash-stepping after the monster. As soon as I was close enough, I swiped the spetum at the thing and claimed one of the larger tentacles ¨C of which it had entirely too many!


    But there was no stopping the thing as it barrelled out into the training yard from where it swung itself onto the roof.


    I was right behind it when Astra appeared in front of the monster and kicked it without holding anything back.


    It was sent flying and skitted over the roof before it fell off and rolled right into the drake''s pen!


    ¡°Loop!¡± I jumped back down, barely touching the ground before the pen erupted with a dismayed yowl promising a very slow death. It was a sound unlike any I heard the drakes ever make. As if someone had decided to balloon a screaming cat to the size of an elephant.


    There was something which sounded like a wet ''slap'' before the creature flew out of the pen and smacked against the training yard''s wall.


    All three drakes burst out of their pen, Cadence taking the lead in chasing the tentacle thing which already didn''t look very healthy by this point.


    Loop followed, moving a little awkward.


    Nonetheless, the seemingly immortal creature already stirred again when the large female drake stood up on her hind legs, looming over the intruder. Then she allowed her upper body to fall, bringing down the considerable weight on a single clawed paw.


    All I heard was a ''squelch'' as litres of liquid and innards were forced out from beneath the drake''s paw in all directions.


    I had a strong stomach for gore, but the thought of such a thing happening to a human had even me reeling.


    ¡°Good girl!¡± Astra cooed while she landed next to me.


    Cadence raised her paw, now sullied with blue blood and white innards.


    The other two drakes retreated upon smelling the gore.


    Cadence opened her mouth in disgust and began panting desperately through it instead of her nose while she tried to clean her paw on the ground. The training yard had been covered with bark pieces to somewhat mitigate training accidents.


    I already knew that whoever was in charge of maintenance wouldn''t be happy about the drake tearing up the ground.


    Astra covered her mouth and nose when the smell hit us. ¡°Oh, heavens! What is that!?¡±


    I used my sleeve in a futile attempt to protect myself against the creature''s final retaliation, only to realize that metal armour didn''t make for a good filter.


    The smell!


    It was...


    I turned around and expelled the contents of my stomach while Astra fled the scene.


    She didn''t get far before succumbing to the same urge.


    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Loopsfast***


    Loop felt utter bliss while he clung to Candence''s back and thrust as if his life depended on it. In a way, it did.


    Because if Cadence wasn''t pleased with his performance, he would likely lose a wing. And a drake without all his wings wasn''t much of a drake.


    The night before, Elegance had signalled her readiness to accept Loop''s advances, impressed by his valiant defence of the colony. Maybe it was also the tension of being cooped up in this small nest with two females and only one male, right at the beginning of a new season.


    He didn''t care.


    As his rider had put it, a male had to fulfil the female''s wishes.


    And as a proper drake, Loop had jumped on the chance ¨C and on the female''s back ¨C without questioning his luck.


    To find a second willing mate was more than Loop had ever hoped for.


    Cadence hissed and began winding herself beneath him in approval of his efforts.


    He growled softly before he tried to get as deep inside Cadence as possible and spilled himself inside her. Then he clung to his much larger mate, enjoying the afterglow of having bred his second female.


    Some odd smell drew Loop¡¯s attention, reminding him of a foe.


    Right before something uncomfortably cold, wet, and slimy slapped right onto his neck.

 Ch 84 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    It was the second time a creature of unknown origin had sought out our delegation. This wasn¡¯t normal behaviour for a predator ¨C leading to the obvious questions.


    News of the thing¡¯s all-too-human disguise made the rounds before anyone could stop it. All thanks to two Caravaners who happened to be in the corridor when the incident took place.


    The next morning, seekers Holly and Luka visited us with Linda and Elijah to investigate what had disrupted day-to-day life on their saherna. The incident had been severe enough to gather the attention of all our acquaintances among the Caravaners.


    The pungent smell had forced a temporary evacuation and consequently an inquiry from the dock''s administration about what manner of vile experiments the Caravaners were up to. Yes, the stench had been strong enough to be noticed by the Hochberg.


    It had to be said that the seekers weren''t pleased to be accused of researching a new bio-weapon.


    Thankfully, the monster¡¯s remains had been doused with alcohol the night prior, to dampen the brutal attack on everyone¡¯s olfactories.


    Until the stench could dissipate, the training yard had remained vacant.


    ¡°There are only bits and pieces left thanks to your mount trampling the creature to mush. As I see it, this monster was related to the one which attacked us on the way here,¡± Holly stated with a slightly grumpy tone while pointing out a tentacle which had somehow survived the drake¡¯s wrath.


    Reconstructing our attacker¡¯s appearance based on a smear on the floor and a single appendage seemed... unprofessional to me. So I decided to point this out, hoping, but not believing we might be able to dodge some uncomfortable questions.


    ¡°Excuse me, but making a connection merely based on both creatures having tentacles... isn''t that a little far-fetched?¡± I asked. ¡°The second monster was smaller than the first. So they can''t be the same.¡±


    Her partner Luka also wasn¡¯t inclined to listen and ignored the admittedly bad attempt at deflection. ¡°Whether it is the same monster or another doesn''t matter. The two attacks are related. Twice, the creatures specifically sought out your delegation. Do you have any explanation for this? Are our people in danger? We have the right to know if you are attracting these beasts for some reason. Shielding you from the Forgotten is one thing, but being hunted by the beasts of the wild is a wholly different matter. How are we supposed to protect you people when we don¡¯t know the enemy?¡±


    I had to admit, he had a point.


    ¡°Hey, now!¡± Astra interjected. ¡°We lost people too! And it''s exactly because we were targeted that we are here and talking. We have to work together and figure this out.¡±


    I pondered the question, wondering how to handle the situation. On one hand, telling them the absolute truth would be met with a considerable amount of scepticism, likely costing us some credibility. On the other, we had to come up with some explanation or the Caravaners might decide that having us around wasn¡¯t in their best interests.


    ¡°We know just as much as you do,¡± Astra offered sincerely while waving a hand at the smudge on the training yard¡¯s ground. ¡°But we have a few suspicions, given the latest developments with the Thich.¡±


    ¡°Those are?¡± Elijah asked.


    ¡°An assassination attempt,¡± I suggested. ¡°Like you said: ¡®If¡¯ it is indeed the same type of creature, then it came for us twice. Once trying to kill anything standing in its way. The second time they chose to try a subtler approach.¡±


    ¡°How did you identify its true nature while so many others failed?¡± Linda asked. ¡°The report we received stated you attacked it on sight.¡±


    I pointed at my eyes. ¡°We have the nightstalker mutation. When I saw the thing¡¯s creature cores throughout its flesh, I chose to stab first and ask questions later.¡±


    Luka raised a doubtful eyebrow. ¡°Assuming it could''ve answered questions.¡± He turned to address Linda. ¡°We have to increase the number of sensory types who can identify creatures such as these reliably.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°It will cost our caravan capabilities in other areas. But survival is always an act of balance. We will adapt and overcome this new predator too. As we did those who came before.¡±


    Elijah shook his head at me. ¡°I get what you are implying in regards to the Thich and their control over these monsters. But even if they attacked you twice I still have my doubts. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to tame an apex predator of this calibre? Such monsters and worse are the reason why we go on lockdown every night. They are unthinking death machines which cannot be understood or reasoned with. They attack on sight and seldom stop before every human within their reach is dead.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°The Aerie tamed the drakes and other creatures they use as draft animals. Your people are riding on saherna and the Hochberg have their mounts. I don¡¯t see the problem with taming something smart enough to imitate a human. It should be quite obvious that Thich wants us dead, though I admittedly don¡¯t see how they could have known about us before we arrived at Hochberg.¡±


    ¡°The Forgotten,¡± Astra suggested, supporting my narrative. ¡°They are connected to Earth and Earth is connected to Thich. It is quite possible that Earth¡¯s kill order against us didn¡¯t go out just to the Forgotten cell in Mount Aerie, but to every group, they could reach. Maybe some of them are with the Thich and decided to dispatch this thing because they didn¡¯t know about the others. We already know there must be some form of exchange between those groups. One party learning of us through the other isn¡¯t an impossibility.¡±


    I nodded, even though I didn¡¯t like to work with a mere hypothesis.


    Astra¡¯s story was likely closer to the truth than we wanted it to be. At worst, our enemies already knew what I had started in Aerie and were preparing for an all-out war.


    ¡°I still would be careful about such an accusation. Collaboration with intelligent species could rile up all the groups living on Tirnanog. Not just the larger clans. The smaller communities might take offence too.¡± Luka raised a warning finger. ¡°The point of ¡®smart enough¡¯ is the worrying factor in this scenario. The clans have a history of striking unfavourable deals with ¡®smart¡¯ inhabitants of this world. A history which is better not to be repeated! We purge those things! We do not cooperate!¡±


    I opened my mouth to ask the question which had been bugging me for months. Finally, someone who seemed like he wasn¡¯t dead set on ignoring the topic like some great taboo.


    But Astra touched the back of my hand and shook her head. ¡®We will talk about this later!¡¯


    Later? I finally found someone willing to talk! Why was everyone in Aerie trying to deny the drakes¡¯ obvious intelligence?


    Oh, wait. Purge?


    I stopped myself.


    Maybe this was exactly why the Aerie were trying to deny even the possibility of the drakes¡¯ sapience. They were trying to keep the drakes¡¯ intelligence a secret from the other clans!


    But why?


    I kept my mouth shut while Astra kept answering the seekers¡¯ questions. Sadly, not to their complete satisfaction, but there was little we could do at this point. Maybe we could be more open with our secrets in the future.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Afterwards, we retreated to our quarters where I confronted Astra about the whole drake-thing. ¡°I get that you people are secretive about the drakes, but this is getting ridiculous,¡± I began as soon as the door was closed. ¡°If there is something the clans aren¡¯t allowed to know you have to tell me!¡±


    Astra looked at the door and grasped my hand, initiating our secret communication method.


    ¡®I thought Mary already told you about the sapience issue during your lessons?¡¯


    ¡®Mary told me shit about sapience! Everyone I asked so far was quick to switch the topic! I swear, you guys are like a cult when it comes to this and it is getting annoying by this point. Lukas at least seemed like he was willing to talk about the matter.¡¯


    The corner of Astra¡¯s left eye twitched in annoyance. ¡®I will have a talk with Mary as soon as I see her again. She should have told you once it became clear you would be in close contact with the drakes.¡¯


    I gestured for her to get it on, eager to finally learn about this taboo topic.


    Astra sighed and rubbed her temple. ¡®Where to begin? I guess you don¡¯t need the whole gruesome details of the story, but believe me, there is good reason for prejudice against sapient monsters. This dates back to the time before the great war. The Old Camp wasn¡¯t the first to unite the clans against a common foe. Though the resulting conflict was much shorter, it wasn¡¯t less bloody. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t call it a war. According to the records I was allowed access to, it was more like a cleansing. All the powerhouses got involved to shut down what was happening before it could grow beyond control.¡¯


    She thought about her narrative for a moment before she continued. ¡®There was a big clan who made the Mycelium their home, called the Seafarers. They also stemmed from one of Earth¡¯s colonies.¡¯


    I stopped her to ask a question. ¡®You mean the mushroom jungle I heard so many horror stories about? The one with the spores infecting people? We had a colony there? What the fuck did Earth¡¯s authorities think?¡¯


    She nodded.


    I shook my head at the insanity. ¡®Guess humans do try their luck in any environment if it doesn¡¯t kill them immediately.¡¯


    And it¡¯s not like the ones who chose a settlement¡¯s location were the ones going to live there.


    ¡®Go on.¡¯


    ¡®The Seafarer clan thrived in the Mycelium. They found a symbiont which allowed them to live there. The symbiont didn¡¯t even take up a mutation, which is why everyone had one. At least this was the accepted explanation at the time. Little did they know that this symbiont was intelligent and capable of taking over the host¡¯s mind.¡¯


    ¡®Wow! There are actual body snatchers in this world?¡¯ Now I was sure I had seen everything. Wanna see all the horrors the human mind could come up with? Just book a holiday on Tirnanog!


    ¡®I don¡¯t know what body snatchers are, but it¡¯s a fitting description for what the so-called symbionts did. It was only when they spread to the other colonies that Clan Jeng discovered them. I won¡¯t go into the details, but purging those creatures from our midst was a bloody nightmare nobody wants to repeat.


    ¡®Grandma Mary told me horror stories which had the teenage me check under her bed for weeks after. Sadly, removing the parasites was almost impossible unless the host had extremely good healing mutations. The clans put the Seafarers to the torch and eradicated every parasite they could find.


    ¡®Even today, the large clans send regular expeditions to the settlements in and around the Mycelium. Just to make sure we got them all. The whole incident is the reason why there is a ban on cooperation between humans and any sapient life in this world. The average population might have forgotten, but I can assure you the older generation has not. If word of the drakes being sapient gets out¡­¡¯


    She blew out a breath. ¡®There is a real possibility of the clans uniting against us instead of the Thich.¡¯


    ¡®But the elders know about the drakes,¡¯ I pointed out.


    ¡®Our cooperation with the drakes goes back to the earliest days of Aerie¡¯s rise from the ashes,¡¯ Astra explained. ¡®It¡¯s only thanks to the isolationist behaviour of the clans that their capabilities never became general knowledge. The elders also began a campaign to actively suppress the knowledge once the incident with the parasites was over and the other clans¡¯ attitude became obvious.¡¯


    I hummed. ¡®Hmm. Don¡¯t get me wrong. But I don¡¯t see some of the elders risking their necks for the drakes.¡¯


    ¡®It¡¯s a matter of pragmatism and the protection of the twelfth. Do you see anyone standing up to the twelfth¡¯s strata¡¯s influence?¡¯ She shrugged. ¡®And you have talked to Loop a lot. Do you see the drakes harming us? The elders decided to hide certain facts about the drakes because other clans wouldn¡¯t see it the same way. And unless we coerce them into it, the drakes never showed any intention to spread beyond their colonies in the mountains.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t even have to think about my answer. Despite their imposing appearance, the drakes I had gotten to know were all very passive and simplistic characters. As long as they had plants to eat and a nest to sleep in they seemed happy enough.


    The only cases of violence had occurred when someone or something tried to invade their nests ¨C an understandable and quite human reaction. The first time we had been attacked, Cadence and Elegance had even fled instead of seeking a confrontation.


    I sighed. ¡®I understand why the Aerie are shielding the drakes. Though I wish someone could have told me about this sooner. Is there an actual treaty among the clans about cooperation with non-human sapients?¡¯


    Astra shrugged. ¡®Not that I am aware of, but I trust the elders¡¯ judgement when they believe the other clans wouldn¡¯t react fondly. You heard Luka¡¯s reaction to cooperation between humans and native sapients. He immediately suggested the torch. Depending on what type of cooperation it is, the clans would be up in arms at the smallest possibility of a repeat of the Seafarer incident.¡¯


    ¡®Then wouldn¡¯t it be good if we could somehow prove this creature¡¯s connection to the Thich?¡¯ I asked. ¡®It would dig their grave even deeper than it already is.¡¯


    Astra opened her mouth, blinked, and then closed it again. ¡®That¡¯s actually a brilliant idea ¨C if there is a way to find proof.¡¯


    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Dejana***


    The Aerie psychic removed her palms from my temples. After hours of trying, she wore a frustrated expression on her face.


    ¡°Her mind is indeed crippled at this point. Forced into certain tracks of thought. There is little free personality left. A Forgotten¡¯s mind is easier to navigate, and they are already twisted and conditioned beyond comprehension. I don¡¯t know how to describe it properly. Who or what could do such a thing?¡±


    The newly minted matriarch shrugged. ¡°Someone who doesn¡¯t care a lot about morals, Thalia.¡±


    The Aerie threw me another conflicted look before she sighed. ¡°There is nothing here for me to learn. I will leave you for now. We will see each other once the elders arrive?¡±


    Vanya nodded and gestured for the guard to let Thalia out of the cell.


    The door opened for the psychic and her guards followed before it closed again once they were outside.


    I heard the key being turned.


    Vanya had been watching and only returned her attention to me once she was sure the Aerie were gone.


    ¡°You can speak freely now, Dejana,¡± the girl commanded while meeting my eyes with her searing gaze which felt like she was looking right at my soul.


    I shuddered upon feeling the familiar tingle of her power touching my mind. It wasn¡¯t hurtful, but I felt violated nonetheless. The girl was shoving my convictions around as if they were physical objects for her to touch, prodding and poking. I felt it, though the process was slow. Like kneading dough.


    The girl¡¯s technique was much less insidious than the Aerie¡¯s. Where Thalia had simply smothered my mind with her power, Vanya was an artist. She didn¡¯t even have to touch me. Much more dangerous.


    ¡°What would your allies say if they knew about what you are doing to me?¡± I asked, already much less declined to violent outbursts than the me from before my incarceration. I knew the old me would have committed suicide rather than submit to this process.


    I knew it, but I simply didn¡¯t find it in me to care. Not anymore.


    ¡°Some would likely be horrified,¡± Vanya admitted.


    ¡°Then why are you doing it, child?¡± I asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t your elders taught you better?¡±


    Vanya blinked. ¡°I see what I am doing with a little less rigidity than others might. From my point of view, the person you were before the Thich psychic laid hands upon you is already dead. You were turned into a mere tool, unable to see the world from a different perspective than they wanted you to. They killed the personality you had before.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°As you were, your only future would have been to die once things went wrong. Otherwise, you are too dangerous to be left roaming free. And even a large clan like ours wouldn¡¯t spare the resources to lock you up for the rest of your life.¡±


    The girl chuckled. ¡°Especially considering that most people have a starfish mutation and don¡¯t age. Your fate would be to either die at my command or... this. I am fixing what is wrong with you and you get another opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you aren¡¯t ¡®fixing¡¯ me in a way that¡¯s desirable to you,¡± I spat. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between Thich and you.¡±


    Vanya sighed. ¡°If you want to see it this way, then I am guilty of this crime. I have little choice, knowing your history. It is a burden I am willing to bear in this case.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°It will be interesting to see whether you can keep me from talking, now that I no longer have a reason to keep quiet. You are quite obviously not on Thich¡¯s side.¡± I laughed. ¡°Though, you also might not be on the Aerie¡¯s side at least.¡±


    ¡°Keep quiet?¡± Vanya frowned.


    ¡°About you killing your matriarch. I had my suspicions when our correspondence with matriarch Greta suddenly ceased.¡± I smiled when the girl¡¯s calm facade broke for a moment.


    ¡°Do you believe we didn¡¯t know?¡± I continued. ¡°There are no Forgotten within the Hochberg. The unbroken line of matriarchs was very effective at eradicating them. The Matriarch¡¯s mutation path is very powerful in the mental department, but it is quite weak physically. But Greta was well versed in having strong protectors around her. Only a few people could have gotten close enough to your teacher to poison her. And of all of them, there is only one person she trusted fully. One person she would have allowed close enough to do the deed. One person powerful enough to hide her murderous intent!¡±


    I looked right into the girl¡¯s eyes. No, my matriarch¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°How does it feel to kill your mentor, your mother?¡±


    Vanya¡¯s eyes narrowed and it suddenly felt like thousands of needles were pricking me all over my body. It was a punch to the gut compared to her previous treatment, the gentle approach abandoned.


    ¡°If anything, then I am only applying my mentor¡¯s teachings. I am doing what has to be done,¡± the girl whispered. ¡°Be glad I value life over death. Even when it comes to scum like you. Greta would have disposed of you as soon as you fulfilled your purpose.¡±

 Ch 85 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°No teacher''s outfit today?¡± Magnus commented as soon as we entered Gaia''s dream bungalow on her island paradise. ¡°Don''t tell me you are slacking off already, oh wise one.¡±


    She was idling in the living room like always and looked confused at his statement before she regarded the oversized sweat suit she had chosen as her attire. Admittedly, one of the less enticing getups she had dreamed up so far.


    The Avatar yawned as if to demonstrate her indifference and gestured at the chalkboard she had used yesterday to explain the horrific intricacies of electromagnetic forces and electrical currents.


    Known physics was easy enough to grasp, but my sub-identities had gotten headaches as soon as Gaia began explaining how different layers of reality could be affected, like spacetime and the fabric of reality itself. For some reason, she was adamant not to call such things higher or lower dimensions ¨C which felt more relatable to me. Even Magnus had fought her opinion on the terminology.


    Unfortunately, it was hard to argue with a being which perceived the world vastly differently from us and was ¡®lowering¡¯ itself to our level to communicate.


    How Gaia ever expected us to come up with this on our own, I had no idea.


    My sub-identities rebelled at the mere sight of the formulas and the memory of what they could do. I knew it was stupid to complain about being tutored on the proper utilization of our abilities, but the lessons had given me headaches.


    Unlike in earlier dream sessions, I hadn''t woken up rested, but tired and annoyed while Magnus couldn¡¯t wait for the next lesson. Not even the culinary treats Gaia regularly conjured up managed to sweeten the time spent looking at those formulas.


    I sighed and inwardly chided myself for being childish and lazy while Magnus and Gaia continued their bickering. Wasn¡¯t this the power I had always dreamed of?


    Once we mastered Gaia¡¯s teachings, we would be able to stand right next to the elders.


    When Magnus first requested to be taught by Gaia, I thought it would be a waste of time.


    But it quickly became obvious that Gaia hadn''t given us just any random powers.


    Yes, given.


    I thought the avatar had been bragging when she claimed to have guided Magnus to Tirnanog. She also implied nudging him towards certain evolutions ¨C or at least providing the opportunities. Which meant, implicitly, my path had also been influenced by her.


    For one thing was certain: our powers matched each other just a tad too well. Upon seeing the bigger picture, nobody could deny the harmony of our mutations.


    The muscles provided power and speed while the bones ensured the body could withstand the force. The filaments extended the range at which we could apply our electricity and Second Sight allowed us to see the electromagnetic fields around us ¨C a necessity for more complicated manipulations. Precognition and other mental improvements allowed feats which would have been impossible to achieve with un-augmented minds.


    Lastly, the remaining mutations shored up leftover weaknesses which were necessary for survival in Tirnanog.


    I wasn''t sure how to feel about Gaia''s meddling. On one side, it felt like an invasive violation of my self-determination. Even if her methods were at worst a subconscious influence.


    On the other, wasn''t it preferable to be the best a demigod could come up with? Especially when this conflict was about much more than yet another war between humans.


    ¡°I''ll indeed teach you no further until you have proven to me that all of this effort is worth my time.¡± The avatar hummed happily and conjured up a cup of ice cream. ¡°I¡¯ve been meddling with people¡¯s evolutions for quite some time, but you two have received a lot more care than anyone else so far.¡±


    I grimaced. How much of the elders¡¯ success and power was owed to a fickle entity paying a little more attention to how their mutations fell into place?


    ¡°What do you mean!?¡± Magnus complained and spread his hands in outrage. ¡°You have given us no more than ten lessons!¡±


    ¡°Nine times eight hours,¡± Gaia clarified. ¡°Each one tremendously boring. It''s like trying to teach toddlers their letters. You have to understand that I have no patience for such things. And besides, it''s not like you could keep going with theory alone indefinitely. You need practice ¨C which you can''t get in the confines of your chosen exile. At least without announcing your true abilities to everyone. Which is why I came up with an errand for you!¡±


    She licked her lips in anticipation and a spoon appeared in her hand which she pointed at us. ¡°You two are going on a hunt! To slay the beast which is after you! Then you are going to find a certain plant and eat it and I am going to improve you two, no downsides. I have recovered just enough power for that.¡±


    ¡°You sound like some stupid quest NPC from a computer game!¡± Magnus retorted. ¡°Why would we go out and hunt some dangerous beast if we could send an entire hunting party after it? Assuming we even knew where it is hiding. Which we don¡¯t. Which makes the entire point moot.¡±


    Gaia dipped her spoon into the ice cream and took a demonstrative slurp. She looked irritated.


    This posing wasn¡¯t getting us anywhere with someone like Gaia. Magnus was alienating her for no reason. Well, maybe he had a reason, but the avatar wasn¡¯t used to being treated like a minion or teacher who could be argued with. She had always been in control of her supposed plan and now that we were adding our unique contributions she had problems keeping everything on track as she desired.


    I placed a hand on Magnus¡¯s shoulder and smiled at him sweetly. ¡°Haven''t you learned anything about the clan''s traditions? It''s custom to hunt for new evolutions together with your partner. To prove our power.¡±


    ¡°Not you too, Astra.¡± He turned to face me. ¡°I went along with the caving trip because you said it''s akin to a marriage ceremony. This is an entirely different matter.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at Magnus, willing him to understand that this was the wrong battlefield. ¡°No. It¡¯s supposed to always happen when a partnered pair decides on a new mutation. Buying subsequent materials for advancement is fine, but the first is supposed to be special.¡±


    ¡°You just have a thing for outdoor trips,¡± Magnus grumbled.


    Gaia chimed in from the side. ¡°Hey. Don''t make this into something between the two of you. This is between you and me.¡±


    Magnus turned back to face the avatar. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I need to ensure my alterations are going in the right direction.¡± The avatar flickered and suddenly wore a white scientist''s cloak. ¡°Listen well, my students! You need to suck out the marrow of an acidroot. This will allow me further improvements to the tissues throughout your body and give your blood a little boost. What holds you back right now isn¡¯t the theoretical power you have access to, but keeping your muscles supplied properly. It¡¯s a bottleneck we have to fix.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°We already have mutations in those fields!¡± I pointed out, no longer sure whether it was wise to follow her suggestion without question. Was there a risk involved?


    ¡°It will be fine! Trust me.¡± She tapped her chin. ¡°The Gestalt was never really into actively designing her, hmm...¡±


    ¡°Just say it,¡± Magnus groused.


    ¡°Her humans. Her body?¡± Gaia tilted her head and shrugged. ¡°Her humans. The Gestalt just tried a lot of different things which offered themselves naturally and kept the stuff that proved to be beneficial, not caring about inefficiencies along the way! But randomly trying things is no way to fight a war. I want a humanity which can fight back against the enemy and you two are my best shot so far. Which is why I want you two to prove I am not wasting my time.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a little rebellion the avatar''s brewing in her exile,¡± Magnus commented and crossed his arms.


    Gaia grimaced. ¡°Maybe. And not. How should I explain this? The Gestalt and the various... other ''me''s are one, but we are also separate through time and space. On Tirnanog, I have authority. The Gestalt back on Earth and other worlds is still the governing overmind as long as a portal allows communication, but otherwise, I am on my own.¡±


    I interrupted with a question. ¡°So, does that mean if there are enough humans in this world you could become your own Gestalt!?¡±


    Gaia blinked. ¡°No. We are all the Gestalt, no matter which world, but I might go up in the hierarchy. I could be one of the many arms instead of a fingernail.¡±


    Magnus sighed and held up a hand. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. You mentioned other worlds. Does that mean there are humans living on other worlds? I think you mentioned something about the Gestalt¡¯s bio-matter spreading throughout the galaxy was what pissed off these other entities. Of course, there must be other worlds.¡±


    He looked excited.


    The avatar clicked her tongue. ¡°That''s not important in the here and now.¡±


    ¡°Hell, it is!¡± Magnus screamed at her, making me jump. ¡°Other humans! Other worlds!¡±


    Gaia rolled her eyes. ¡°There may be a few more worlds out there similar to this one and Earth, but even the Gestalt can¡¯t bypass the limits of information transfer without the wormholes. Those worlds might as well be out of reach for you. Besides, the people on those worlds aren''t really ''human''. Whether cooperation could be achieved is questionable. They have just as much free will as humans do and you cannot even get along with your own kind.¡±


    She blanched. ¡°I wonder whether this means me being a masochist by human values?¡±


    I baulked. ¡°What are they then?¡±


    ¡°People compatible with me of course.¡± Gaia took another spoonful of her ice cream. ¡°They can be considered just as much human as the two of you. You are aware that you are mutants by now. Your own race ¨C if you will.¡±


    She halted and corrected herself. ¡°Rather, your own species. I doubt you could have children with an unaltered human by this point without the aid of the nanomachines. Can we get back on track now?¡±


    Gaia stepped closer and offered me the ice cream with the spoon.


    It didn''t take much consideration to accept the offer. ¡°Magnus, you can pester her about anything related to our current situation, but some distant worlds are hardly a concern for us now.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Magnus glared at the ice cream in my hands. ¡°You allow her to bribe you with imaginary ice cream?¡±


    I fed a spoonful into my mouth and looked at him with big eyes while I spoke with a full mouth. ¡°Yeshmmm.¡±


    Gaia gave us a few more details regarding the plant we should look for before we left the saherna the next morning. Our guards weren¡¯t thrilled about us taking a trip alone on our drakes, but it wasn¡¯t exactly like anyone present had the authority to tell us what to do.


    Nor could the Caravaners or Hochberg stop a delegate from another clan if they wanted to leave.


    Using the drakes was a calculated move.


    We had no way to track down our foe and leaving by foot held as much possibility of being spotted as escaping the attention of anything watching the saherna. The fortress city¡¯s docks were a relatively busy place with smaller caravans from settlements in the vicinity arriving and leaving by the hour.


    But a flock of three drakes departing the saherna was sure to be a sight.


    Thalia wasn¡¯t coming with us, but for some reason, her drake, Cadence, wasn¡¯t willing to stay behind alone.


    The only thing we were certain of was that our foe was a land-bound animal, so we decided not to go too far with the drakes. Half an hour of flying brought us well out of reach of any accidental spectators like resource gatherers operating with Hochberg as their base.


    We chose the plains to the west as our destination, as they were relatively open terrain. This made it harder to approach us undetected. The area wasn¡¯t perfectly flat, but a series of gently rolling hills which still gave more than enough opportunity for predators to hide.


    It was nonetheless better than the temporary marshland to the north or the karst to the east of the city.


    ¡°This looks as good a place as any,¡± Magnus commented as soon as we landed on one of the hills. It was one of the larger ones in the vicinity and gave the best view possible. ¡°Loops, please look out for the enemy. Astra and I will be busy for a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°You want to try it right here?¡± I asked while I signalled Elegance to let me dismount. The drake laid down in the high grass and I allowed myself to slide down her flank.


    ¡°Better here than somewhere else. If we are going to use it, we can reach the city within an hour or two. The drakes didn¡¯t fly especially fast to get here,¡± he explained while he looked around. ¡°It¡¯s also very unlikely this area would be blocked by something, impeding the anchor.¡±


    He took his spetum from his back and used it as a scythe to mow down the waist-high grass with long, arching strikes. It was an awkward solution, but it worked well enough to clear out a free area for our experiments.


    ¡°I still think we should set an anchor somewhere in the city,¡± I argued. ¡°But if it¡¯s just about testing the theory, here is as good as anywhere.¡±


    Magnus smiled and clapped his hands together after he put the spetum away. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this! The longer we wait, the likelier it is for pursuers to catch up to us.¡±


    I sighed and held out my arms for Magnus. We touched our palms together and interlinked our fingers before we nodded at each other. Together, we adjusted the ring formed between our arms and chests. Any inaccuracies, we would have to account for with more power and inefficiency.


    The process was fairly simple in theory ¨C though whether we were able to create the necessary magnetic ripples was another matter.


    I sneaked out a few filaments from beneath my armour and interwove them around our arms, joined by Magnus from the other side until we were tightly interlinked.


    At last, we added some more filaments to the strange construct from beneath and above to shape and concentrate the magnetic field.


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked while I circulated a low current down my left arm and tasked several sub-identities to supervise and adjust the process. ¡°Maybe we should try a low-power test run first?¡±


    Magnus nodded and answered in kind until we circulated the power between us perfectly. Just as we had trained in our quarters.


    Once we had the timing down, he made eye contact with me. ¡°I suppose I will give a countdown and then we sink everything we have into the attempt. But don¡¯t power yourself out needlessly if it looks like it doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    I took a deep breath and nodded. If we got it right, the process should be relatively quick, but power intensive.


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°Two.¡±


    ¡°One!¡±


    I felt him send the circulating current into my right arm, which I caught and amplified before sending it down my left. Arcs of electricity traversed down the stabilizing filaments and ignited a little ball of plasma between us. It was held in place and flickered violently around as it tried to escape the magnetic field.


    We put more power into the effort and pulled, slowly expanding the plasma into a ring.


    I grit my teeth as I felt my chest and arms heat up from the effort.


    The plasma stretched with a final effort and snapped back into a ball while we collapsed the magnetic field around it.


    Then it dispersed with a crack and a gust of hot air which would have singed my eyebrows if it hadn¡¯t been for the helmet.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Magnus exclaimed with glee and we untangled ourselves, careful not to interfere with the creation between us.


    To the naked eye, it seemed like there was nothing between us, but Second Sight revealed¡­ something. It looked like a three-dimensional fracture. A crack in a mirror?


    ¡°It looks like a multi-faceted crack inside a block of glass,¡± I concluded once I had taken a look from different angles. ¡°I hope Gaia isn¡¯t teaching us to create black holes and destroy the world in its entirety.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± Magnus denied with a huge grin on his face. ¡°This is a small dent in space-time at most.¡±


    He reached out and stuck his arm through the anchor before I could stop him. ¡°See?¡±


    It looked like nothing happened to my normal eyes, but with Second Sight I could see how the energy running through his body warped slightly.


    ¡°Idiot!¡± I slapped his forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t use your arm to test it!¡±


    Magnus laughed. ¡°I see you are trusting Gaia¡¯s lessons less than I do.¡±


    ¡°What if we made a mistake!?¡± I pointed out the wavering edges of the anomaly. ¡°The anchor isn¡¯t stable!¡±


    Magnus went closer and squinted his eye as if it would help with his Second Sight. Which it wouldn¡¯t.


    ¡°It¡¯s stable enough for our purposes. We will have to monitor it to see how long it will hold. I would give a finger for some instruments to take measurements. For now, all we can do is eyeball it.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°You want the honour of being first? Gaia said it should be safe once the anchor is set. All we have to do is lock onto it and¡­ jump.¡±


    ¡°I will try!¡± Magnus answered with glee and began running down the hill. Occasionally, he flash stepped forward a dozen metres which was some kind of hard limit for the technique.


    Once he was about two hundred metres away, he turned around and waved.


    I waved back and stepped away from the anchor.


    Magnus began running back and flash stepped after a few metres, appearing closer as if he had made a normal flash step. It hadn¡¯t worked.


    He ran back to his starting point and tried again. This time, he vanished and the anchor warped, expanding until it popped open a portal for the barest fraction of a moment, spitting out Magnus before it returned to its original state.


    ¡°Did you see that!?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer, because I was already running down the hill to try it myself.

 Ch 86 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    Astra sprang through the portal for the third time in a row, demonstrating how easy it was to use once we had gotten the hang of it. Changing flash step to a long-range teleport took a little mental finagling with our sub-identities, but it was doable.


    Wormhole, not portal, I corrected myself.


    The anchors were short-range homing beacons for miniature wormholes, little dents in spacetime. But they were nothing compared to the real thing which made travel between Tirnanog and Earth possible. My new understanding of the physics behind the process also explained why Earth never managed to open wormholes to other worlds.


    They just didn''t have the right anchors to lock on to.


    Which begged the question of how Tirnanog came to have these anchors. And how did Earth''s scientists manage to lock onto those anchors without knowing their exact properties? A thought to keep in mind. Of course, Gaia had already provided a reasonable explanation, though I liked to stay aware of my circumstances. Leaving my fate utterly in hands of others just didn''t sit right with me.


    I shook my head. Gaia would have forced me to flagellate myself for referring to a wormhole as a portal. But by the gods of gaming, it was one! A fucking town portal was what it was! Triggered by flash step!


    Just like flash step, it wasn''t true teleportation, but it came pretty damned close.


    Neither Astra nor I had the power output to keep a portal open for long, but it was enough for us to jump through.


    The only flaws were that the destination was set and couldn''t be changed on a whim. Also, having more than one portal within a few kilometres of each other wasn''t possible, so we would have to consider each anchor''s position very carefully.


    The fabric of spacetime ''smoothed'' itself if there was too much interference. A good analogy was wrinkling a blanket in a particular spot, and then pulling on the blanket too close to the wrinkle. It would automatically smooth itself out. Without special measures, spacetime would also repair itself with time.


    Another problem was posed by wormholes opened from Earth: They might interfere with the anchors we set up. Due to the size and power output of Earth''s facilities, our anchors would always lose out.


    Thankfully, the only big wormhole regularly used by Earth was the site at the Old Camp, though, I should keep an open mind regarding other locations. The wormhole at the Old Camp being the only one might be propaganda.


    Now that I thought about it, were there even enough prisoners arriving at the Old Camp to account for the whole of Earth?


    I reached up and massaged my left temple, irked that I hadn''t thought of this earlier! Or maybe I had considered it and forgotten? Earth''s exile program was running all around the year. Were they dumping exiles into a 10m layer of snow during the winter? Lunacy.


    Earth must have other portal locations all around Tirnanog. There must be at least one other continent that was warm while this area was frozen.


    I silently tasked one of my sub-identities to keep the problem in mind. It wasn''t important right now.


    Astra and I would have to go and study the anchor at the Old Camp to find out more.


    I had to be there when the others arrived. Hopefully, they wouldn''t land at one of the other locations. There was nothing I could do about it right now.


    My partner was still laughing when she returned from her fourth trip. ¡°Do you really believe that we can set one of these up to pop back and forth as we please? Oh, but it is tiring to use them. Seven or eight pops in a row might be my limit.¡±


    I shrugged and smiled, happy to be distracted. ¡°The math says so, and math doesn''t lie.¡±


    One of my sub-identities began nagging in the back of my head that math led nonetheless to some imaginary solutions when applied to the real world. Results which existed only on paper.


    I ignored the silent protests for now. Everything had worked exactly as Gaia had promised. Though, we still had to practice setting up proper anchors.


    Our first attempt would likely disappear within a few days or weeks once the fabric of spacetime realigned itself. At some point, we would no longer be able to lock onto it with flash step.


    ¡°We need one in every major settlement!¡± Astra declared and removed her helmet. ¡°Take off your helmet!¡±


    Once I did so, she leaned in and French kissed me without holding back.


    After a few seconds, we stopped making out.


    ¡°How did I deserve that one?¡± I asked, still grinning.


    ¡°Because it was your idea to have Gaia teach us,¡± Astra explained.


    ¡°I have to ask her for more lessons then,¡± I proclaimed proudly.


    My better half winced. ¡°Maybe give us a few nights off? I am slowly getting sleep deprivation from the continuous all-nighters.¡±


    I coughed and put my helmet back on. ¡°Anyway, we need to keep this ability a secret as much as possible. People will rightfully assume we can make wormholes. I cannot imagine the can of worms the knowledge might open up. Especially when someone gets the idea it might be a way back to Earth.¡±


    Which it was, but not an easily achievable one. To my knowledge at least. All the colonies together didn''t have the power output necessary to open a wormhole back home.


    I stopped myself, questioning whether Earth was still ''home''. Everyone I truly cared about was here. Astra, my sisters... our future children.


    Wow, that one was weird. Us having eggs still didn''t feel real.


    Astra waved a hand and interrupted my derailing thoughts. ¡°The clans are too isolated for anyone to monitor our movements. And if we want to use this ability properly, the elders will have to know.¡±


    ¡°I guess. We still have to keep it a secret. Anyone who knows our anchor''s location could use it against us.¡± I inconspicuously scratched my chest with a filament, still finding it awkward to have more than four limbs. I shook myself. Don''t think about it! The more I was aware of it, the longer it would take me to feel natural in my skin.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    I asked, ¡°Do we proceed with the plan?¡±


    Astra nodded. ¡°Search for the plants on foot. Use the portal to pop back when we encounter anything suspicious or something hard to handle.¡± She pointed down into the valley. ¡°Acidroot is supposed to grow where there is plenty of water, so we should search in the valleys between hills. Small streams or creeks might be an ideal location. If we don''t find anything, we can look somewhere else tomorrow.¡±


    She told the drakes to stay put unless there was danger and started walking down the hill.


    I followed. ¡°Astra, can we agree on not calling it ''pop''?¡±


    ¡°What else do you want to call it?¡± She retorted in an excited tone. ¡°I don''t want to say teleport. It doesn''t roll off the tongue. Pop is way better.¡±


    I cringed inwardly, hoping the term wouldn''t stick. ¡°Maybe jaunt? Everything but pop, Astra! Please!¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°I guess jaunt is fine too.¡±


    Then she interwove some of her filaments into thicker limbs and tried to lift herself while we walked. It took a few tries, but when we reached the foot of the hill, she was stumbling along like an awkward spider.


    I shook my head at her antics. She had worked out the technique during our dream time with Gaia.


    ¡°I still don''t see the point. You are a lot faster if you just run. Using your filaments this way gives no real advantage.¡±


    Astra crossed her arms and huffed. ¡°Now, that''s just rude. This is great coordination training. And with this trick, I can lift myself now ¨C a little. You know yourself that filaments are only good at pulling. You are just annoyed that yours aren''t long enough to try this. And have you considered that a single filament can be ripped? When they are interwoven it''s harder to damage them. Just like a cord. I get to have fewer angles of attack, but I can choose how many filaments I interweave and enjoy the benefits of heightened durability nonetheless.¡±


    And if something manages to damage one of those cords, you will lose a whole bunch of them at once, I thought inwardly. Interweaving filaments might be enough to get Astra off the ground, but they would never hold up to someone with a strength mutation and bones to hold the muscles in place. I huffed and followed her. It was arguably good coordination training, so I let it be.


    While I had taken completely to the armour weave Etan had taught me, Astra still insisted on deploying her filaments more freely. Maybe I would do the same once mine got as long as hers, but I wasn''t there yet.


    As soon as we left the drakes'' vicinity, we fell into companionable silence and concentrated on our surroundings. Astra had her eyes on the ground to search for the plant we needed, while my job was playing lookout.


    The plains weren''t as densely populated with wildlife as the forest around the Old Camp. In exchange, the few animals living here were a lot larger or moving in herds. In most cases, they were also a lot more dangerous.


    We searched the area in concentric circles while we tried to follow the valleys between the hills. Three hours passed and we found nothing exciting except for a pack of gutters which were interested in us but didn''t dare to approach. Instead, they just followed at a very respectful distance. I wasn''t sure why they didn''t attack, but Astra explained that some predators like gutters attacked only fleeing prey.


    We kept our search going, but when the gutters were joined by a second and third group, their numbers became concerning. I also began to doubt Astra¡¯s overly easy rationalization.


    I could still remember them hunting the rhino-sized elk.


    ¡°I think we have overstayed our welcome for today, Astra,¡± I pointed at the over forty animals leering at us from the hilltop above.


    Astra looked up from her search and regarded the pack. ¡°I guess. A few more animals and they might be confident enough in their numbers to swarm us. Let''s go back for today?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°We are out here to fight our pursuer. Nobody pays us to fight an army of oversized Pomeranians. Though, I wonder why they would be so wary of us. We are just two humans.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they already learned a few lessons from encounters with Hochberg hunters. We aren''t too far away from the city.¡± Astra suggested and we jaunted back to the drakes.


    It worked like a charm.


    Over the next few days, we built a routine while perfecting the art of setting anchors. We had no clue how to find our prey, so our only hope was for it to find us. The mornings were spent with the drakes in the western plains. The evenings were reserved for the Hochberg''s supercomputer and diplomatic meetings.


    On the fourth day of our new routine, Thalia and Peter had us join Maria and the head representative of the Church of Gaia. Our acolyte had finally managed to mobilize the Hochberg branch of the church to take a more political stance on recent events.


    ¡°We are normally trying to avoid inter-clan politics as much as possible,¡± Nicolas, the local head priest explained and took a sip from some kind of fruit juice. The culinary arts were already becoming popular after unlocking Hochberg''s UI.


    ¡°It doesn''t benefit a clan-spanning organisation to take sides. It tends to get your people thrown out of the clan you are rallying against.¡± He sighed and looked into his half-empty glass with a forlorn expression. ¡°Sadly, it seems like it''s impossible in this case. The matriarch is very vocal about recent events and if it''s true that Aerie''s elders are also on the move, withholding our support would be stupid. There is also the letter from our Aerie branch. I still find it hard to believe, though. Our branch in Thich should have informed us of the situation. Either they were silenced or they are working against the rest of the church.¡±


    Nicolas surveyed our quarters and shook his head. ¡°If you didn''t have the Caravaners on your side too, I wouldn''t be here. I couldn''t imagine them stopping an entire caravan at a settlement for longer than is required to load and unload their wares.¡±


    ¡°Do the Caravaners hold more weight for you than the matriarch?¡± I asked.


    Nicolas smirked and pointed at himself. ¡°Former Caravaner. I still have ties with the family, but my mutations simply don''t allow me to fight. I would be a burden on the journey. My parents are still distraught, but I have found another path for myself.¡±


    Astra nodded. ¡°We know that the church''s influence is more on the esoteric side, but any support you can give our cause won''t be forgotten.¡±


    The priest smiled. ¡°Of course. Though, I doubt much support is needed.¡± He looked at me with a grin on his face. ¡°All we have to do is spread the truth!¡±


    ¡°Truth?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°Tell your story to everyone! Gain some renown among the small people. I was impressed with your speech when the Thich accused you of your failings.¡± Nicolas elaborated. ¡°Magnus, you might not realize it, but to the people of this world, you might as well be a hero of old. You just have to change your attitude and look at the situation from a different perspective.¡±


    Peter nodded along with the man¡¯s speech. ¡°This sounds interesting. Tell us more. I have wondered whether the recent fiasco with the Thich delegation could be used to our advantage.¡±


    ¡°I am no hero,¡± I clarified quickly. ¡°All I am doing is...¡± I stopped myself from sharing too much. ¡°I have personal reasons. Reasons which won''t withstand moral evaluation.¡±


    Nicolas shook his head. ¡°Don''t devalue yourself without reason, young man. You went on a journey with no return. Who cares whether your original motivations were fuelled by hate and revenge? What matters is the outcome, as your journey seems to be guided by Gaia herself. You managed to draw the attention of two clans towards a great evil and you liberated us from the curse of stew.¡±


    Thalia and Astra giggled from their spot on the couch. ¡°Tulkas, the bringer of the culinary arts!¡±


    I raised a hand. ¡°Now, I don''t like where this is going. I am not some saviour, nor am I fighting evil. As sad as it is, we are fighting people. I don¡¯t want to be the lead figure for propaganda warfare.¡±


    ¡°But Magnus,¡± Peter pointed out, entirely too enthused about the idea. ¡°You have to realize that the elders already set you up for this position by appointing Astra and you as official Aerie protectors.¡±


    ¡°You''re thinking nonsense, boy,¡± Nicolas added. ¡°Of course, I understand that the world is neither white nor black. But there are degrees of evil, and the Thich have crossed a line by aligning themselves with Earth to perform experiments on people. What they did to their diplomats is despicable. I have been around for the last war and my wife paid the ultimate price. I am not keen on what is to come, but we have to get your story out there before someone else does it for us. And people need someone to look up to for what is coming. You are an ideal candidate!¡±


    ¡°What do you intend to do?¡± Astra asked.


    The priest grinned and began to explain.


    Once the meeting with Nicolas had concluded, Astra, Thalia, Mark, and I sat in our quarters in silent contemplation.


    ¡°I still don''t like the church waging a propaganda campaign in our names,¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°But he is right,¡± Mark pointed out. ¡°Better us setting the narrative before the Thich do it. The Thich''s accusations against you might have been bad if your inspired speech hadn''t incited them to attack you.¡±


    ¡°And the church is the best candidate to spread the message,¡± Maria pointed out.


    Unfortunately, my misgivings about the whole idea were overruled by the others. At least Nicolas promised not to lay it on too thick.


    Because we hadn¡¯t even found a trace of Acidroot, Astra and I changed our approach. Instead of randomly searching the landscape, we looked up whether there were any known locations for the plant.


    The next day, we headed out for the large riverbank south of the city.

 Ch 87 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Astra***


    The riverbank was downright teeming with life compared to the grassland westwards of the fortress city. It was impossible to walk ten metres without stumbling across some strange critter. Thankfully, most of the smaller creatures were relatively harmless.


    Still, it didn''t hurt to be careful when it came to Tirnanog''s fauna and flora, so Magnus and I advanced very slowly while we dug acidroots out of the sandy riverbank. Thanks to the stubby, reddish stem which looked out from beneath the riverbank''s sand, the plants were easy enough to find. At least once we knew what to look for.


    I hated the roots¡¯ slick and slimy appearance ¨C a feature they shared with most of the things in this biome. The most tolerable creature I came across was some type of clamshell which glittered in all colours of the rainbow. It wasn''t mentioned in any of the books about dangerous creatures, so I didn''t know its name.


    Which didn''t stop me from collecting at least some of the pretty shells sans their slimy owners.


    Maybe I could have a crafter make adornments for my armour with the material.


    The only thing we had to be wary of was a type of sea slug, called a ''needlespitter''.


    And of course, going into the deeper water was an absolute no-go. Though, we should be fine as long as we stayed on the shore.


    Because I hadn¡¯t been to the area before I looked up all the possible threats before we left.


    The needlespitters were sought after for their cone-like shells ¨C offering a desired material for tableware because of their ceramic properties.


    On the flip side, needlespitters were dangerous to hunt because they could spit a poisoned dart from their trunk-like feeding organ. And unlike what someone would expect of a slug which lived in shallow river zones, they were capable of jumping long distances. Either to escape into the deeper water or to close the distance with their prey.


    While I dug out another root, Magnus discovered a needlespitter mostly buried in the sand of the shore. A badly aimed snap of electricity was enough to startle the creature and have it flee. It burst out of its hiding place, shooting in a low arc towards the river where it bounced over the water twice before it disappeared beneath the waves.


    Chasing off the needlespitters was downright anticlimactic compared to our first official hunting expedition as a partnered pair. The poisoned darts weren''t of any concern as long as we kept on our armour. The darts didn''t have enough power to penetrate, even if one of the needlespitters caught us off-guard.


    Meanwhile, the drakes were following us at a sedate pace. They had found a liking to the young sprouts which came out of the coral-like plant dominating the centre of the riverbank. The corals had overtaken the bank with a thicket of sturdy, almost stone-like branches.


    The hard shells protected the lower parts of the plants. Only at the top, seven or eight metres above the ground, they had tightly packet blooms of leaves which competed for sunlight.


    As tough as the older parts of the plants were, they were no hindrance to a drake''s claws and teeth. Cadence had no trouble breaking the older branches to get to the young sprouts. Loop preferred to lick the soft marrow out of the broken plants after the female was done with them. Meanwhile, Elegance had developed a taste for the leaves and was harvesting everything she could reach while standing on her hind legs.


    Cadence suddenly stopped her foray and looked up, sniffing loudly before she sent out a warning.


    ''Careful, it smells of enemy!''


    Magnus simply dropped the acidroot he was cleaning and had his spetum ready in a moment.


    I also readied my spear while I eyed our surroundings carefully. The water was my best guess as a hiding place for our pursuer. It was some kind of sea star in its natural form, so it should prefer a water environment.


    At least so went my reasoning until the monster we had been looking for and several of its smaller brethren burst out of the thicket behind me. They charged with a frenzied single-mindedness which would have left me stunned if we hadn''t been anticipating something like this to happen.


    Our plan to draw them out had finally worked ¨C maybe a little too well.


    The thing had created a little hit-squad of minions while we had been searching for it!


    I wasted no time and greeted the closest minion with a plasma ball to the centre of its body.


    Or was it the larger one''s offspring?


    Their relationship didn''t truly matter if I was honest.


    The creature shrieked and stumbled when the hot plasma explosively evaporated its outer layer. Compared to an old-fashioned lightning strike, the technique didn''t have much penetrating power. But it had more range and there was a certain shock effect to having a part of your body fluids spontaneously evaporate while the flesh was instant-fried.


    Meanwhile, my second hand went to my belt and shot forward, sending one of the flechettes through another monster. I didn''t have to think too much about my movements as my sub-identities took over.


    Then I had to flash step to the side, avoiding the larger creature as it charged after Magnus.


    Seeing the monster in the light of day somehow took away the sense of danger it posed.


    In my mind, I had made it out to be one of the feared night terrors. But under the sun and out in the open it looked like a giant squid crossed with a seastar. Its body moved on countless stubby legs while it tried to get to us with its main tentacles.


    Oh, it was massive and undoubtedly powerful. Nothing to be taken lightly or to be brought down easily.


    But it was also insanely slow and out here on the shore Magnus and I had more room to manoeuvre than we needed. Fighting the thing''s tentacles within the confines of a narrow corridor had been the worst case scenario for us, robbing us of the chance to attack the thing''s main body while allowing it to play to its strength.


    I dashed behind a minion and speared one of the larger cores inside it before retreating quickly. Killing the smaller creatures wasn''t easy with our equipment, but I hadn''t aimed for a kill, only short-term distraction.


    The annoyingly sturdy monster screeched, visibly pained by the loss of an organ, but it reoriented its trajectory nonetheless in an attempt to get to me ¨C right before Loop''s tail fell on it, the spikes on the drake''s tail spearing the monster like kebab. I had just enough time to notice that Loop had already gathered two of the minions on his flail-like appendage.


    I grinned. The drakes were experts at squashing things, and not even the stupid seastars could come back from that.


    Then Elegance and Cadence fell on the larger monster¡¯s back which had turned to hunt after Magnus.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Scythe-like claws tore into the soft flesh as the two female drakes double-teamed the oversized mollusc. But just like its offspring, the monster just refused to die.


    It turned and began to wrestle with Cadence in an attempt to pull the drake towards its maw.


    I flash stepped onto the creature''s head and stabbed my spear into the largest and brightest cluster of cores.


    As if he had read my mind, Magnus appeared and kicked the end of the spear, sending it in almost all the way before we discharged all our power into the monster.


    We could have never mustered enough power to truly affect such a humongous body as a whole. But there was a difference between receiving a zap to your finger and having a needle stabbed into your brain which discharged electricity conflicting with the rest of the nerve system.


    The monster shuddered while Cadence and Elegance dismantled its paralysed body piece by piece.


    Loop was ruthlessly dealing with the smaller minions, hunting after them like a firehorn let loose in a pen of molerats.


    He seemed perfectly satisfied with stomping the smaller ones and showed no interest in joining the females. Almost as if fighting above his weight class wasn''t on the male''s agenda today.


    I gagged at the spreading smell but forced the stinging belly acid coming up my throat back down. The last few days I had made a habit of not eating breakfast, knowing about the peculiar defence mechanism of our enemy.


    An empty belly was much easier to control when faced with the horrible stench.


    And then it was done.


    A whole host of the monsters lay slain before us. Well, their pieces. It wasn''t exactly possible to kill these things without dismantling them completely ¨C the perfect job for our mounts.


    ¡°If it wasn''t for the horrible smell, I would celebrate our victory,¡± I commented while I jumped off the monster''s head. Then I flash stepped, circling the battlefield to get upwind of the horrible stench. ¡°Goddess, why must it stink so much!? At least the fight went down easier than expected.¡±


    ¡°Easy?¡± Magnus harrumphed and followed me. ¡°You didn''t have to flash step for your life while the big motherfucker tried to tentacle slap you with a dozen appendages simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Aw,¡± I smirked at his exaggeration. ¡°We are moving way faster when we are training against each other. Be a dear and retrieve my spear from its head? And clean it off in the water while you are at it.¡±


    ¡°And get that horrible muck all over me after I managed to stay clean?¡± He blanched. ¡°No thanks! It''s your spear.¡±


    I winked at him and tried to look coy. ¡°But you are the strong man with the big muscles! If you get it for me and wash it, you might get lucky tonight.¡±


    He glared at me. ¡°What kind of lucky? Really dance-lucky, or just lucky?¡±


    I felt myself flush a little. ¡°Fine. You will get really dance-lucky.¡±


    I absolutely did not want to get more of that stink on me than necessary.


    He hummed. ¡°I still feel like a bird-brained guy, allowing myself to be bribed with sexual services.¡±


    I blinked innocently. ¡°But it still works like a charm, doesn''t it?¡±


    At least I wasn''t the only one feeling a bit self-conscious about this trade.


    Just what was it with him and dancing? It was a little embarrassing, but I didn''t particularly mind striptease. At least his fetish was innocent enough compared to other things. Thalia had spun tales about way stranger stuff than doing some enticing dancing in front of your partner.


    He grunted and went to the still-twitching corpse.


    The drakes had done a wonderful job at eviscerating it, but they had also paid the price. They were covered in that stinky monster muck from head to toe. Judging by experience, the smell wouldn''t come off for at least a day.


    Elegance glared at me while she tried her best to clean her body by writhing around in the wet sand. It worked so well that I considered doing it myself.


    ''Price?''


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Yes, you will get your price for helping.¡±


    Going out for at least for an hour thrice a week for as long as we were away from the colony was a small price to pay for the help of two bombers and a fighter jet. Looking around, I had to admit they had also done most of the work.


    The elders had been wise in keeping the drakes at our side. But seeing their power unleashed, I wondered whether it was the other way around.


    Strangely enough, the drakes had asked for regular outings in exchange for their help with the ''enemy of the colony''. Their main goal was to find new tasty plants ¨C and they knew that humans kept meticulous records of their surroundings.


    Why they didn''t just fly off on their own to search for food was beyond me. Back at Aerie, they were independent enough to need no attention. Maybe it was about having some of the older drakes around. Our three mounts were relatively young as far as I knew.


    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Vanya***


    ¡°I still don''t think your new guard is a good idea,¡± Tianna argued while shooting a wary glare at Anajed.


    I raised my eyebrows and regarded my new masked bodyguard for a moment before I returned my attention to my friend. ¡°I am aware that you don''t like my choice. Maybe you despise it even. Would you be happier if I ordered Anajed to kill herself? Right here, right now? You know as well as I do that this would have been her fate otherwise.¡±


    ¡°No. Not after what you have done to her. It wouldn''t feel right.¡± Tianna pressed her lips together. ¡°Still doesn''t mean I have to like it.¡±


    ¡°Be assured that Anajed is loyal to us,¡± I sat down at the conference table while Anajed took her position behind me.


    Tianna sat down too, but so that she could see Anajed. No matter my assurances, she didn''t trust her ¨C which hurt a little. It was akin to not trusting my abilities or me.


    She pulled out a letter and opened it for me to see.


    ¡°About my reason for calling you: We have just received a message informing us that the Aerie air fleet has entered our territory. The messenger confirmed that all of the Aerie elders are with the fleet. They are on their way here and should arrive within a day, presumably to pick up their diplomats before moving on ¨C with or without our help.¡±


    ¡°Doesn''t sound like they are giving us much of a choice.¡± I whistled softly. ¡°So, it''s true.¡±


    After a moment of silent contemplation, I asked another important question. ¡°Is the Invincible Bitch with them too? Or any of their other old monsters?¡±


    Tianna regarded the missive for a moment. ¡°It wasn''t mentioned. I don''t believe so. If all of their elders moved out to join this campaign, then it would only be sensible for their ancestors to stay behind and protect the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± I nodded slowly, considering it. Throwing all their martial might onto the scales sounded a little bit too ''out there'', considering what the Aerie delegation had shared with us. It would have left their non-combatants almost undefended. A single large monster incursion could end or seriously damage the clan.


    ¡°Then we will hold our ancestors back,¡± I concluded after a moment of consideration. ¡°But when we meet, we do it with all of our regular powerhouses.¡±


    We couldn''t afford to look weak or indecisive in the face of such a showing of martial might. Thankfully, I had already ordered the mobilization of our forces or I would feel a bit anxious over having a sizeable part of the Aerie air fleet paying a visit to Hochberg. The next days would surely be busy.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Mary Frost***


    I slowly lowered the book and tilted my head in an attempt to loosen the tense muscles in my neck. Then I looked around the room, just to make sure the reason for my unease wasn''t of a more imminent nature.


    Precognition was rearing its ugly head today, sending an unpleasant tingle down my spine.


    Nowadays, there weren¡¯t many things which could cause such a reaction. Either some powerful psychic had just turned his or her attention towards me, or there was a monster with psychic powers nearby.


    It wasn¡¯t unusual for Precognition to ring my alarm bells, but it was reason enough for caution. It happened from time to time, given the reputation I had among the clans. I had many enemies who would like to see me and my associates dead.


    Was this worth investigating?


    Probably not.


    I waited a little for my filaments to settle down. When they didn¡¯t act up again, I dismissed the incident as a little bit of over-sensitiveness. I hadn''t reached my respectable age because I wasn''t careful, but too much paranoia also wasn''t healthy either.


    Since I had left the leadership of the clan to others a long time ago, I was satisfied with doing administrative work, sitting at home, and reading books. At my age, I had learned that wishing to control every little detail of the world around me was a fool¡¯s game.


    There was no longer a need for complicated responsibilities in my life. Taking a guiding role from time to time was fine, but I preferred to steer the clan from the background with my peers.


    A soft ¡®crack¡¯ drew my attention to the only social responsibility I had allowed myself to be talked into recently.


    I put down the book and eyed the three eggs in their crib warily, then clicked my tongue when the crack on one of them widened as something pushed at the shell from within.


    I clicked my tongue and Chitters came running ¨C loyal to a fault.


    ¡°Get me Kiera and her staff as quickly as possible!¡±


    Chitters clicked and dashed out of my quarters, going down on all fours to be even faster.


    I sighed and mentally readied myself to do what had to be done.


    Would what came out of those eggs be like Chitter¡¯s people? Accepted, but nothing more than hunting dogs which had to be hidden away from the other clans?


    Would they be normal?


    Or would they deviate so much from anything acceptable that putting them down was the only option?


    I sighed.


    If the latter was true, then the young parents not being here was maybe a blessing.


    Although, it would put me in a tough spot if they were like Chitters. In that case, taking the children away and telling the parents they died might be the kinder option. I had already seen too many couples struggle with the hope of integrating failed offspring into society.


    I held my breath when the first shell broke and the face of a young toddler greeted me. He had the same luminescent markings as his parents but looked human otherwise.


    Smiling, I tried to reassure his searching eyes, ¡°Hello, little one.¡±


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    My expression froze and I tilted my head in confusion. He could speak?


    We made eye contact. ¡°Mom!¡±


    Oh, no no no. We certainly wouldn¡¯t be going down that route! ¡°C- call me grandma. Do you understand?¡±

 Ch 88 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Now that we have fulfilled your ''quest'', can we finally learn what this new mutation is all about?¡± I asked.


    We were once more convening in Gaia''s dream villa, but this time the house was situated on a long and snowy mountain chain which I recognized as belonging to Mount Aerie. It was the same scene Astra and I had watched when she informed me of her pregnancy at the observation lounge.


    If I had found this unfortified house on the real Tirnanog, I would have questioned the builder''s sanity.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Astra clapped her hands in anticipation. ¡°What new ability do we get?¡±


    I rolled my eyes. Hopefully, this situation wouldn''t become a regular occurrence. This felt too much like getting new skills from a trainer NPC.


    Gaia blinked and adjusted her position on the couch. She looked a little distracted. ¡°New ability? No new ability.¡±


    What!?


    ¡°Then what was the point of telling us to eat that slimy root raw!?¡± Astra asked quickly, looking aghast. She wrung her hands as if she was considering to choke Gaia.


    I pulled a face at the memory of eating the rancid roots.


    The acidroot didn''t taste... bad, but not good either. It tasted like overly strong vinegar. Not something I would ingest raw for fun, but it was tolerable.


    The disgusting part was the squishy, slimy texture which felt like a mixture of cartilage and what I imagined to be raw jellyfish. Chewing the root was an exercise in futility because it bounced back from any attempt at crushing it. Like rubber. To get it down, I had to cut it up into tiny pieces and swallow them like pills ¨C which made eating them at least somewhat tolerable.


    It was no longer a mystery why the drakes had tried literally every plant they could get their teeth on but hadn''t contested our claim on the acidroots in the slightest.


    Gaia waved us off. ¡°As much as I would have loved to play an April fool''s joke on you two, I am not that petty. Though, having you eat something disgusting just for the heck of it would have been funny.¡±


    She sighed at the lost chance of pulling a prank on us. ¡°Unfortunately, I wouldn''t be able to stop the nanomachines from making a mess of your DNA if you ingested something incompatible. I can influence the process, but not abort it. It''s an intentional flaw the scientists added to... enforce the experiment. Not that it would be healthy to have your DNA messed with half-heartedly, hahaha! Only you can start or refuse the process now that the function to do so is unlocked in your UI. Once the process is running there is no going back.¡±


    ¡°Then why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Your bodies are reaching the limits of the possible energy density your tissue can withstand. You are aware that you are essentially supercharged capacitors combined with a fuel cell? Electric resistivity, force, heat, conventional biology and chemistry can only withstand so much.¡±


    She smiled and pointed at herself in a not-very-humble manner. ¡°Thankfully, nature already provided solutions! There are certain extremophile organisms capable of surviving conditions which would be lethal to most others. The DNA of the acidroot allows me to incorporate silicon reinforcements into the building plans for your cell walls. Some improvements to how your cells metabolize energy are also on the table, increasing your overall power.¡±


    Gaia performed a vague ''so-so'' gesture with her hand. ¡°We will see whether the second part is feasible. I don¡¯t want you to go up in flames like an old-fashioned battery as soon as someone pokes a hole into you. In any case, you shouldn''t expect any of the changes to be noticeable immediately. This will be like the filaments ¨C a slow growth which will have a huge impact in the long run. Expect yourselves to be more resistant to heat and physical damage once your bodies adapt. Oh, and there might be a slight craving to eat your dinnerware. Nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°And I am sure nobody will look at us funny once the dishes start disappearing,¡± I commented with a small titbit of sarcasm in my voice. ¡°Well, I guess less work with washing.¡±


    Astra''s reaction was different. ¡°Oh, so then why didn''t you call it something like heat resistance from the start?¡±


    Gaia pointed us towards the door. ¡°Because that would be misleading. Now shoo! You don''t want me to mess this up.¡±


    Not thinking it wise to distract the deity which was currently real-time manipulating our DNA, I linked arms with Astra and guided her out of the room.


    ¡°What do we do now? Seems like lessons are cancelled for tonight.¡± Astra asked. ¡°More training?¡± She looked towards the bedrooms. ¡°Or should we... you know... use the chance while she is distracted?¡±


    I gave my insatiable woman an exasperated look. Hadn''t I rocked her boat enough before we went to sleep?


    Coming from my mate, the suggestion was certainly tempting, but I looked out the window as another idea struck me. This was a dream. We were safe and out there was an entirely untouched mountain range with metres of deep powder snow.


    ¡°Astra, have you ever been skiing?¡±


    When we woke the next day, our UI reconnected with Astra''s parents and we received the message that our air fleet was inbound, so we headed out with Thalia and the drakes to greet them and give a report. We could have communicated all the details over the UI, but the restriction to the chat system felt too impersonal.


    Meeting up with the fleet was no problem thanks to the drakes, who seemed to know exactly where to find their kin once we informed them of our intentions.


    I was quite honestly not sure what to expect, but once we closed in on the dots in the sky I was torn between befuddlement and being impressed.


    Shaped by Earth''s media, my idea of air superiority had always been hundreds if not thousands of fighter jets and bombers.


    Airships and balloons had been erased from Earth''s military hardware centuries ago. They were too slow for their size and their lifting capability wasn''t up to par in comparison to large transport planes. Another issue was posed by how expensive the necessary gas was.


    Oversimplified, a plane could increase and reduce its lift capacity relatively easily by adjusting the speed.


    An airship had always as much lift as the available gas of choice provided. If just a little bit was lost during the journey, or intentionally jettisoned to reduce height, there was no economic way of getting it back during the flight. This in turn reduced the vehicle''s manoeuvrability. The facilities to produce hydrogen or helium had too much weight to be transported with the vehicle.


    This downside was topped by an airship''s large surface area, making it vulnerable to windy weather conditions. This problem had delayed Aerie''s campaign by several weeks.


    Though the sponges found in Aerie''s cave system took care of the far bigger issue. They grew like weeds and gathered light gases on their own until they could lift off to colonize new areas and propagate. The only thing holding them in check were the various herbivores depending on them.


    The sponges alone allowed the fifteenth strata to go down an entirely unprecedented route of aerial transportation in the absence of jet engines and turboprops, allowing over three hundred vessels of all kinds and sizes to steadily make their way towards the Hochberg fortress city.


    And if an extra boost of propellent was needed above the standard propellers, the drakes were perfect natural jet engines.


    The airships were still slow compared to planes but faster than any land-bound transportation method.


    The largest vessel was a carrier-sized island which was cobbled together from several cylindrical catching nets holding sponge colonies. It even had multiple levels. Although, the most common airship design in the fleet was a relatively conventional-looking airship which reminded me of the Hindenburg.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Once we came closer, we were greeted by several drake-riders from the fifteenth who guided us into a dock on the large island.


    There we were greeted by Teresa Frost, Richard Tate, as well as elder Skye Rumen from the fifteenth.


    ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Dad!¡±


    Astra and Thalia greeted their parents with enthusiastic hugs while Loopsfast placed me on the ground.


    Yes, my stupid mount was still carrying me in its claws when we flew. And no. Given Loop''s tendency to perform insane aerial manoeuvres as soon as he got excited, I had no intention of ever riding him conventionally!


    Though, his episodes of losing control of his temper had gotten a lot better lately. I wondered what that was about.


    ¡°What about the children?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°They were well taken care of when we left. I am so glad that you two are well.¡± Teresa finally released Astra from her embrace and went to hug me too. ¡°You have to tell us all about Hochberg. Were you successful in gaining their support?¡±


    The hug surprised me for a moment until I remembered I was the son-in-law. ¡°As successful as possible, I guess.¡±


    I patted her back awkwardly, not knowing how else to react until she let me go.


    ¡°Great,¡± Skye Rumen said. ¡°We have an office ready and a few hours to catch up before the fleet reaches Hochberg.¡±


    ¡°Right, I wanted to ask whether you split the fleet,¡± I questioned. ¡°I remember seeing a lot more airships at your dockyard.¡±


    Skye gave me a knowing smile. ¡°Indeed. All those ships have needed upkeep. Or did you think we would be entertaining so many airships because it is fun? The other part of the fleet is still at the Aerie mountains, hunting leviathans and other profitable game while helping our drake colony to widen their territory.¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°Remind me to ask how that works in detail sometime later?¡±


    He grinned.


    ¡°Before I forget,¡± Richart Tate interrupted. ¡°Elder Gilbert told us to send you to him as soon as you arrive. He and his strata were working on some high secrecy project and they need your help to finalize it. I hope they get it to work because they hogged a lot of resources needed in other places.¡±


    Skye nodded. ¡°We couldn''t reactivate over a dozen ships from winter storage because we didn''t get the necessary manpower. Gilbert commandeered a group of his best smiths and an entire workforce of the second strata¡¯s engineers for his pet project. If this turns out to be firehorn''s dung, I will give him a personal thrashing.¡±


    This certainly sounded interesting. I wondered what the old man had been up to during my absence. The last time we met, he had been buried up to his head in his research on creature cores. Though, I doubted he made much headway without me there to activate the cores for him.


    Still, the elder had over a century of experience. Despite not having access to industries and facilities comparable with Earth¡¯s, he had the knowledge and books from Aerie¡¯s libraries to understand what he was working with. Added on top was the encyclopedia I had brought with me from Earth.


    Just maybe, he had made some breakthrough after all.


    Teresa ordered one of her guards to guide me to Gilbert''s place before the elders abducted Astra and Thalia to a conference room.


    In a way, I was glad I wouldn''t have to be present for a boring recount of what I already knew.


    A few minutes later, my guide gestured me through a doorway which led into a very roomy workshop, totally unlike anything I would have ever expected on a flying vessel.


    On a second look, I realized that the left wall was entirely made up of a large blast door, so I had to revise my initial impression. This was a repurposed hangar like the one our drakes had landed in.


    ¡°Boy! Ah, how I craved to see you!¡± Gilbert Kline greeted me as soon as I walked deeper into his sanctuary. He set aside the creature cores he had been working on and approached me and my guide with a glint in his eyes.


    ¡°Hello, Gilbert!¡± I greeted and pointed at the cores. ¡°Did you make any progress since we left?¡±


    The guide excused herself and I waved her goodbye, but my attention was on the elder. We had worked together for just a few weeks before I was sent on the diplomatic mission, but it was enough to build a connection with him.


    The elder waved his hand dismissively while he regarded me from head to toe. ¡°Forget the cores for the moment. I want to know how my work held up during your travels. You haurgh-¡±


    His eyes locked onto the short sword at my side and he choked as he tried to cough and inhale air at the same time.


    ¡°What did you do to my sword?¡± Gilbert reached out. ¡°Hand it over right now, brute!¡±


    I forced myself to keep smiling, even if I found his reaction a little excentric. But he was an elder and not to be trifled with, so I unlatched the sheath at my side and handed the sword over.


    To be honest, by keeping it inside the sheath, I had hoped he would overlook it. How the old man had noticed the damage was a mystery to me.


    ¡°It''s just a sword. And what do you mean with your sword? I have been using it for the past few weeks!¡±


    ¡°Don''t talk back to me boy!¡± Gilbert snapped back while he took the sword and tried to pull it out of its sheath. ¡°Everything I make is mine! Just because I allow others to use it doesn''t mean-¡±


    He pulled, but the sword didn''t budge inside the sheath. The problem wasn¡¯t so much the elder¡¯s strength, but the grip the sheath provided as his hand slipped off the smooth surface.


    I somehow managed to keep the smile off my lips, but it was hard.


    When he tried again unsuccessfully to unsheathe the sword I asked, ¡°Should I help?¡±


    I had to admit, I had been quite rough with getting the sword in there. A foot and a lot of cursing combined with brute violence might have been involved.


    Gilbert offered me the sheath and I held onto it with both hands while he pulled at the sword''s hilt with all his might.


    The blade came loose with a grinding noise and a few sparks, revealing all the horrible abuse I put it through. Shoving the bent blade into the sheath hadn''t made things better.


    ¡°On the upside, your spetum and armour held up just fine,¡± I tried to spread some positiveness.


    The smith was aghast while he tested the edge of the blade with his thumb. ¡°What did you do!? This is atrocious!¡±


    ¡°I... used it?¡±


    He glared at me.


    ¡°I¡­ tried to service it?¡±


    He kept glaring.


    ¡°Oh, come on man!¡± I exclaimed and threw up my arms. ¡°It was already a lost cause with the tools I had access to. By grinding a new edge onto it I could at least get a few more chops out of it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever try to repair your equipment again! The sword is ruined.¡± Gilbert swung his arm and I ducked, but he adjusted his aim and slapped me over the side of my head.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I knew I was no good when it came to craftsmanship, but this wasn¡¯t warranted. ¡°It was already ruined beforehand.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°But your martial skills improved! Before you left, you wouldn''t have gotten so close to dodging me. But seriously. What did you do to this poor blade? Did you strike a rock with the flat side? And those chips all over the edge!¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I took part in some stupid honour duel with a Thich. Their ambassador insisted on it to get out of dodge. The other guy was really fast and I wasn''t allowed to kill him, so clashing blades was the only real option.¡±


    At least without revealing one of my secret abilities.


    ¡°They dug that old rite out the bag? Must have been their last card to play.¡± Gilbert raised an eyebrow. ¡°And you fought a sturdy motherfucker. How often did you hit him with the flat before he yielded? The sword looks like you brutalized an entire scouting party.¡±


    I shrugged and scratched the back of my head, not remembering to have counted. ¡°Oh, a few times. Didn''t count, to be honest.¡±


    Gilbert drew in a breath and threw the sword into a bin. ¡°Then I will have to make you a new one, though I suspect a simple rod of steel might be a better fit for you.¡±


    I pursed my lips, unable to object. There was a certain point at which the thin edge of a blade could no longer withstand the power of its wielder. It was the reason why the blades of most strength-based warriors were as thick as the one on my spetum.


    Such weapons could no longer be called a proper blade, but a rod of steel.


    ¡°Maybe one of those with a rhombus-shaped base?¡± I suggested. ¡°They should be sturdy enough. Maybe with a sharp point so I can poke people?¡±


    ¡°We will see. Somehow I have a feeling you would find a way to abuse any weapon I give to you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just not fair. I took good care of the spetum!¡±


    Gilbert regarded the bin before he took me by the arm and practically frogmarched me further into his workshop where some of his people were working on a strange contraption.


    ¡°First, you will help us to start this baby!¡± Gilbert announced with a big grin on his face.


    I scratched my chest, looking over the artefact in wonder and confusion.


    The contraption was cone-shaped. Its wide base was facing us and with about five metres in diameter. The base looked like the over-extended jaws of a shark with jagged metal teeth. More, smaller jaws followed behind it, reminding me of an inverted mining drill. One of those things they used to dig tunnels through mountains.


    Organic-looking metal tendrils ran from each tooth to an incomprehensible knot of vein-like cables and other cores, completing the cone.


    I had no clue what to make of it.


    ¡°You know, I am all up for strange experiments, but what is this?¡± I asked. ¡°It looks like you ripped it straight out of the guts of some biomechanic monster.¡±


    Its makeup had similarities with Thich¡¯s communicator. Gilbert would love to have a look at that one for sure.


    The elder grinned and gestured at the apparatus. ¡°Magnus, I present you with the front-end digestion system of a worm. Expertly gutted and freed of flesh and unnecessary support structure like bones and muscles.¡±


    It took a moment to make ''click'' in my mind. ¡°The radioactive living mining machines!?¡±


    I took a step away from the thing.


    ¡°No worries! This one didn''t have its fusion generator damaged.¡± Gilbert gestured to come closer. ¡°There is no radiation to worry about. It''s one of the two complete sets the clan has and we have checked every millimetre for damage. I probably don''t have to explain how incredibly rare it is to kill a worm without blowing up its power source.¡±


    He patted one of the teeth which was as big as his head. ¡°The only reason why we even managed it was because this one wasn''t even fully grown when it broke into Aerie''s main living cavern. Still took all the elders to take it down. That was long before your time, but I kept it in storage instead of gutting it for resources.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want with it?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought they eat rocks or something?¡±


    ¡°Hm. Hm.¡± Gilbert nodded. ¡°They do indeed, but the important point is the how. The worms always come in pairs. One leads the way. While digging the tunnel, it eats the debris and shovels it directly into its wormhole maw. The rocks land at the paired worm, which follows the lead worm and processes the materials. This way, larger worms can have several maws filling their bellies at once while the main creature doesn''t even have to be in the vicinity!¡±


    I gulped as the insanity of Gilbert''s plan became obvious. ¡°And I guess you have the paired ''hind-end'' of the worm back at Aerie?¡±


    The elder rubbed his hands in anticipation. ¡°Indeed!¡±


    I sighed and deflated slightly. ¡°Not to burst your bubble, but you know I can''t start up the cores without seeing them operate. I have to read the ''access code'' out of the control mechanism. I doubt you brought a worm with you, given how big they are.¡±


    Creating a functioning wormhole gate without the necessary industrial base was an impossibility. But adjusting an already existing one to our purposes might be just south enough to work. Though, I knew for certain I wouldn''t be hunting a worm any time soon if it could be helped.


    Gilbert grinned.


    ¡°You are shitting me,¡± I said.


    ¡°Not a grown one.¡± The elder pointed me to a large metal bathtub filled with rocks. ¡°But we have a few babies! While studying the worm-gate, I realized that the central processing unit of the big one is identical to the ones inside the larvae. They appear to grow in stages, which makes sense for a biomechanical organism. Why change a part of the machinery later on when you can build it to specifications from the beginning?¡±

 Ch 89 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I am fascinated by how you two developed this new ability. All just thanks to observing a wild animal. Maybe we should have you seek out more creatures which use electricity. I believe there is a particular type of lightning bird living on the northern coastline above Clan Vier,¡± My mother commented while I showed off once more the new plasma technique by creating a small ball of plasma above my palm.


    ¡°It surely holds a lot of potential,¡± I agree. ¡°Second Sight allows us to copy a creature¡¯s ability easily enough as long as there is just electricity involved. Though, I find it unlikely to get so lucky a second time. It was simply an application neither of us had considered.¡±


    Mom raises a warning finger before I get too eager about the prospect. ¡°Though, I believe we should keep the other ¡®thing¡¯ a secret for as long as possible. The other elders will have to know, but we should keep everyone else out of the loop for as long as possible. Your personal teleport won¡¯t do anyone any good at this point except for yourself and transporting information. We will have to see to setting up some secret locations you can use in relative safety.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I thought the same. It will give us an invaluable advantage in case a conflict with the Thich becomes unavoidable. At the very least it will even the odds with their communication devices. Magnus was worried about how many they have. Them giving it out to some diplomat on a delaying mission doesn¡¯t bode well for us.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, we have little need of using you two as messengers at the moment,¡± Teresa pointed out. ¡°Nonetheless, I believe some show of force will be necessary, knowing those Thich brutes. We always had to use some force in our negotiations with them. There is no love lost between our clans, but they at least recognize open warfare isn¡¯t in their best interest.¡±


    I didn¡¯t allow myself to show any sign of disbelief in my mother¡¯s statement. Going by what Gaia had revealed to us, an armed conflict might be unavoidable. But trying to convince Teresa of this fact wouldn¡¯t change anything at this point.


    We entered Gilbert¡¯s workshop where we found the elder with his team of trusted workers. They were very focused on working on some strange artefact. Only a few spared us the briefest of glances.


    Magnus was crawling on top of the large machine which looked like one of Giger¡¯s nightmares. At least that¡¯s what Magnus had called this particular type of combination between machine and living design when he talked about the Thich¡¯s communication device.


    If we ever reopened a connection back to Earth, I would have to take a long look at all the things my partner liked to reference so much. Magnus and I had a good thing going, but sometimes not even Thalia managed to explain some of his more exotic colloquialisms, which I found quite vexing.


    ¡°Astra!¡± Magnus called out as soon as he spotted us. ¡°What took you so long? We sent for you two hours ago!¡± He slid down from the top of the machine where he had been inspecting something.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Elder Gilbert came around from the other side of the machine. ¡°This is important business! Nothing to be delayed unduly!¡±


    ¡°Without offence.¡± I forced myself to smile. ¡°But while you two have been playing around with this¡­ thing¡­ Thalia and I spent the afternoon informing the council of elders about the recent events with Clan Hochberg and the incident with the Thich delegation. It was quite exhausting.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± my mother joined in. ¡°I think your presence was requested too, Elder Gilbert Kline.¡±


    I waved a hand at the machine. ¡°So, instead of complaining, you might as well tell us why this is important enough to cut our meeting with the council short.¡±


    Magnus came up to me and pointed at the machine. ¡°Astra! This is a miniature wormhole generator! Taken out of the innards of a worm! And Gilbert might¡¯ve gotten it to work!¡±


    My mother whistled softly. ¡°So this is why you neglected your duties? For once your absence might have a good reason. Will it be as useful as I hope it will be?¡±


    ¡°Pah! You can¡¯t tell me my expertise is necessary for inane administrative work! My time is best spent inside my workshop and not overseeing the failings of others.¡± Gilbert waved a hand dismissively and shrugged.


    Teresa didn¡¯t deny it. It was a well-known fact that the council ignored Gilbert¡¯s absence and allowed his wife to take over his duties instead.


    The elder craftsman gestured at the artefact. ¡°It certainly isn¡¯t comparable to the ones Earth has access to. But we might be able to entertain a semi-permanent connection between the fleet and Mount Aerie. My people can¡¯t interfere with the control system linking the two generators without the risk of breaking the controls. But even that much would be invaluable. Our fleet is fast, but the possibility of resupplying the flagship instantly can¡¯t be ignored.¡±


    ¡°And we need you to switch it on because there are two control circuits and I can¡¯t power them on at the same time,¡± Magnus explained. ¡°One controls the power generator which is a quite ingenious fusion collider. The other controls the wormhole generator. Problem is, there is some kind of fail-safe detection which powers one control circuit down if it doesn¡¯t detect the other at the same time.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°How did you figure out the controls for the core?¡±


    He pointed at a metal tub with rocks in it. ¡°Gilbert brought some babies. They look like snake-maggots! The creepy thing really didn¡¯t like it when we opened it up, but we got what we needed.¡±


    I pulled a face, knowing very well what figuring out a creature core¡¯s workings entailed. Magnus had tutored me on the subject, but so far I managed to leave the exploration of this ability to Gilbert and him. ¡°Do I have to shove my hand into a worm¡¯s guts?¡±


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°No. I can teach you the stimuli you have to apply to start up the controls. Unless you are willing to have a first-hand experience? Reading the control codes directly out of a creature¡¯s guts is certainly faster.¡±


    I sighed in relief. ¡°Oh, thank the goddess. Don¡¯t misunderstand, but I find this particular application of our abilities questionable.¡±


    He wagged his eyebrows. ¡°You know, the faster we get this baby to work, the faster we can go back to the mountains and have a look at how the eggs are doing.¡±


    The eggs!?


    By Gaia! The eggs! How could I forget? I am a horrible mother!


    I blanched as I looked at the metal tub with the specimen inside. ¡°Where do I have to shove my hand in?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Mary Frost***


    ¡°Isaac, stay still and allow aunty Kiera to have a look at you,¡± I pleaded with the boy, totally exhausted after days of looking after a hyperactive toddler who was far faster than a child of his age had any right to be.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The scuttling sound of running footsteps zipped past me and Isaac disappeared beneath the living room¡¯s table while the doctor¡¯s fingers grasped the empty air where the child had been just a moment earlier.


    ¡°Isaac!¡± Kiera called out and searched the room, surprised at the child¡¯s disappearance. She sounded just as frustrated as I felt. ¡°Come here. You can have some ice cream! Come here little one.¡±


    When Isaac didn¡¯t come out of his hiding place beneath the table, Kiera turned to me. ¡°Tell him to stop running away. I need to check how he is doing.¡±


    ¡°I have been after him the entire morning already,¡± I said, leaning back on the sofa. ¡°I am not just tired, I am exhausted. Give me a damn break for once.¡±


    The last few days had been¡­ trying. To say the least. But I could proudly say I had kept calm the entire time. Except for when disciplinary measures had been unavoidable for Isaac¡¯s safety. The colony was as safe as possible in this world, but safe for an adult wasn¡¯t the same as safe for a child who couldn¡¯t tell what was dangerous and what was not.


    Treemonae were guarding the estate¡¯s exits, some mildly poisonous plants in the garden, an armoury to sneak in, and likely a hundred other things Isaac had no business meddling with.


    I had to be after the boy every waking minute or he would find a way to get himself into trouble. Just yesterday, he had somehow managed to sneak into the estate¡¯s molerat pens.


    And while the animals weren¡¯t particularly dangerous to enhanced adults, I was sure they wouldn¡¯t say no to snacking on a toddler. Thankfully, Isaac was fast enough to avoid the molerats. His presence in the pens had nonetheless caused a minor riot among the estate¡¯s staff.


    Since then, I had him strictly confined to Astra¡¯s quarters and the staff was informed to keep the doors closed at all times.


    I ran a hand over my forehead, hoping the people I had tasked with finding a suitable nanny would come back with positive news. Though, I acknowledged the complications with the special proficiencies such a person needed. The clan didn¡¯t have a lot of people who made it their profession to look after kids in the first place.


    Finding someone experienced with kids who was also trustworthy and loyal wasn¡¯t the real problem, but taking care of Isaac required the abilities of a speedster. A very good speedster, judging by how lost Kiera was with the boy.


    Someone like Kiera couldn¡¯t even touch Isaac if the boy wasn¡¯t in the mood to listen. She couldn¡¯t look after the kid even if she wanted to.


    ¡°Do it again!¡± Kiera commanded. ¡°You are the only one he listens to ¨C sometimes!¡±


    She finally spotted the boy beneath the table and decided to even the odds by closing the door to the living room.


    I rolled my eyes and employed one of the darker educational methods I had access to. ¡°Isaac Frost! Get here, right now, or the next meal will be stew!¡±


    A sound of disgust came from beneath the table and Isaac crawled out in a defeated manner, complaining with the limited vocabulary he had already picked up. ¡°No stew!¡±


    ¡°Then stay still while aunty Kiera has a look at you. You can play catch with her later.¡± I took the toddler and pulled him onto my knee.


    To make sure he wouldn¡¯t run off again, I held him at the fluff of filaments which began growing along his neck. Then I asked the doctor, ¡°Are you sure his development is normal?¡±


    I placed one of the puzzle toys in Isaac¡¯s hands to occupy him, so he wouldn¡¯t fidget around while the doctor was checking him over. Judging by the way the child was behaving one might think holding still for even a minute was torture for him.


    When two mutated humans had a child, the offspring received a random set of mutations from his parents, amounting to what an unpaired person could hold without risk. From what we figured out so far, Isaac had inherited his parents¡¯ speed, as well as the filaments and some mental enhancements. The starfish mutation was also a given, which was likely the source of our current troubles and his quick development.


    He hadn¡¯t displayed any other abilities so far, but I dreaded what would happen if the boy would begin to play with lightning.


    I wasn¡¯t willing to test him for other potential mutations. Poisoning a child or trying to drown him was too extreme for my tastes to confirm the only two mutations which could easily be tested for.


    The rest would have to wait until Isaac¡¯s vocabulary grew enough to make himself understood with more complex topics.


    ¡°You are asking me impossible questions.¡± Kiera stepped up and placed a hand on the child¡¯s chest while closing her eyes. ¡°Can anyone be sure with a new type of post sapiens? Isaac is the product of a union of mutations which I haven¡¯t encountered before.¡±


    I sighed, still worried about Isaac¡¯s development, but at least it looked like he was as human as could be reasonably expected. That took at least one worry off my shoulders.


    ¡°He is just learning so fast,¡± I pointed out. ¡°It has been just a few days. Will he keep growing at this rate forever?¡±


    When Isaac hatched, he barely looked like a normal child. He was more like a gangly, slightly creepy baby a bit too large and developed for the baby fat displayed on his cheeks. But after some cleaning up and a few healthy meals, Isaac was now more like a toddler. A very sturdy, muscular toddler too fast and mobile for his own good.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. From what I gathered over the last few days, his physical growth seems to be linked to his nutrient intake. A phenomenon we have already observed with other children inheriting a starfish mutation. We should be able to manage this aspect of his development well enough. As for his mental growth, that is another matter.¡±


    She hummed. ¡°His parents were very vague on the true nature of their mental abilities, but it is safe to assume Isaac inherited some mental improvements as well, which is why he can already communicate at this age. I wouldn¡¯t worry about it too much right now. The only thing I am unsure of is how we should handle the matching of his mental and physical growth. I never had to face a situation such as this one. It¡¯s a moral conundrum. Should we try to slow his growth? Match his physical maturing with his mental development? My gut instincts tell me allowing him to grow up too quickly would do him a disfavour. I can only speak to the medical aspect. Not how we can ensure he would become a functioning member of our society.¡±


    I didn¡¯t believe it to be that complicated. There was a thing called life experience which everyone had to gather in order to grow. No matter whether the child was considered normal or a prodigy.


    Kiera opened her eyes and let go of Isaac. ¡°Thanks, Isaac. You can run and play now.¡±


    I set the boy down and he zipped over to his other toys, a set of wooden building blocks. ¡°How do you explain him calling for his mom right from the moment he hatched? Or that!¡± I pointed at the castle which was rapidly taking shape beneath Isaac¡¯s blurring hands.


    Children at his development stage liked to topple things over and it was no different with the boy. Only, he also built the castle before he toppled it. And it was by no means a simple one. It had watchtowers and balustrades¡­ everything one would expect of a medieval castle.


    This wasn¡¯t something the child could possibly know about, having spent his entire life up until now within the family¡¯s underground estate.


    Kiera studied Isaac¡¯s beginning siege battle as the now-finished castle was bombarded by an improvised catapult. Isaac had commandeered a spoon from his breakfast and fashioned it with other wooden blocks and rubber bands into a functioning siege toy.


    She shrugged. ¡°Genetic memory most likely. We have records of it happening with the parents having a mindflayer mutation.¡±


    Our discussion was interrupted when the door opened and Teresa entered the room together with Astra.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, surprised by their sudden appearance. Weren¡¯t they supposed to be in Hochberg? Did the fleet turn around?


    The two of them were followed closely by Magnus and Etan.


    Teresa surveyed the room until her gaze stayed stuck on Isaac who had only eyes for Astra. ¡°I see there have been developments on your end too.¡±


    ¡°Mom!¡±


    The boy rushed forward until he slammed into Astra¡¯s shin where he stayed stuck while rubbing his cheek against her knee and hugging her leg like something he had been deprived of all his life.


    The young mother was frozen in shock for a whole two seconds before she slowly raised her foot with Isaac having no trouble holding onto it. ¡°Who is this?¡±


    I got to my feet and walked over to Astra, careful not to step on any of Isaac¡¯s toys and not to trip over the castle. Then I gestured at the boy and introduced the two of them. ¡°Astra, this is Isaac, your son. Isaac, you already figured out this is Astra, your mother. And that gentleman over there is Magnus, your father.¡±


    ¡°You named my son Isaac!?¡± Astra asked, sounding slightly outraged. ¡°Who gave you...¡±


    I glared at her, daring her to make a scene. It wasn¡¯t like she had left me with the intended names for her eggs.


    She bit her tongue upon remembering who I was and swallowed whatever she wanted to say. ¡°Isaac is a good name. Thank you for choosing it.¡±


    Astra bent down and picked Isaac up. For the first time since I knew the boy, he seemed content with staying silent and still while he simply enjoyed the hug of a true parent.


    ¡°What about the other two?¡± Magnus asked.


    ¡°His two sisters are still developing,¡± Kiera informed them. ¡°They don¡¯t seem to have the starfish mutation which made Isaac grow far faster and hatch earlier.¡±


    ¡°If you excuse me.¡± I shooed them out of the way with a gesture. ¡°I will go and sleep now. Tomorrow, you can update me on how you got here.¡±


    I was kind of leaving them hanging and running away, but I had agreed to look after three eggs. Presumably, a fairly easy and relaxing affair ¨C not considering the assassins. Isaac hadn¡¯t been a part of the deal.


    Leaving quickly, I fled Astra¡¯s quarters and went to my private section of the estate where I locked all the doors behind me and went to bed immediately.


    ¡°Never again. I¡¯ve reared enough children for two lifetimes.¡±


    As soon as my cheek touched the bedsheets, I was out like a light.

 Ch 90 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Thalia***


    ¡°He is so cute!¡± I pulled at Isaac''s cheeks, basking in the sadistic joy of an adult pampering a child against its will. ¡°You like aunty Thalia, don''t you? Oh, I know you hate me doing this but I am doing it anyway because I want to. Astra, he might be the best thing you ever accomplished. You just have to make more of them as soon as you can.¡±


    ¡°I already have,¡± Astra replied tiredly while sinking into her couch. ¡°There are two more of them waiting to ''hatch''. And are you trying to say my reproductive abilities outweigh my other accomplishments?¡±


    I blinked at her. ¡°Weeell... except for hooking up with Magnus there isn¡¯t much you-¡±


    She pointed a warning finger at me. ¡°Don''t say it!¡±


    But it was the truth. Who would have thought Magnus would turn out to be a fucking goldmine of political power. As a bonus, he had already saved the clan from an existential threat. Who could say what would have happened if he hadn''t made us aware of Thich''s cooperation with Earth?


    We would still be sitting on our asses. Complacent with our way of life while the clan¡¯s power was slowly subverted from within. Meanwhile, Thich would have slowly outstripped our relevance on Tirnanog¡¯s political stage.


    If I had known beforehand, I would have taken Magnus for myself ¨C callous as that may be.


    I touched my chest in fake hurt. ¡°Oh, I am so sorry if I scratched your ego! In truth, I was just complimenting our cute Isaac. I can already tell he will have a very big heart once he is grown up.¡±


    The emotions and mental impressions I got from children were so pure compared to any adults I knew. Nothing against Astra, but just having Isaac in the same room felt soothing.


    Sadly, the boy would have no more of my teasing and wiggled out of my grasp to flee to his mother. He spread his arms expectantly and Astra sighed, picking him up for a hug. Now that he had his parents around, Isaac wanted all the hugs in the world.


    Until I read his emotions nobody was aware of the child knowing exactly who his parents were from the moment he was born. Not having them around when he hatched had left him worrying about them all the time.


    ¡°I love you too, Isaac. But any more than three of you sounds like a very big mistake,¡± Astra mumbled, already tired after just one day of keeping him out of trouble. ¡°In hindsight, I can now understand why Magnus blacked out when he heard of the triplets. Let''s just be glad that the zipper mutation messed with my cycle. If I am right, I just have to be careful during winter and I should be fine.¡±


    Should I tell her that such drastic mutations to the reproductive mechanism likely came with other downsides? Like, heightened libido during the most opportune time? Then again, Astra and Magnus were comparable to rabbits in their libido, so was there a difference?


    I tapped my chin in thought and decided against mentioning it. Astra would have to find out on her own. It wasn''t like I could be certain.


    ¡°Where is Magnus anyway?¡± I asked, looking around. When I came to visit, only Astra had been looking after the boy. The elders had already returned through the wormgate to meet with the Hochberg leadership.


    I would have to join them at the latest when all the formalities were taken care of. Juliana and Skye Rumen had been very clear that they wanted me present when the discussions between Aerie and Hochberg turned serious.


    Not to mention, the functioning wormhole was treated like a state secret. Having me, Magnus and Astra simply disappear and no longer attend the negotiations at all would look strange.


    Who would have thought that Magnus¡¯s breakthrough with the cores would have allowed elder Gilbert to tear the guts out of a worm and get them to work? Then again, he was a skilled craftsman with several hundred years of experience.


    So, maybe I shouldn¡¯t be surprised at the Frankenstein horror he managed to rig together?


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°Visiting the Mora estate, I bet. Searching for his sister. Magnus wasn''t pleased when he heard from uncle Sullivan that Iv spends most of her free time with her crush.¡±


    ¡°Is Sullivan tutoring the girl?¡± I asked, surprised.


    The Frost''s master at arms? Was he looking out for Iv? Having someone so skilled invest time in a youngster was highly uncommon. Even if Iv was an adoptee of the Frosts. Teresa must have cashed in a few favours for that one.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Astra sighed. ¡°She was already well trained in all things concerning survival and combat from her stay with clan Thich. Sullivan is just making sure she doesn¡¯t slack off and, how did Sullivan call it? Ah, yes, rounding out the edges.¡±


    ¡°So she went all in with Hector already? At least that¡¯s how I understand her spending so much time with him.¡± I winced. ¡°Magnus will blow like a pressure pot.¡±


    On the other hand, it was to be expected. Iv had very few social contacts within the clan. Her adoption by the Frosts hadn¡¯t made the other families forget her ties with the Thich, so they kept their distance. Hector also being a social pariah had allowed them to find solace with each other.


    ¡°One more reason for me not to be there when Magnus catches them fucking in some hidden corner,¡± Astra grumbled. ¡°I was there the last time when he blew up and I want no part of it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah...¡± That hadn''t been pleasant and was partly my fault. It would have been better for Magnus to find out about them in a more controlled manner. Thankfully, Astra had intervened before irreparable damage occurred. Magnus was quite distressed about catching his sister with a guy who he didn''t approve of.


    He was very old-school when it came to how he thought about family relationships, but that was also what endeared him to Astra who was an archaic romantic in her own right.


    Seriously, until she found him I fully expected her to die as an old virgin. And despite the seemingly perfect match, it had still taken some encouragement from me to have her make a move on him.


    It was annoying.


    Now that she had someone I couldn¡¯t even tease her without looking silly. Being the older one, I should have partnered up with someone long before her.


    Though, I believed Astra''s misgivings about Hector were misplaced. He was a new man and wouldn''t do it just anywhere with Iv or treat her improperly.


    I wouldn''t have assisted my mother''s idea of letting Hector and Iv meet each other if I hadn''t confirmed beforehand that Hector''s treatments were working. And I had been nearby when we organized the absolutely accidental encounter between the two loners.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    As if summoned, the door flew open and Magnus stalked into the living room. He was visibly fuming with anger.


    ¡°Did you find her?¡± Astra asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Isaac squirmed and slipped off his mother''s lap. Then he went to his father to claim his due with expectant, outstretched arms.


    ¡°No,¡± Magnus replied and picked up his son. ¡°The Moras said that Ivona and Hector went out ''hunting'' together and aren¡¯t expected to return any time soon. They should be somewhere in the Belly by now.¡±


    ¡°Oh my,¡± I gasped and covered my mouth to hide a grin. ¡°They eloped together. How romantic.¡±


    The cave system called the Beast¡¯s Belly was traditionally the Frost¡¯s hunting ground, meaning neither Iv nor Hector had any experience with the area. But both of them had grown up on Tirnanog, so it should be safe enough as long as they didn¡¯t journey any deeper.


    ¡°If they return and he touched her I am going to strangle him.¡±


    Astra cleared her throat. ¡°Magnus, Iv is an admittedly young, but grown woman who can make her own decisions. If you cause Hector undue trouble after you already made up with him you are just going to widen the rift between yourself and your sister. Don''t be the stupid big brother who drives his younger sibling to make stupid decisions just to spite you.¡±


    ¡°Isn''t running off with someone like Hector already stupid enough? Who knows what might happen to them? You and I had a few close encounters when we went there and we were already paired up!¡± he complained, ignoring Isaac who was pulling at his father''s cheeks with delight, marveling at the faces he could make.


    Astra made a dismissive gesture. ¡°You are forgetting that both of them grew up on Tirnanog. They received all the survival training possible from an early age. They are surely doing far better than we ever could at their power level.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Magnus narrowed his eyes ¨C which looked hilarious in combination with Isaac pulling at his father¡¯s temples.


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°Excuse me if I am too blunt, dear, but you are simply no hunter. I can tell you had a little bit of outdoor survival training back on Earth and you improved a lot since I met you at the Old Camp. If it¡¯s just about a straight fight, I have no concern about throwing you into the thick of it. As long as the threat is obvious you can punch it, but during our outing, I was constantly amazed at how loud you were and how many things I had to explicitly point out because you would have stepped right onto them otherwise.


    ¡°Most of those were threats any hunter trainee would have recognized at a glance and stayed well away from. The only reason why I allowed us to take on things like the changelings was because I knew we could power through it with brute force. Unlike us, with me having to look out for you every step of the way, I am certain both Ivonne and Hector are more than capable of simply avoiding anything they can¡¯t handle. And have a little more trust in your sister. Even unpaired, Iv is one tough bitch and I can promise Hector is no different as long as he gets the time to prepare for a fight.¡±


    Magnus decided to look at a wall with a conflicted expression. It was clear he wanted to object but knew better than to deny the truth. He simply wasn¡¯t some great hunter who had spent years surviving in Tirnanog¡¯s wilderness, learning to know every monster and plant like their own body.


    I smiled proudly at Isaac¡¯s continued antics, knowing pulling faces was something I had taught him.


    The boy had no concern for the serious topic being discussed over his head.


    ¡°They are a good match, no matter what you say,¡± Astra continued once it was clear Magnus had accepted the truth of her words. ¡°And believe me, I am the last person who would ever say such a thing. This new Hector deserves a chance, and if hooking up with your sister is what it takes...¡±


    Magnus huffed, clearly not agreeing on that front.


    ¡°You know what I would do as a professional psychic?¡± I asked to prevent the conflict I already saw looming on the horizon. I waited before I continued until I had Magnus''s attention. ¡°I would wait for them to come back and say nothing about their actions.¡±


    ¡°Not even if they return paired?¡± Magnus asked, clearly understanding what ''going on a hunt together'' meant in Clan Aerie.


    Astra coughed.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded. ¡°Not acknowledging their joining without them explicitly pointing it out to you will have them on the back foot like nothing else you could do to show your disapproval. You know yourself that if they decide to pair up, there is no going back. So why would you choose a path that meant creating even more conflict?


    ¡°And what would happen if they came back from their outing unpaired? By following them you would have only made an overprotective fool of yourself.¡±


    Magnus closed his eyes for a moment before he nodded reluctantly. ¡°I guess you are right ¨C intellectually. Doesn''t mean I can''t teach Hector what it means to be married to an Elrod. There are certain family traditions among men which have to be honoured.¡±


    Astra grinned at her partner. ¡°But you are a Frost now, you know?¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°On paper. I will still do my best to preserve our family traditions.¡±


    He patted Isaac¡¯s head. ¡°Do not worry little one. You will learn in time.¡±


    There was a hint of some dark undertone in there, making me wonder just what kind of people the Elrod¡¯s had been. Magnus had described his parents as upstanding if a little bit too law-abiding bureaucrats. Which gained them the attention of the wrong people in the end.


    His comment made me wonder what would have happened if Earth¡¯s authorities hadn¡¯t assassinated them. Come to think of it, was the organisation contacting and recruiting Magnus as simple of a story as he made it look like in his retelling of the events?


    Why would the members of a secret cabal walk up to some unknown person and tell him to dig into the affairs of his deceased family? Such a thing had the potential to backfire catastrophically.


    Unless they had good reason to believe he would take their side in the end. Like his parents being secret members of the said cabal.


    I wondered, deciding to look into the matter if I ever got the chance to do so inconspicuously.


    I got up and ensured my clothes sat correctly. ¡°Just don¡¯t be too hard on Hector. I will have to excuse myself in the meantime. I have to get back through the wormgate to Hochberg and attend the discussions between our political big shots. Don¡¯t forget you will have to join in tomorrow. Find yourselves a babysitter for our lovely Isaac by then.¡±


    Magnus groaned. ¡°Please don¡¯t call it a wormgate!¡±


    ¡°I am afraid the nickname is already stuck. It¡¯s a wormhole gateway torn out of the guts of a worm. Hence, wormgate,¡± I replied with a small hint of sadistic joy at Magnus''s distaste for the term.


    I bade them goodbye and left the young family to figure out their affairs. Normally, a young pair like them would be encouraged to have as many kids as possible. But Isaac¡¯s peculiarities introduced just enough complications to make it impossible to simply hand the child to a foster family as it would be normally done.


    A molerat carriage took me back to elder Kline¡¯s estate on the fourth strata where the wormgate was set up for the moment. There were plans to get it to a more easily accessible location for the other stratas, but first, the security aspect had to be handled. For the moment, there was no place more secure.


    The Klines had tripled down on their security and hired several hunting teams from the twelfth as soon as the wormgate had proved to be functional. Phenomenally so, allowing a permanent connection between Mount Aerie and the fleet¡¯s flagship.


    Powering the gate was easy enough thanks to the small fusion reactor. The clan had its fair share of worm incursions throughout the centuries and Gilbert¡¯s strata had never thrown away the gathered resources. According to the artificer, the clan had at least two decades of fission material stocked up.


    This was thanks to the gate being relatively small compared to adult worms.


    I reached the Kline¡¯s estate without problems and took the wormgate to the flagship.


    Walking through the wavering ring of light felt strange, as it reminded me of being thrown through one of Earth¡¯s wormholes as a teenager about forty years ago. I had been older than Astra at the time, about to enter university.


    I had never learned the reason why I had been exiled and I wasn¡¯t aware of my biological parents even possessing the power to piss off Earth¡¯s authorities. The revelations with the Thich had at least brought me closer to an answer than ever. Maybe I was just one of the unfortunate few who had been chosen for some genetic quirk their scientists were interested in.


    Cadence took me from the flagship down to Hochberg, where I spent the rest of the day attending boring discussions between the elders and the matriarch¡¯s staff.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Mary Frost***


    I was warm, relaxed, and at peace with the world. Right until a young, very shrill voice woke me from my slumber, combined with small fingers twisting my cheek.


    ¡°Mary! Mary! Grandma!¡±


    Blinking, I tried rubbing the drowsiness out of my eyes. ¡°Wha? Isaac? How would you get in here?¡±


    After entirely too much time, I finally realized the child wasn¡¯t the only one who had invaded my bedroom. ¡°What the fuck are you doing in my quarters!?¡±


    Astra fell to her hands and knees, kowtowing with her forehead touching the floor. ¡°Grandma Mary! Please! I need... really, really need your help!¡±


    Isaac raised his arms to me, clearly expecting to be picked up.


    The corner of my right eye started twitching involuntarily as I finally woke up enough to understand what Astra wanted from me.


    Things surely weren''t dire enough to invade an old woman''s bedroom!

 Ch 91 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Hochberg***


    ***Vanya***


    I nervously fiddled with my hands beneath the table, conscious about revealing any outward signs of impatience or childishness to the gathering of people. It was my first time to interact with the leadership of another clan officially and it was every bit as stressful as I anticipated.


    Clan Aerie had shown up with almost all of their elders, demonstrating how serious they were about the situation.


    Thankfully, Aerie and Hochberg had a history of being good neighbours. Our clans were close allies and our economies were intertwined through the Caravaners as much as it was possible.


    So far, none of the elders had commented on my age.


    That took a bit of the weight off my shoulders, though I could feel their doubt and interest.


    A generous round table had been chosen for this meeting, with the Aerie elders taking up one half. On the other side sat my people. To my right were the heads of Hochberg''s most powerful families and to my left were our powerhouses and influential merchants.


    I had given the order to limit our numbers to twenty people, which was roughly comparable to the eighteen elders who had shown up for this meeting.


    Compared to the caste-like structure of Clan Aerie, Hochberg''s ruling system was a lot more chaotic with people joining and leaving the matriarch''s inner circle of supporters and advisers as their power rose and fell like the tides of the ocean.


    The only constant was the matriarch''s position bringing order to the chaos as the unquestioned representative of Clan Hochberg. Meaning, I was the person to whom everyone had to pay their respects. I was the face of the clan and its voice.


    A task which I would have gladly left to my predecessor if it had been possible.


    I felt a surge of sadness and guilt at her memory, but I squashed the feelings with the knowledge of my actions being a necessity.


    The former matriarch''s death must have been a surprise for the elders. It was clearly shown by how carefully they started the meeting by giving their condolences and inquiring about Clan Hochberg''s stance on Aerie''s brewing feud with Clan Thich.


    I was determined to have Hochberg grant our support as it was laid down in the treaty between the great clans. Though, we surely wouldn''t do so without taking our interests into account.


    The elders'' behaviour clearly showed they weren''t aware of the full picture. If they had known about the whole circumstances around my predecessor''s death, we wouldn''t be sitting here, trying to follow the treaty''s social conduct.


    I sighed in relief once Skye Rumen was finally finished with his speech during which he reiterated all the evidence his people had gathered so far.


    They even brought the two captured Thich recruiters as witnesses. Aerie''s case was air-tight, but we still had to sit through the procedure for the records and as a social nicety.


    It was hard to believe it had taken over two hours until everyone was done with greetings and introductions. Then it had taken us a further three hours to present me with all the evidence and a more compact version of the events. After having reviewed all the evidence before attending this meeting, it was hard not to roll my eyes.


    Until finally someone managed to bring up the true topic at hand ¨C Aerie asking Hochberg to stand as witnesses during their invasion of the Old Camp.


    In my mind, the outcome of this meeting had been a foregone conclusion, but since a meeting between the leadership of two clans was so rare, certain appearances had to be upheld.


    Admittedly, my advisers hadn''t exactly helped by asking questions and insisting on clarifications, lengthening the meeting unnecessarily. Unfortunately, it would have made us look stupid if I had told my own people to just ''shut the fuck up''.


    I eagerly raised a hand to stop Skye Rumen from speaking any further, possibly sending us down another tangent of inquiry about the events.


    ¡°There is no question. Of course, Hochberg will join you as an arbitrator between Aerie and Thich,¡± I answered and looked towards Tianna who was sitting to my left. ¡°We will join Clan Aerie''s fleet with supplies and troops to witness future proceedings. And since the evidence is hard to refute, I will have our troops march towards Jeng as soon as possible.¡±


    Trampling through another clan''s territory would come with its own set of complications, but just like the Aerie, we would have no other choice if we wanted to get to where the action happened. I was pretty certain the Jeng would turn a blind eye as long as we extended the same courtesy as the Aerie did towards us.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    My advisor nodded with a serious expression plastered onto her face.


    I turned towards my right, seeking out one of the merchants in charge of our connections with the Caravaners. ¡°Send out the word of what happened to the other great clans. They will need a full transcription of this meeting. Get the documents to either Tianna or me so we can sign them before you send them. Clan Aerie and Clan Hochberg will send troops to the Old Camp and take control. We will deny Thich access until they manage to refute the evidence against them. Aerie and Hochberg are calling for a grand gathering and need Jeng and Vier to stand witness until the dispute with Thich is resolved. Tell everyone Hochberg''s matriarch has personally reviewed the evidence and deemed it necessary to have this situation cleared up as soon as possible. Any of the smaller clans are invited to join the gathering to observe the procedure.¡±


    Extending an invitation to the smaller clans was just common courtesy, even if their influence was mostly only local. Nobody would ask a small community with just a few hundred souls to join a war when they had their hands full fighting for survival.


    Nonetheless, small groups granting support or denying it could influence the outcome of the coming conflict. And once the accounts were tallied up, the winners would remember who extended a helping hand and who did not.


    Slowly, I swept my gaze over my people. ¡°Until further notice, Hochberg regards Thich as in breach of the treaty. They are to be regarded as a rogue entity, conspiring with Earth, and against the balance of peace between the clans.¡±


    With that, I announced the end of this meeting, wishing to prohibit any further questions.


    Men and women stood up, abandoning their seats to intermingle with the other side and meet old friends. Travel between the clans was hard and rare to occur, but the people in this room were old and powerful. Most of them were well-travelled and had visited other clans performing various functions.


    Either as traders, diplomats, messengers, or even simple adventurers who sought out exotic mutations to further their power. Some animals were limited to certain biomes that the various clans controlled, limiting access if one didn''t nurture the right connections.


    Sadly, I couldn''t just run off, because Skye and Juliana Rumen made their way around the table with their eyes focused on me. It would be a serious faux pas not to talk to the people who were de facto in charge of the council of elders.


    Juliana spoke first once they reached us. ¡°Vanya, I once again want to express my sincere condolences for your loss. I knew Matriarch Greta for decades. After we fought through the war together, it was a shock to learn of her murder, leaving you behind to pick up her position.¡±


    Anajed took a step towards me, deeming the two powerful elders to be too close for comfort. Raising a hand, I gestured for her to take her former position. She was a competent bodyguard. Someone who would lay down her life for me, but if the people in this room ever decided to fight I would be dead either way simply because of being unable to withstand the collateral damage.


    I shook my head. ¡°Do not worry. It has been months since Greta''s death and I had the time to come to terms with it. I only wished I had more time to grow as her successor.¡±


    Skye nodded. ¡°We knew she was grooming you. I even met you once.¡± He gestured with his hand somewhere above his knee. ¡°You were this small. Ah, what am I talking about? You probably can''t even remember.¡±


    I smiled, surprisingly, without faking it. ¡°I do remember. Most of my mental enhancements came from my parents. Greta had me add only a few mutations later on which balanced out my psychic abilities.¡±


    Juliana nodded. ¡°We are thankful that you want to continue the good cooperation between our clans. Admittedly, our previous correspondence made it clear this would be only a formality, but I wondered nonetheless. Greta was... she became a lot more withdrawn in recent years. It was nothing obvious, but noticeable. Fewer diplomats made the trip to our mountain. Our diplomats not receiving as many audiences as prior.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°It was a slow decay. Nothing specific to complain about, but it had me worried about your allegiances nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°Please don''t think too much of the degrading correspondence.¡± I shrugged. ¡°My mentor had a lot on her shoulders before she was murdered. I believe she found something concerning the clan''s safety and was silenced. Sadly, all our investigations came to nothing. I wish she would have trusted me with her secrets, but she kept my education on the theoretical side until it was too late.¡±


    I gestured towards Tianna. ¡°If it hadn''t been for Tianna, I wouldn''t have been able to keep Hochberg together as I did.¡±


    ¡°You are honouring me too much, Vanya.¡± Tianna bowed to the two elders. ¡°Juliana, Skye, it''s nice to meet you again, even if these aren''t the best circumstances.¡±


    Skye nodded to himself. ¡°You are saying Hochberg was at risk because of Greta''s death? I can imagine that. She was always the type to micromanage the different departments, seldom allowing people to think for themselves. The demise of a leader like Greta always leaves a vacuum of power, knowledge, and expertise.¡±


    Tianna pursed her lips. ¡°The clan was not at risk of self-destruction, but Greta''s death came at the worst time possible. Several factions with conflicting interests were trying to steer the clan towards their desires. And as you said, the sudden disappearance of her firm hand left the clan in a state of disarray. If Vanya hadn''t been able to demonstrate her abilities so decisively and retake control, you might have found the clan in a vastly different state upon your arrival.¡±


    Juliana smiled. ¡°It''s fortunate then, though I still have to ask. Why do you have a Thich guarding you? Dejana, I presume?¡± She looked towards my bodyguard.


    I drew in a short breath and threw a short glance behind me, wondering whether it had been foolish of me to assume that a mask would be enough to hide her identity.


    On the other hand, her presence was enough to throw people off more dangerous considerations.


    ¡°Anajed decided to switch sides and give me her full loyalty,¡± I explained.


    Anajed bowed.


    I turned back to face the two elders. ¡°You heard of the incident involving her? I was faced with the decision of having her executed or... having her reconsider... her loyalties. Someone like Dejana simply couldn''t be held for any length of time without great risk to her captors. Her capture alive was already a small miracle, only possible thanks to Magnus and Astra surprising her with their abilities. Dejana was taken out before she had a chance to decide there was nothing more to lose and take more drastic actions.¡±


    Skye raised an eyebrow. ¡°Greta would have been against such methods.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°She would have been against it, but I am not her. I already discussed the topic at length with Tianna, but I am adamant about my decision. If the choice is execution or this, then I prefer my method.¡±


    ¡°Well, then in the spirit of your creed, let¡¯s hope that our cooperation will end with the least bloodshed possible,¡± Juliana offered, accepting my decision.


    I acquiesced with a nod. ¡°Let¡¯s hope Thich have a good explanation for their actions.¡±


    My words said one thing, but in my heart, I knew this wouldn''t be the case.

 Ch 92 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie, The Fleet***


    ***Magnus***


    The days following the fleet''s arrival at Hochberg were strange, to say the least. Everything happened with urgency, but still not fast enough for my taste. Freeing Evanne felt closer than ever and was yet so far away.


    Fortunately, Aerie¡¯s fleet departed quickly once the elders struck a deal with the matriarch and picked up additional troops from our allies. The plan was for our joint forces to head almost directly to the Old Camp.


    There was a small deviation I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about. It was a move born from the knowledge of news travelling slowly on Tirnanog ¨C something I wouldn¡¯t have thought of coming from Earth where the internet was ever-present.


    Vanya had suggested checking on a small clan called Tros. They were an established and relatively stable community with strong trading ties to the two larger clans.


    Their settlement was situated right at the edge of the large forest region Jeng claimed as their own. They made a living by farming crops and hunting the creatures which dominated the nearby lake. Incidentally, the lake was fed by the Sanguine River which was also Hochberg¡¯s lifeblood.


    The matriarch¡¯s reasoning was simple enough. If anything of note had happened since the end of the winter, news from Jeng should have reached Tros by now.


    So a small stopover to gather information wouldn¡¯t add too much to the fleet¡¯s flight time, while possibly giving us some news from Jeng. It was reasonable to assume that Thich had dispatched another team of diplomats to them, causing some uproar.


    Meanwhile, I had to split my time between Isaac, showing my face at the flagship in an official manner so nobody would get suspicious of our whereabouts, and assisting Gilbert with his research.


    Isaac had suddenly made this whole father thing very real for me. Having the boy around still felt awkward. Somehow heart-warming and terrifying at the same time. The former because I never expected to find myself in the role of a father. The latter because I wasn''t certain whether I was capable of being one.


    I was nonetheless determined to give my very best as a parent.


    Thankfully, Astra had somehow managed to persuade ''grandma'' Maria to assist us as a babysitter, which took a huge weight off my shoulders. My wife was adamant about not talking about the price for such a service, but knowing Maria it had to be a steep one. Judging by the interactions we had I was convinced she would do a good job as a role model for Isaac to look up to. And she was also someone Isaac already respected, so I approved of the arrangement.


    Not to mention that we had no other candidates capable of doing the job. By Gaia''s jiggling... ahem...


    I quickly abolished the thought ¨C no need to play with fire.


    There was already enough on my plate to worry about who was looking after the kid when Astra and I were otherwise occupied.


    I wasn''t sure whether skipping the whole baby stage with Isaac was a blessing or a curse. I just couldn''t come to terms with the boy being this big already. On one hand, I shouldn''t complain about not having to change diapers. Isaac was extraordinarily fast at learning new things and more importantly he could use the toilet if someone helped him.


    On the other hand, the brat was a handful. None of his mishaps were meant maliciously, but his curiosity was constantly getting him into trouble. Astra and I had already gotten first-hand experience of his boundless energy when he somehow managed to remove the grating from one of the ventilation shafts in our quarters so he could ¡®go explore¡¯ ¨C with his frame just small enough to squeeze through the small opening.


    Thankfully, Astra¡¯s filaments had been long enough to fish him back out before he got out of her reach. It was the first time we could test our skills at reprimanding the boy, combined with a very colourful set of new curse words from Astra.


    Afterwards, I had to talk with her about bringing Isaac up with manners, which meant not overly exposing him to bad language. It was a good resolution on my part, but knowing myself it would be hard to follow. I too tended towards bad language when I was upset.


    In the end, I couldn¡¯t truly blame Astra for her choice of words.


    Sticking her filaments all the way down a dusty ventilation shaft wasn¡¯t something to enjoy, given the necessary clean-up afterwards. And what if Isaac had gotten stuck in there? Getting him back out would have been a nightmare.


    Isaac tugging at my filaments brought me back to the here and now.


    ¡°Read story!¡± Isaac hopped in place on my lap, demanding for me to continue reading the picture book with him.


    I sighed, obliging for now even if I was boiling inwardly.


    This cursed picture book was the reason why my thoughts had derailed in the first place.


    Whoever made up this story should be thrown out into the snow next winter. I knew actual paper books were valuable on Tirnanog, but I had the firm resolution to burn this one as soon as Isaac didn''t pay attention.


    For now, I kept reading because simply stopping in the middle of the story would surely leave me with an upset child.


    Still, the main character was a whiny bitch who got constantly outwitted by everyone he encountered while he was on a quest to return home. On top, he wore his emotions on a silver platter. There was more, a lot more to complain about, but to make the story short, I didn''t want something like this to shape my son''s ideas of how society functioned. Or how any person with self-respect should behave.


    What happened to the good, old classics like Grimm''s stories to frighten kids into behaving? I knew my family had always been a bit weird with their education, using stuff from centuries ago, but stories such as the one I was reading right now had to put a dent in a child''s psyche.


    No wonder most adults nowadays couldn''t stand seeing an animal slaughtered, or apathetically accepted anything the government decided for them. Seriously, it was no wonder Earth¡¯s population was largely made up of mindless drones who followed whatever was the media¡¯s dictated topic of interest.


    Isaac didn''t necessarily have to know how cruel the world was yet, but a certain realism of how things worked had to be expected no matter the age. This book was something conjured up from Earth''s darkest extremist political left-wing, designed to indoctrinate future workers into meekness and obedience.


    How had it made its way onto this planet? I had no idea.


    On impulse, I skimmed ahead three pages. Then I decided to risk upsetting Isaac when the main character took, yet again, the wrong fork in the road, promising yet another cringe-worthy encounter which would end with him ¡®helping¡¯ another traveller in need. Though, ¡®exploited¡¯ would be the better term judging by how the story had played out so far. Of course, the main character would be such a goody-two-shoes that he was perfectly fine with it.


    ¡°Why don''t you let me tell you a story?¡± I tested the waters and closed the book. ¡°Do you want to hear how your daddy arrived in this world and encountered the evil fluffballs?¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Isaac seemed wary of my story-telling capabilities but nodded.


    Till he fell asleep, it took me an hour to educate my son on how his bedsheets were made. Fleeced gutter fur was the preferred material for most textiles on Tirnanog. Though for now, I didn''t mention that fleecing living gutters was practically impossible.


    For the sake of innocence, absolutely no gutters were hurt in this slightly edited version of events.


    Before the fleet left for the Old Camp, I also had to facilitate a very strange meeting between Gilbert and matriarch Vanya. I finally had come around to inform the mad scientist about Thich''s communication device.


    Once the elder heard about it, there was no holding him back.


    Gilbert practically forced his way into Hochberg to have a look at the device ¨C and attempted to ¡®confiscate¡¯ it.


    Which didn¡¯t go down well because the Hochberg had their own experts researching the device. Ultimately, the elders had to negotiate cooperation between the two clans to facilitate a joint research operation on the Thich¡¯s usage of cores.


    Maybe Gilbert¡¯s astounding success with the wormgate ¨C yes, the nickname stuck, to my chagrin. Anyway, his success had me a little too optimistic about receiving immediate answers.


    Gilbert was no magician and had to carefully analyse the device if he didn¡¯t want to risk destroying it. The only thing he could do on the fly was to confirm what I already suspected after having a look at it myself.


    Yes, the communicator was made from cores and definitely wasn¡¯t intended for a human hand. Though, Gilbert couldn¡¯t tell yet whether that was owed to the necessity of cobbling together different cores like building blocks or because this device was never truly intended for human use.


    Our leadership was more accepting of the possibility than I had hoped for. Though, as I knew now, this wasn¡¯t because they anticipated a truly ¡®alien¡¯ influence.


    A few days later, late at night, Astra finally joined me in bed, looking a little bit troubled. She had been taking up her job as her mother¡¯s scribe and was very busy whenever the elders had one of their meetings or something came up requiring our strata¡¯s attention.


    I waited till we were snuggled up beneath the bedsheets before I decided to ask what was wrong. ¡°You look like your day didn''t go so well.¡±


    ¡°No. I actually had a fine day,¡± she replied, sounding slightly frustrated. ¡°It''s just Isaac.¡±


    She sighed.


    ¡°What about him?¡± I asked. ¡°Did he do something again? Like running off into the treemonae grove?¡±


    I shuddered slightly at the thought. Astra had shown me the place once and I had no desire to go back there. The treemonae were anemone-like trees that looked like weeping willows from afar ¨C though they were more like animals in truth. They certainly were capable of uprooting themselves to migrate to better hunting grounds if they wanted to. One of the things was creepy enough, but being surrounded by an entire grove was not my idea of a good place to be.


    Driving past the grove with a carriage was bad enough.


    ¡°What? No!¡± Astra was also horrified at the thought. A treemonae would have no issues snacking on a child like Isaac. ¡°Maria taught Isaac about the seasons. And naturally, the topic came up that people can freeze during winter if they don''t have proper clothing and shelter. Summer is warm and winter is cold and such...¡±


    ¡°I see nothing wrong,¡± I commented, wondering whether Isaac already understood the concept of freezing. He was a smart kid and grasped things quickly with a steadily widening vocabulary. At times it was eerie when the toddler suddenly blurted out a complete sentence far above what a normal human of his age should be capable of.


    Nonetheless, I wasn¡¯t sure whether he grasped the true meaning behind certain concepts. Especially when he had never experienced what it meant to freeze for himself.


    ¡°Yes, um...¡± Astra waved a hand. ¡°And then he asked me whether fleeced gutters wouldn''t freeze to death if they were left out in the open? How do you reply to such a question? And how would he ever get the bizarre idea of anyone risking his neck to fleece a gutter?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, ahem.¡± I cleared my throat, remembering a certain bedtime story which quickly became Isaac¡¯s favourite.


    ¡°I have no clue,¡± I added unhelpfully while I did my best to keep a grin off my face. The lights were out but our bioluminescence was more than enough to read facial expressions.


    ¡°I would probably have told him that a shelter is enough for them.¡±


    The next morning, we woke up to be summoned to the flagship¡¯s war council.


    What we arrived to was a room filled with Hochberg¡¯s and Aerie¡¯s political leadership.


    Over the next few minutes, we had the doubtful honour to listen from the second row as the events unfolded. The fleet had closed in on Tros and Juliana¡¯s drake-rider scouts had returned with breaking news.


    ¡°The settlement is burned down,¡± the rider in charge of the scouting party reported. ¡°We could make out what looked like a burial site and a temporary encampment sporting a flag with Thich¡¯s colours ¨C white with a black fortress on top. We didn¡¯t get too close, but I doubt we mistook it.¡±


    She shook her head and gestured at a skilfully drawn map. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see any sign of the Tros. If there are still some around, then they are either dead, fled, or are no longer trying to resist the Thich¡¯s occupation. Though, I want to point out that the settlement¡¯s setup was inspired by Hochberg. Tros dug themselves into a large bedrock looking out from the surrounding grassland. The wooden fortifications on top were probably inspired by the Old Camp. They may be holding out in a deeper bunker system while the Thich hold the surface.¡±


    Juliana studied the sketch while massaging her forehead with her index finger. ¡°They attacked and subjugated one of the larger settlements between Hochberg and Jeng? For what reason?¡±


    ¡°As a staging point for a future campaign against Hochberg,¡± Vanya stated, sounding not surprised in the slightest.


    Everyone in the room focused their attention on the matriarch who sighed in an aggravated manner. A young girl treating the rest of this gathering like a mother having to chew through the obvious solution for her child would have been a funny sight if the situation hadn¡¯t been so serious.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious,¡± Vanya began. ¡°Your assumptions about Thich¡¯s intentions are closer to the truth than you might like. This is proof. Thich¡¯s goal was to dominate Tirnanog and something we did triggered a military response. I already believed this would happen after you brought forth their recruiters as witnesses. They were slowly building up towards a military conflict and when they learned we are onto them, they saw no other way than to react at full force.¡±


    ¡°But this¡­¡± Juliana gestured at the sketch of Tros¡¯s situation. ¡°This means war. None of the great clans will stand for this breach of peace. The Jeng and the Vier won¡¯t sit back. It will be all of us against the Thich. They can¡¯t win!¡±


    Vanya slowly shook her head. ¡°I am sorry to say this, but the Aerie might be a little bit too far removed from clan politics since the treaty was established. A bold move like this can only mean a worst-case scenario for us. Thich forces being already at the edge of my clan¡¯s territory means there must be more to the friendship between Thich and Vier than mere rumours. I already warned you about this.¡±


    ¡°If the Vier openly support Thich¡­¡± Teresa mused. ¡°It would explain how they can be here already. The Thich wouldn¡¯t have to fear fighting a war at multiple fronts. They could throw everything they have at us.¡±


    Vanya gestured towards a larger map on the wall which showed all the clan territories. ¡°Which is why I suggest we turn the fleet now and head directly towards Jeng¡¯s mother tree. Maybe we can save some of them.¡±


    Juliana raised an inquiring eyebrow and the matriarch sighed.


    ¡°If the scenario I proposed is true and Thich has a solid alliance with Vier, and they are convinced their machinations up until now could only end in a military conflict, then there is only one move forward for them. If I were in their place, and assuming Jeng isn¡¯t already firmly on their side, I would concentrate all my forces on Jeng to strike them down as quickly as possible. If Jeng falls, it would be two against two, with Thich and Vier having Earth¡¯s support.¡±


    I stepped forward, inserting myself into the conversation of big shots. ¡°You still have to take the Old Camp within the month.¡±


    Juliana frowned. ¡°I am sorry, Magnus, but the situation turned suddenly a lot more complicated. We will still do everything we can to get your sister back, but the Old Camp might no longer be a point of interest for us.¡±


    Vanya tilted her head. ¡°Why within the month?¡±


    I looked at the two clan leaders, knowing this revelation might be taken badly. ¡°Because when I first reprogrammed Aerie¡¯s supercomputer, I used the connection to try some hacking at Earth¡¯s side.¡±


    Juliana pursed her lips. ¡°You mentioned it. And the attempt failed, after which you cut the connection.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°The hacking program I transferred was supposed to scramble whatever was set up on Earth. But I still hold hope it at least fulfilled its secondary purpose.¡±


    The elder narrowed her eyes and I sighed, knowing she wouldn¡¯t like this. ¡°It also transferred a message to my former organisation, telling them I survived and that the Tibet wormhole is safe. I never lied to you about my purpose or my goals. They are still the same. But the organisation will likely¡­ attack the Tibet site and get as many people and material through it as possible. The plan has always been for me to be an advanced scout and for others to join me should I manage to get a message back.¡±


    The baffled expressions of both Vanya and Juliana, as well as the other elders in the room, were priceless.


    Astra was suddenly at my side and pulled at my earlobe. ¡°And this is something you intended to tell us when exactly!? You didn¡¯t even tell me!¡±


    ¡°Gentle! Gentle!¡± I cursed, fearing she would rip it off until I managed to free myself. ¡°I am sorry for staying quiet, but if I can say anything good about the organisation¡¯s modus operandi then it¡¯s about how they do things. Everything is ''need to know'', which is the only reason why Earth¡¯s government has never managed to stamp them out.¡±


    I turned back to address Vanya and Juliana. ¡°Up until now, you were doing what was necessary. Whether I would have told you or not wouldn¡¯t have changed your goal of taking the Old Camp. It would have only introduced the possibility of the information being leaked. Sorry.¡±

 Ch 93 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Tros***


    ***Magnus***


    Vanya hummed at the news, merely seeing the information as a new circumstance to act upon. ¡°Then I suggest sending a scouting party to the Old Camp. Once we know what''s going on we can divert sufficient forces to free the Old Camp of Thich occupation. Delaying a few days shouldn''t hurt. Meanwhile, the bulk of the fleet should continue onwards to assist Jeng.¡±


    She pointed at the map. ¡°I would operate under the assumption that Vier and Thich have concentrated most of their forces on Jeng''s mother tree. The Old Camp is a strategically important location, but much like Tros, it won''t be heavily defended at this point. I believe it may be a good sign that Tros isn''t heavily defended. What we are seeing seems like a bare minimum effort ¨C just enough to subdue the population. It means Thich''s forces are still occupied otherwise. Likely with Jeng¡¯s subjugation.¡±


    Juliana threw a doubtful look at the girl. ¡°You don''t see any problem with us learning about this ''support'' only now?¡± Then she gave me a look which made it clear we would have words later.


    The matriarch shrugged. ¡°I can see why you are angry now, Juliana. But don''t let it cloud your judgement. Magnus''s reasoning is sound. Sharing the information would have only made it accessible for spies and as we can see...¡± She gestured at me. ¡°He is close enough to Aerie''s leadership to learn about decisions which could counteract the organisation''s plans. Hasn''t he come forward immediately as soon as knowing the information became vital? Be glad to have someone like him on your side. I suggest we adjust our plans and move forward without much moaning. Time is vital.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, but why do you regard assisting the Jeng as so important?¡± I asked. ¡°I am certainly not some strategic genius, and I understand that with Jeng it would be three clans against two, but they seem more important to you than merely the manpower and resources they could provide to the cause.¡±


    Vanya blinked and looked at Juliana to provide an answer.


    For a moment, I thought the elder intended to strangle me for my continued interference when she raised her hand, but she only sighed and knocked her knuckles onto my breastplate.


    ¡°Iobeetle armour. Clan Jeng are the only ones who provide the clans with the carapace. The beetles live only in the heart of their forest, which means they have a monopoly on the resource. Everyone knows how to work with the material, but the Jeng are the only ones experienced enough with hunting the creatures reliably. There are more than enough poachers from the smaller clans surrounding the forest, but none of them have a long life expectancy. If Thich and Vier manage to subjugate Jeng, we are in deep shit, because they will control the source of the best raw material for armour.¡±


    I nodded, understanding the issue. ¡°So if Jeng is indeed under siege, it would be best for us to throw everything we have at them right now before we run out of material.¡±


    Gilbert had shown me how to work with the carapace and the material was excruciatingly hard to process. Nobody on Tirnanog had the equipment to tell what exactly iobeetle carapace was made of, but my best guess was a sort of compound material of metal and ceramics. The carapace could be melted under extreme temperatures and allowed for some flexing, hinting at metal. But unlike metal, it simply broke if stressed too much. Unfortunately, melting the material destroyed its unique durability to mechanical stress.


    The only possibility to process the material was to grind an existing piece of carapace to the desired shape.


    Gilbert had demonstrated its properties by shooting one of Aerie''s flak cannons at a piece of unworked armour. Let''s just say that someone wearing iobeetle armour wasn''t in danger of injury because the armour gave. Splinters or a weapon finding a weak spot between the armour plates was the true problem.


    Now, iobeetle carapace wasn''t a miracle material. It could be worn down with grinding and excessive force, but as far as humans were concerned, there was nothing better to protect yourself. It was just as light as equivalent steel armour while providing sufficient defence against bullets of high calibre. If something indeed managed to break the armour, the blunt force inflicted alone would have already killed or heavily injured the person wearing it.


    I wanted to ask more questions, like why Jeng would share such a military asset in the first place. But this wasn''t the time or the place.


    There was likely some political answer. Hoarding a certain resource would be beneficial only as long as it didn''t entice others into attacking you or stealing said resource, so trading it for other valuable assets might be the better choice.


    Besides, hadn¡¯t the Jeng I met at the Old Camp mentioned something about resource problems? They weren¡¯t even interested in recruiting me, so if they utterly lacked access to certain resources, this was certainly a reason to trade a military asset.


    My attention was drawn away from the topic when I noticed Etan gesturing for Astra and me to join him. My father-in-law wore a severe expression.


    ¡°You two are going to join me when our people free Tros,¡± he said as soon as were close enough to talk comfortably. ¡°I think it would be a good exercise, if not for you, Magnus, then at least for Astra.¡±


    Astra''s lips thinned. ¡°What''s that supposed to mean? I have fought and killed my fair share of people. It''s not like you have to teach the teenage me how to skin an animal. I am well aware that Tros will likely be a bloody affair.¡±


    Etan chewed on his lower lip while he regarded his daughter thoughtfully before he concluded, ¡°Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am not. If my guess is right, I am still convinced you have to see what this conflict will be like. The sooner the veil is torn away from before your eyes, the better.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Tros***


    ***Travis Gibbs***


    I looked towards my bonded partner and gave her a reassuring smile. Edna needed it, even though she was among the top-scoring students alongside me. As sensors, it was our duty to guide our comrades on this crusade.


    My Edna wasn¡¯t some flower to be protected, but she had revealed her insecurities more than once on those lonely nights since we had been selected to bond with each other.


    The clan¡¯s academy was a harsh place. But none could question that it prepared Thich¡¯s recruits for this world. At least those who were selected to join the armed forces.


    I was glad Edna hadn¡¯t been selected as a bonded partner for someone from Thich¡¯s higher society, or I would have never gotten to know her so well.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    When Captain Cordova lowered his binoculars, I quickly steeled my expression. He was a strict man and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to reprimand his sub-commanders for the slightest offence. Showing unprofessional behaviour when the enemy was at our doorstep was one of those things.


    ¡°It looks like they finally decided to get serious,¡± Cordova commented while he regarded one of the Aerie airships. It was quickly losing altitude, no longer fearing any of the entrenched positions which might have taken it down.


    The flying bastards had held their position above the settlement for the last hour ¨C far above where the anti-air cannons could reach them. At least I had to give them credit for not jumping blindly into an obvious trap.


    A few well-aimed bombs had been dropped on our defensive positions after it was clear that Clan Thich was in control of Tros. The bombs had been nothing more than probing attacks to test our reaction ¨C and to get rid of any dangers to the airship.


    Aside from the firebombs which had prevented us from leaving our entrenched shelters for a few minutes, none of the used devices had been a serious hazard. They could have chosen to smoke us out with poison gas, but they hadn¡¯t even tried.


    It wouldn¡¯t have worked anyway, but their reluctance to try was an obvious weakness in their determination. Just as command had expected.


    Now our job was to hold out until the main forces could return to bolster this position.


    If we managed to take out some unfriendly heavy hitters while defending this place ¨C all the better.


    The original settlers had fortified this position well enough for our purpose. There were even a few defenders left on the lower levels, but Clan Thich controlled more than enough of the tunnel network to hold out for days.


    Depopulating the settlement was gruesome work, but it had to be done after they refused Thich occupation. This war for unification couldn¡¯t be settled by leaving dissidents behind our frontline.


    The poor Tros hadn¡¯t known what hit them when we raided their settlement in the dead of night.


    Admittedly, the army¡¯s veterans had broken the settlement¡¯s defences for our division, but our group had been cleaning out the tunnel network for days. We had proven ourselves more than once.


    I returned my attention to the airship.


    After the bombs cleared away our surface installations, the Aerie finally dared to land troops, but their first attempt at taking the settlement¡¯s surface failed spectacularly thanks to the captain.


    Their regular fighters were no better than ours, which meant those with extraordinary abilities would either uphold or break this siege.


    Our whole division had been trained for this and we had been bonded before deployment, skyrocketing our power.


    And when the landed troops attacked, they were repelled with ease.


    ¡°They will send down some of their heavy hitters now that they know I am here,¡± Cordova commented and handed me his binoculars. ¡°Take over for now and defend the surface till I am back.¡±


    ¡°Where will you be, sir?¡± Edna asked.


    ¡°Not far. You know the combat doctrine. Juggernauts will not be engaged until the common soldier manages to gauge their abilities. I will be waiting for you to do your job. Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± He gave us a salute and jumped down the air shaft which connected our position with the underground network.


    I nodded and returned my attention to the airship while Edna gave out orders to the various combat groups. If the Aerie indeed sent down their juggernauts, we would have to lure them into the killing zone.


    Once the enemy was injured or forced to reveal their capabilities, the captain could decide to finish them off or call for a retreat if he regarded their powers as problematic.


    It was up to us to either deal with the threat outright or to get him this information.


    I raised the binoculars when I saw what looked like a single person jumping off the airship ¨C followed by two more people.


    They were either suicidal or¡­


    I frowned when the armoured figure blurred and I lost track of the falling body, so I lowered the binoculars, but couldn¡¯t find them. There was only one person left falling.


    Edna touched my shoulder and pointed. ¡°He is already on the ground.¡±


    I followed her finger and found the target.


    ¡°How!?¡± I raised the binoculars again and studied the figure who had landed on a damaged log house. The man wore full plate armour, not revealing much about his mutations, but a few things were obvious.


    It took only a few moments until my training took over. ¡°Four vision slits on the helmet. Likely a nightstalker mutation. Full plate armour and a two-handed weapon, so likely a strength-type, if it isn¡¯t one of their hunters.¡±


    ¡°Group three, engage,¡± Edna gave the order, relying on the sensor with the said group to relay her command. ¡°Does anyone have eyes on the other one which disappeared?¡±


    I watched the third person land with unnatural grace next to the armoured warrior ¨C his legs absorbing a fall of about fifty metres without any issue. He didn¡¯t have any weapons, but he stood there with an arrogance seemingly born from experience.


    ¡°That one, Edna,¡± I said with absolute certainty in my voice. ¡°The one who touched down last.¡±


    Edna gave the order to our sniper who was carrying a large calibre anti-tank rifle. It was an expensive piece with limited ammunition, but a dead juggernaut would be worth those resources.


    Then multiple things happened at once.


    Five of our people left their cover, two of them carrying heavy crossbows. Two more were equipped for close combat weapons and the fifth was the sensor. They executed the plan perfectly, drawing all the attention of the two figures.


    Our sniper took his shot, but the projectile evaporated in a flash of sparks and splinters before it could take out the target.


    I blinked, trying to process what I had seen. It looked like a tentacle slapped the bullet out of the air before it could impact.


    The sniper took his second shot at the other person. There was no need to waste a bullet on a target which had already blocked one. But the armoured person wasn¡¯t there any more, leaving the bullet to streak through empty air.


    That was all the sniper was going to get, because the unarmed guy jumped off the roof, heading directly in the sniper¡¯s direction.


    Edna yelled for our man to evacuate.


    Seeing the power of those fighters, I should have done the same, but our team was already engaged with the target who was armoured in full plate. He had simply appeared in front of them.


    ¡°Relay to the captain that one of them is a speedster and the other has to be from the twelfth strata. One of those ¡®treemonae¡¯ mutations we learned about.¡±


    For a moment, I dared to hope when the warrior froze upon engaging with our people. Something about them threw him off.


    It was enough for our close combat specialists to close the distance. Sanchez was our best woman when it came to grappling distance. The weapons she carried were just for show because her body was more like a squid¡¯s.


    Her bonded partner successfully diverted the spear, allowing her to latch onto the target. She flowed around him, trying to get into any openings in his armour.


    We had him!


    Then the warrior seemingly exploded with arcs of thunder, charring Sanchez to a crisp. Her partner was barely able to process what was happening before a blurringly fast arm passed through his head and an arc of blood and brain splattered the streets.


    Our people finally managed to process what had happened and fired two ineffective crossbow bolts. One missed entirely and the other pinged off the armour.


    Then the target was between them, the tip of his spear drawing a perfect circle in the air. Two heads flew and Taylor and Audrey were no more.


    I felt a short pang of guilt at sending five of my fellow recruits to their doom but suppressed it. There had been no way to know they would be so utterly outclassed.


    Rita, our sensor turned to run, but there was no running from this force of nature.


    The man blurred forward and caught up to her with ease before he grabbed the back of her head and drove her face-first into the street, ending the shriek of terror abruptly.


    ¡°We have to go.¡± I blinked and turned around when Edna gasped. ¡°They sent down at least two jugger-¡±


    The warrior stood before Edna, blocking our escape route into the tunnels. I looked back over to where our people had been slaughtered, but only the bodies remained.


    Then I looked back at our opponent who was apparently capable of teleporting!


    He tilted his head and regarded us. ¡°Well, you are even younger than the other ones. What are the Thich thinking? Sending fucking kids to play cannon fodder. Are you the special child brigade?¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t ¡®cannon fodder¡¯,¡± I replied, incensed at the suggestion. Had this person no clue about tactics? Killing the opponent¡¯s juggernauts was essential in warfare with superpowered beings. A single person like this man could rip through hundreds of people without getting tired. It was the reason why the clans only answered a juggernaut with their own juggernaut after they knew their asset¡¯s abilities gave them the upper hand.


    We could fight against normal warriors any time of the day. Heck, we had fought them! We weren¡¯t supposed to fight something like this!


    Which was why we had Cordova!


    But where was Cordova now? Had he decided we were¡­ expendable?


    The man snorted and I could practically see the pitying look he gave us. ¡°It looks like the penny finally dropped.¡±


    Edna moved, but the man backhanded her with a resounding ¡®crack¡¯.


    More because of instinct than anything else, I moved too.


    Then the man¡¯s palm filled my vision and the next moment my world turned white.

 Ch 94 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Tros***


    ***Astra***


    The Thich warrior got hit before he could disappear into the tunnel.


    My javelin pierced through his lower abdomen and ripped out the other side to embed itself into the wall while pulling a few filaments attached to its end with it.


    The man screamed and ineffectively tore at his belly as he tried to dig the invading filaments out of his flesh. Then his muscles locked up and he shook in place as the electricity transmitted by my filaments paralysed him.


    He fell and face-planted into the cobblestone while his muscles spasmed ineffectively.


    In a moment, I caught up to him and ended his suffering by driving my spear through his head. Once he was dealt with, I retracted the filaments from his wound and retrieved the javelin.


    After partnering up with Magnus, I had admittedly struggled to come up with a fighting style and fitting weapons which made proper use of all my abilities.


    The rapier was still a good choice for a sidearm, but using it as a main weapon just left too much to be desired. Larger monsters were sometimes simply unimpressed by a single stab wound from something that could be considered a needle from their perspective. There was also the relatively short range compared to a two-handed weapon. A weakness which forced me into unfavourable close combat situations more often than not.


    Switching to a spear and mimicking Magnus''s fighting style solved a large part of the problem, but it simply wasn¡¯t my thing.


    I needed something like his flechettes to deal with opponents from afar. Hence, my request for the new weapons. And Gilbert had delivered my little order once he arrived with the fleet.


    Magnus respected my close combat capabilities when we sparred, especially my wrestling potential due to my much longer filaments. But the truth of the matter was, I simply disliked getting close to my opponents. I used what abilities fate had provided, but I didn¡¯t have to like choking the life out of everything I encountered.


    For that sake, Gilbert had updated my armour set with ten javelins. With a little more than one meter in length, they were rather short to be called javelins, but also too large to be labelled throwing darts. Each had a small ring at the end for my filaments to hold onto during flight.


    Thanks to this feature, I now had access not only to a frightening ranged weapon but also one I could retrieve quickly as long as I didn¡¯t let go or launch it with too much force.


    Once the target was speared, the filaments provided a direct conductor for my electricity. At first glance, this method might look redundant since we could throw lightning bolts if we wanted to. But compared to having a direct connection to the target, generating a lightning bolt was an exhausting and relatively badly aimed form of attack.


    No matter how much we concentrated, it was impossible to guide the magnetic fields to the necessary degree at a distance. And launching plasma had the opposite problem. It allowed precise aiming at a distance but lacked penetrative force.


    Magnus had jokingly called my new weapon idea an oversized stun gun. Nobody in Tirnanog used such weapons, but once he explained the concept I had to admit he wasn¡¯t completely wrong. I figured his making fun of the idea was just a little jealousy because his filaments were too short to do the same.


    Nonetheless, I liked the new style since it was easy enough to integrate the javelins into an armoured skirt and cape, allowing me to look larger and quite menacing.


    Much like Magnus¡¯s flechettes, I could throw the javelins or launch them with a significant boost via electromagnetism, though the latter I had yet to perfect. For now, simply throwing the javelin was the better option.


    For smaller targets, I still carried a set of my partner¡¯s flechettes.


    I shook my head in dismay when I realized I was just trying to distract myself with these musings.


    Father had gone after the sniper while tasking Magnus with taking care of the normal soldiers and drawing their attention. Meanwhile, it had been my job to look out for the appearance of the other juggernaut while providing backup to my partner.


    Except for the group which tried to sneak up on Magnus it had been a boring affair so far.


    The Thich juggernaut who thwarted our first probing attacks was nowhere to be found. We had seen him from the ship, but he departed the battlefield as soon as we joined the fighting. It looked like he had taken tunnels to escape, but I couldn¡¯t be sure.


    For a moment, I considered going down into the tunnels to hunt him down, but Etan had been adamant about not risking anything.


    Many powerful people had fallen during the war not because they were slain in battle, but because of some elaborate trap. Going down into a narrow tunnel system where the ceiling could be brought down on our heads would only give Thich cause to celebrate as they''d be getting the deaths of one or two juggernauts while paying the reasonable price of a few dozen or even a hundred of their regular soldiers.


    Hence, my father¡¯s order was to not follow the Thich under any circumstances.


    Just like with our first probing attacks, the common soldiers would be first to judge the enemy¡¯s strength while searching for possible traps. A juggernaut would be deployed only once the battlefield had been checked.


    I sighed and left the body behind. Second Sight led me directly to my next target and the one afterwards. Normally, I would have had qualms about slaughtering the common soldiers without giving them the chance to surrender, but there was no other choice.


    Neither Aerie nor Hochberg had the resources to entertain prisoners of war. Both clans had gone into this conflict knowing full well there was no quarter to be given by either side.


    A gruesome truth which came to reality when I traversed the empty buildings while shadowing Magnus. There were no bodies, the nightly predators had taken care of the remains, but other things pointed out what had happened in this settlement.


    The pool of dried blood on the street, or the ransacked family home. With a hunter¡¯s eye for tracks, hints and marks, I had no problem piecing the tale together.


    How the defenders had met the attackers at the edge of their settlement in open battle, only for their resistance to be broken. How they desperately fought in the streets to allow others to retreat into the tunnels.


    The destruction of their fortifications had doomed the settlement. The Thich forces just had to retreat and wait out the night while the predators slowly whittled down the defenders.


    What Tirnanog¡¯s wildlife had left behind made it clear what had happened once the settlement¡¯s defences were in tatters.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The defenders of Tros had retreated into the tunnels, no longer able to hold the settlement. Tirnanog¡¯s monsters had probably killed a majority of the non-combatants after the Thich had slain the clan¡¯s combatants. Which didn¡¯t mean the Thich hadn¡¯t laid hands upon the civilians. There was plenty of evidence of humans breaking into various buildings.


    And the mass grave at the edge of settlements was something only humans would do to their victims. Taking care of bodies was something the nightly predators and scavengers were quite good at.


    Though, it left me to wonder why the Thich had even bothered.


    An act of humanity? An attempt to clean up and hide the mess? Or pragmatism, an attempt at limiting the number of monsters drawn to the served feast?


    Humans had brought the idea of war to Tirnanog, but on this planet, there were always at least three parties to every conflict.


    When I caught up to Magnus, I found him at the lookout which had served the Thich sub-commanders. It was located at the settlement¡¯s highest point.


    He had slain the two sensors who had been overlooking the Thich forces together with the enemy juggernaut.


    A girl no older than sixteen lay at a hatch which led down into the tunnels. She was probably younger, but I couldn¡¯t tell for sure. Her neck was broken and her sightless eyes widened in mute surprise.


    Magnus still held the other sensor with a clawed grip, his strained fingers buried in the man¡¯s face. The corpse¡¯s leg twitched thanks to a minute discharge of electricity my partner channelled subconsciously while Magnus overlooked the landing of our regular troops.


    Our hunters from the twelfth were brought down to the ground by the fifteenth¡¯s drake riders. Each airship had its wing of riders for operations such as these, since landing the entire airship would pose more logistical problems than a few quick transport flights.


    ¡°Are you okay, Magnus?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you having second thoughts about¡­ this?¡±


    I indicated the body he was still holding in a death grip.


    My partner shuddered and straightened. His fingers loosened and slipped out of the Thich¡¯s face, allowing the corpse to hit the ground. The face was gone, leaving a mangled mass of flesh. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I was just a little stunned by their age. I may have hesitated more than I should.¡±


    He muttered to himself and looked down at the body. ¡°It was stupid of me. They shouldn¡¯t have managed to do so much as touch me, but I let them get close like a bloody beginner because they were so young.¡±


    Magnus¡¯s expression was hidden beneath his helmet, but thanks to Second Sight I could tell he was bothered by what he had done.


    My gaze wandered back to the girl¡¯s dead eyes.


    My partner¡¯s feelings were easy enough to understand. What had happened in this settlement bothered me too, but for different reasons. I had years to get accustomed to the Thich¡¯s wickedness. All they had achieved here in my eyes was hitting a new low. I could muster some understanding for the individuals caught up in the Thich''s militaristic system. But as a whole, their clan was the enemy. Now that the peace was broken, killing any who wore the name Thich proudly was the only option.


    My father had been right to take us down here and see the reality of war first-hand.


    Magnus glanced at the sensor who lay at his feet before looking back at me. ¡°They are even younger than Iv! No, that¡¯s not what troubles me. I guess, I just wondered what I should do if I found Evanne among them. Is she even still alive? Or is dying in this war the greater danger for her? What if she is killed on some other battlefield and turned into a nameless corpse? I wouldn¡¯t even know what happened to her!¡±


    I took his hand, not caring about the blood on it. ¡°The war would have happened with or without us. You know as well as I that there is more than us driving this conflict. The battlefield would be a different one, but that¡¯s all. Maybe we would be fighting at Hochberg or Aerie instead of the border. And haven¡¯t you found Ivonne already? You changed at least her life for the better. Where would she be right now if not for you?¡±


    Magnus looked into my eyes and I could feel the electricity around him shift before he nodded and chuckled. ¡°I guess finding Iv was already more than I ever hoped for when I allowed myself to be thrown through that godforsaken wormhole.¡±


    I smiled and coughed to remind him of something. ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course. You are the most important thing aside from my little sister which I picked up on this cursed planet. Definitely the most important thing in my life! Where would I be right now without you?¡±


    ¡°Inside the belly of some horrible critter.¡± I bonked him on his helmet right before Etan landed next to us, carrying an oversized rifle.


    The sight of the hilarious weapon finally got Magnus out of his funk. ¡°What the fuck is that? Did they really shoot at us with that thing? I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s still a rifle or already a cannon.¡±


    Etan regarded the monstrous barrel which was as long as himself. ¡°They did ¨C and they might have been successful if it had been any other juggernaut. The more important question is how they got it.¡±


    He removed the barrel which was attached with a quick-lock mechanism to the rest of the rifle. Then he pointed out a series of lines and squares on the barrel. The engraving had been placed in a manner which protected it from scratches once the weapon was assembled.


    ¡°I can believe that some highly skilled Thich artisan is capable of forging a weapon like this, much like we forge our own auto-cannons for the airships. But I doubt they would bother to use a QR code as a serial number.¡±


    ¡°Which means they either used an antique from the first settlers or they got it from Earth,¡± Magnus remarked. ¡°The first option is one I doubt. Unless they are already desperate?¡±


    Etan nodded. ¡°I think this is another hint at what we are up against. I will take this to the council so they can see for themselves.¡±


    ¡°What do you think of them, father?¡± I asked and gestured.


    Etan only looked at the girl¡¯s body for a moment before he shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s nothing I didn¡¯t expect. The Thich¡¯s culture treats those they see as lesser as nothing more than expendable meat. Slaves, without quite calling them such, and while giving them just enough so they think themselves free. It¡¯s a fine line they walk, but they had decades to perfect their art.


    ¡°I see their presence here as another hint at the true extent of this operation. The Thich have a sort of ¡®academy¡¯ where they train the young exiles they recruit from the Old Camp. Those they deem worthy are paired or ¡®bonded¡¯ as they call it to one of their loyalists. The ones with evolution paths which are deemed useless ¨C no matter whether it is thanks to their experiments or not ¨C are trained to become regular soldiers. Normally, such units are treated as disposable. From what I have seen, all the warriors here belong in that category.¡±


    ¡°So they sent what? A hundred? Two hundred soldiers to their doom? Because they think them worthless?¡± Magnus shook his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe this was the case here,¡± Etan amended. ¡°I was just explaining how the Thich would see the youngster who fought and died today. Judging by the damage, I believe this settlement was taken by elite forces. These¡­¡± He gestured at the bodies. ¡°They were just left here to hold the position while the real soldiers were needed elsewhere.¡±


    Etan¡¯s words proved true over the course of the next day.


    That was how long it took our regulars to dig the Thich out of the cave system. The operation would have taken longer if the Thich had complete control of the tunnels. Thankfully, the lower levels were still held by Tros survivors.


    Though finding the survivors wasn¡¯t much of a relief. Of a population of over a thousand, less than a hundred Tros survived.


    Matriarch Vanya was quick to offer the decimated clan to be absorbed into Clan Hochberg, which didn¡¯t meet any resistance since Tros¡¯s leadership had been obliterated. There simply was no cohesion left under the survivors.


    Sadly, the survivors couldn¡¯t tell us anything we hadn¡¯t already figured out on our own.


    It was decided to leave a contingent of Hochberg pioneers at the settlement while the fleet moved on. The Hochberg were famous for their defensive structures and Vanya promised us Tros wouldn¡¯t fall so easily a second time, given her pioneers had a few weeks to dig in.


    In fact, Tros had once been an old Hochberg stronghold. A leftover from the clan wars. But years of lacking resources and giving priority to living circumstances and a much too large population had left the fortress in an undefendable state.


    Not a day later, the scouts hit us with the next bad news.


    ¡°The Old Camp is destroyed, the grove burned to the ground,¡± the scout informed us. ¡°The Thich have three airships and at least two flights of some kind of flying mounts at the bunker. We didn¡¯t dare to get close since we didn¡¯t know how fast their mounts are. They looked like some kind of bat. But from what I could see, the damage to the Old Camp looked old ¨C with new growth covering the damaged structures. I believe the Old Camp was already destroyed the previous year and the plants had time to regrow since the end of winter.¡±


    Teresa¡¯s lips worked silently while she and the others digested the news. ¡°Which explains why the Thich attacked the recruitment team. Whoever ordered the attack back then knew that the war was coming.¡±


    My mother suddenly turned towards me and hugged me. ¡°I am so glad you got out of there before their forces arrived.¡±


    Juliana massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°The permanent staff we have there is most likely dead, just like the exiles.¡±


    Vanya had also stopped playing with her cube. ¡°It at least takes away the itch I felt.¡±


    Having become a little more comfortable with the elders¡¯ presence than was proper, Tianna bobbed her charge on the back of her head. ¡°I said you shouldn¡¯t formulate your considerations as if they were feelings!¡±


    The matriarch rolled her eyes. ¡°Then let¡¯s call it an inconsistency in the tapestry of social interactions and events visible to me.¡±


    She turned to address the command staff, ¡°I suggest you send ten airships to retake the Old Camp. That place is in a strategically valuable position, and unlike Tros, the Thich will put up a real fight.¡±

 Ch 95 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    Since taking control of the Old Camp had been my idea, I insisted on being there. It wasn¡¯t easy to persuade Astra into joining the punitive force which would liberate the Old Camp, because it would involve leaving Isaac in Mary¡¯s care for a few days. It was impossible to set up jaunt points whenever we felt like it, so we had to limit ourselves to strategic locations. In the end, my argument won out. Since, the more important locations we could visit on a whim, the better. Making future returns and freeing time for our son even easier.


    When it came to the question of which forces to dispatch to the Old Camp, it was less about how many airships we should send and more about the number of juggernauts involved in the operation. And more importantly, who to send?


    The definition of a juggernaut was somewhat spongy since even among those classified as such there could be huge power differences based on their mutations. Certain mutations were capable of nullifying others completely, turning a battle into a game of rock, paper, and scissors.


    Ultimately, those with more experience than me decided on myself, Astra, Thalia, as well as elder Bruce Patel and elder Annie Kline. Five more juggernauts from Hochberg joined forces with us, one of which was Tianna herself. The rest I didn¡¯t know personally.


    As the Old Camp drew closer, I turned to elder Bruce who had been watching the scenery with me from our airship¡¯s observation deck.


    The Swift Flight was one of the larger airships in the fleet, but still much smaller than the flagship. It was oval-shaped when looked at from above and had a much narrower, wing-shaped profile from the side. Most of the heavy equipment was placed on an extra flight deck at the bottom. Many of the fleet¡¯s ships followed this design, but there were some of the older and smaller ships which relied on the traditional cigar shape. An example was one of our scout vessels, which looked like two cigars attached next to each other.


    The elder and I had started on a rocky relationship and I still wouldn''t call us friends, but at least the open hostility had ceased.


    Once he noticed my attention, I asked my question.


    ¡°What should I expect when the Thich send a juggernaut against me?¡± I asked, wondering whether any planning or preparation was possible. Just being along for the ride while others did all the planning just didn''t sit well with me.


    Bruce frowned and contemplated the question before he answered, ¡°If I saw your abilities for the first time, or heard of them through reports, I would probably send someone with an area effect against you.¡±


    He pondered before he continued. ¡°Generally, the answer to a speedster is something they can''t dodge ¨C preferably poison or fire. The next best bet would be a psychic. Someone specialized in brute-force mind attacks who can incapacitate you.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I had a lot of contact with Thalia and then the Matriarch more recently ¨C as you know.¡± Better not to remind him of me flinging one of his employees out of an elevator.


    ¡°None of them felt like they could just ''take me out'' on a whim. And from what I heard they are regarded as the most powerful of their kind.¡±


    He blinked and looked doubtfully at me. ¡°Well, maybe you should ask the matriarch to blast you with her full force? Just to get a taste of what she is capable of. We don¡¯t have a lot of information on Vanya¡¯s capabilities, but all her predecessors have a track record of being extremely dangerous. Something about Hochberg¡¯s selection system for their leadership ensures only the most powerful of psychics pass the test. Just make sure to share your assessment with me if you wake up. I will add it to our file on her.¡±


    I wanted to protest, but he waved a hand in dismissal. ¡°Sarcasm and inexperience aside. There are psychic abilities which are much less... refined. You will know once someone next to you drops unconscious or goes catatonic for no obvious reason. The psychics you have met so far wielded scalpels with a surgeon''s skill, but there are butchers with hatchets too.¡±


    Bruce looked over to where Thalia was talking with Astra. ¡°If you classify those with psychic abilities, who would you be more afraid of? The one who walks around, controlling or incapacitating a few people at a time while everyone who pays attention realizes what is happening, with the victims screaming bloody murder as soon as they regain control of themselves? Or the ones like Thalia, who can slip into a person''s mind and twist it around her little finger given enough time, leaving the victim permanently altered without anyone the wiser?¡±


    I too glanced over at the topic of our discussion. ¡°I see your point. We are lucky Earth doesn¡¯t have access to people of this calibre, or we would live in a much different world. Before I arrived here, I wouldn¡¯t have believed such things are possible. So, what if you don''t have a psychic available? From what I have seen, the good ones are few and far between.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t say Earth doesn¡¯t have access to psychics of their own. They are just much more reserved when it comes to using them. Those in control wouldn¡¯t dare to play with such a power if there is even the smallest chance of it turning on them.¡±


    The elder shrugged. ¡°To continue. If none of those options is available, I would pick the person with the highest skill in Precognition and hope he can distract and outlast you while I prepare a trap to catch you off guard. As one last option, I would send someone with high defensive power after a high-value target, hoping it would force you to deal with him while the trap is set. Those are just the things I know would work, thanks to experience from the clan war.¡±


    Our conversation soon stalled once the Old Camp came into view.


    The prominent grove of enormous trees which marked the settlement for everyone was still standing proud, but the trunks were blackened and charred at their base. Not that the plants seemed overly bothered by this, as the damaged bark was already crumbling away in large sections, revealing new and healthy areas beneath.


    The settlement hadn¡¯t weathered the fire so well.


    I could only imagine how well the dry wood of the log houses and palisades had burned. Judging by the marks on the grove it must have been a truly hellish bonfire.


    The corners of my mouth curled downwards involuntarily while I reached for the binoculars on my belt. It was one of the new toys which came out of Gilbert¡¯s insane science workshop. Turned out, the eyes of certain species could be harvested for lens setups and controlled with another core.


    Looking through, I marvelled at the auto-focus function and wondered what Gilbert and his people would come up with in the future. Once he truly cracked Tirnanog¡¯s biotechnology, human civilisation might even rise and gain true control of this world.


    ¡°Bastards burned everything!¡± I cursed once the settlement came into focus.


    I hadn¡¯t known many people there, but Gurney had helped me and Mark was if not a friend then at least a mentor. He had been the first to introduce me to the dangers of this strange new world. Then there was Bastion, the blacksmith, who had berated me for calling his spetum an oversized sword. I hadn¡¯t known them well, but at least those three hadn¡¯t deserved their home to be burned.


    ¡°Why would they do this? None of the common people would be able to survive the winter without shelter. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to use the population somehow?¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Bruce patted my shoulder and I handed him the binoculars after seeing his demanding palm.


    ¡°We can¡¯t be certain yet,¡± he pointed out after taking a look for himself. ¡°We aren¡¯t entirely sure of the timeline. But with Thich having their own airships, it¡¯s possible they could have deported those they deemed useful for slave labour. We nonetheless have to find out how they got access to such vessels. They should have only a few trading ships bought from us as far as I know. At large, I still believe they killed most of the population. Please remember, most of the people at the Old Camp were criminals and overall untrustworthy.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Given that we couldn¡¯t stop Earth from sending their scum to us, we had to somehow deal with the situation. Those who were permanently living at the Old Camp were those who genuinely had trouble fitting in with society. As you have experienced yourself, anyone who isn¡¯t exiled for a genuine crime quickly gets picked up by one of the clans. And if not, they would be taken in by Gurney. At least that¡¯s why we left him there in exile.¡±


    Bruce sighed and handed me the binoculars back. ¡°I figure the Thich rather burned everything than have to suppress a population made up to ninety-nine per cent from thieves, murderers, psychopaths, and other scum.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°I wonder whether we are fit to hand down such a judgement.¡±


    Bruce grinned. ¡°Given my strata¡¯s chosen profession, I certainly am not. But there is an important difference between the scum in my strata and them¡­¡± he gestured at the Old Camp.


    ¡°If you ask one of them who they are and what they stand for, they would give you a name and some personal goal. My people would answer they are part of Aerie. Though they are sometimes a little opportunistic in acquiring our resources, overall, we identify ourselves with the clan¡¯s ideals.¡±


    I took another peek through the binoculars and studied the eight airships which were now lifting off. A swarm of the bat-things which the scouts already described to us was also under their command.


    ¡°Looks like they have spotted us,¡± I said.


    Bruce nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet up with the others. The sensor in charge of the operation will need us nearby.¡±


    We made our way over to Astra and Thalia who had been talking with the airship¡¯s command staff.


    The officer in command of the operation gave me a short wave and a grin before she returned her attention to the approaching forces. If not for the long ears, I almost wouldn''t have remembered her name. But Conla Leece¡¯s physique was somewhat rememberable. Back on Earth, she would have nailed the elf cosplay at any fantasy convention.


    She also seemed capable when she commanded our strata¡¯s forces against the ratkin incursion.


    ¡°Any news?¡± I asked Astra once we reached them.


    ¡°The sensors think the Thich will try to fight while doing their best to preserve their airships,¡± Astra explained. ¡°The assumption is that they won¡¯t have many of them. Even if Earth is supporting them with equipment, the portals aren¡¯t big enough to send through anything substantial.¡±


    I watched as the bat-things formed a loose formation in front of the Thich vessels and approached while our drake riders mirrored them from the other side.


    I knew our drakes were ready to carry us into battle. They were just waiting for the command while clinging to the airship¡¯s hull. All it would take was to disembark through the hatch at the side of the observation lounge.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we using our guns and cannons?¡± I asked, knowing the airships had them. They were crude compared to Earth''s, but functional enough to blow an enemy to kingdom come.


    Thalia answered my question, ¡°One needs to preserve resources above all else while fighting a war on Tirnanog. We can¡¯t rely on supply lines which feed us ammunition. The guns and cannons are to be used as a last resort or when we are certain each shot counts. Not to mention, making loads of noise might draw a monster¡¯s attention. Then we would be fighting humans and the wildlife.¡±


    As if to mock Thalia¡¯s words, the Thich bat riders opened the battle with a salvo of small missiles.


    Of the 116 drakes my sub-identities counted, 28 went down with various levels of injuries. The guided missiles hadn¡¯t carried any explosive warheads but instead relied on blunt force to injure the target.


    Bruce whistled at the sight. ¡°If there was any doubt that Earth is assisting Thich, then we can consider it gone.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem overly bothered by us losing so many riders.¡±


    ¡°Earth already tried to take us once and failed,¡± Bruce replied. ¡°The price will be high, but we will chase them off Tirnanog once again.¡±


    We watched as the drakes met with the bats in mid-air with vomit-inducing aerobatic manoeuvres. Neither side held back as claws tore wings and riders were snatched off their mounts by jaws filled with teeth.


    I couldn¡¯t avert my gaze from the horrible sight as at least fifty people met their end in a meat grinder like it hadn¡¯t existed since humanity¡¯s dark ages. Or some deranged fantasy spectacle.


    It must have taken less than a minute, but it felt like an eternity until the survivors separated. Most formed up with comrades to repeat the horrible spiel, while others retreated with their wounded mounts or had to go for an emergency landing.


    While all this was going on, one of our scouting vessels had overtaken the rest of the formation and gained enough height to drop incendiary barrels on the enemy airships. Burning barrels filled with oil quickly had the crew of one of the Thich vessels fighting the fire rather than steering their ship.


    At first, I thought the airship at the centre of the Thich formation fired another rocket. But then I realized it was a person. Someone who did a decent impersonation of the human torch!


    They ascended rapidly and landed on the side of our scout vessel. The impact tore a burning wound into the ship, forcing it to abandon its attack run.


    ¡°...gnus. Magnus!¡±


    I tore my eyes away from the spectacle once I realized Conla had been talking to me.


    ¡°You go and take care of that one.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± I almost whined. What was I supposed to do about the human torch?


    I nonetheless turned and walked to the hatch which led outside. Starting an argument with the commander during a battle wasn¡¯t the smartest thing to do. And after an inquiry with my sub-identities, I quickly came to the same conclusion as the sensor.


    This juggernaut was someone with super-strength, who could fly and was on fire. There was nothing more dangerous for our airships. He had to be stopped at all costs before taking out another vessel.


    But who to send?


    None of the other juggernauts, except for Bruce, Astra, and Thalia, could fly as far as I knew. Neither Bruce nor Thalia were fire-proof, so it came down to either of the two teleporters who could play with lightning which was at least as hot as fire. Astra or me.


    After analysing the situation properly, I was even glad Conla had chosen me over Astra.


    I stepped outside and met with Loops who seemed eager for a ride.


    ¡®Fly fast?¡¯


    ¡°Yes, Loops. As fast as you can to the burning person.¡±


    The drake grabbed me and we were off, faster than ever before. If not for my helmet, I imagined the wind pressure would have made my face look really funny.


    Loops went on a direct interception course with the human torch who was already homing in on the next airship in our fleet. The scout vessel from before wasn¡¯t crashing per se, but it was descending rapidly and judging by the amount of smoke coming out, repairing it would soon be no longer a concern.


    Meanwhile, my sub-identities had their brains full with what to do about the torch. There were many things I could do, but none guaranteed success.


    When the torch noticed Loop, it changed course to meet us, taking care of my considerations for me. There were many things I could do, but only one could ensure Loop wouldn''t get caught up in this.


    ¡°Loop, you let go of me once we are a hundred metres apart.¡±


    ¡®Rider will fall! Riders are not allowed to fall.¡¯


    ¡°I appreciate the concern, Loops, but I will be fine. Trust me. Just dodge the burning thing once you let go!¡±


    Once we drew closer, I could hear the buzzing of wings coming from the torch, explaining how they could achieve flight. It was similar to the Patel¡¯s hummingbird mutation.


    Then Loops let go and banked hard to the left while I flash-stepped forwards with all the power I could muster. It had taken Gaia¡¯s lessons for us to realize that flash step didn¡¯t need the ground beneath our feet to work.


    I appeared right in front of the torch.


    In a perfect world, I would have speared what I now recognized as a man right through his heart.


    In an imperfect world, I would have smashed his face with my knee.


    Alas, Tirnanog was a very imperfect world.


    Not appearing exactly where I wanted to due to the distance, I managed to hit his shoulder with my armoured shin. My spetum clipped his wings and was ripped out of my grasp with the grinding noise of metal being thrown into something moving back and forth at extremely high speeds.


    It almost felt as if my foot was ripped off before I began an uncontrolled somersault in mid-air.


    Thankfully, my opponent fared no better as he began a spiralling descent down into the forest at the base of the Old Camp.


    Unfortunately for me, he still had enough control to somewhat guide his trajectory back towards me.


    We would have collided a second time if I hadn¡¯t flash-stepped out of dodge and sent a lightning arc after him.


    He screamed, more enraged than truly hurt.


    I screamed too, but for a whole other reason as I flash-stepped again and landed on his back, riding him down towards a familiar lake.


    Old Etan had been a good teacher when he trained me back at Mount Arie. He could never emphasize enough to fight other juggernauts not with brawns, but with brains.


    I laughed.


    Because to be honest, my heart was down in my pants right now.


    And we must have been a wondrous sight. A medieval knight riding a burning man down into a lake. Like a comet descending from the heavens.


    Right before we hit, I flash-stepped again to cancel out the inertia.


    The torch meanwhile did a perfect 100m belly flop right before I landed on him ¨C the combined weight of myself and my armour dragging us under.

 Ch 96 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Thalia***


    I watched on in silence as Magnus rode his opponent all the way down into the lake. His method of accomplishing his task had been unorthodox, to say the least. I expected a spectacular fight in mid-air, but all we got was a rather brutal collision and two men fighting each other with a quick exchange while they fell.


    To teleport directly into the path of a fast-moving object was¡­ insane.


    When they impacted the water and disappeared, Astra gasped and fearfully covered her mouth.


    Despite my friend¡¯s obvious distress, I couldn¡¯t stay mum any longer. I was impressed by Magnus¡¯s recklessness. Nonetheless, there was no way to argue with the result.


    ¡°You know, you somehow managed to hook up with the most insane guy in existence. I have no clue what made him think this was a good idea. Worse, you managed to get yourself knocked up by him. Isaac is cute. Cute, but I worry what will become of him given his father¡¯s and your idiosyncrasies.¡±


    Astra hit my shoulder. Not as hard as she could have, but hard enough to make her displeasure known.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that! Haven¡¯t you seen him fall? What if he is hurt!?¡±


    I rubbed my shoulder and shot her a dirty look. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him?¡±


    Astra blinked in confusion before she remembered the chat function and her eyes unfocused.


    ¡°Seriously!?¡± I asked. ¡°How could you forget the chat!? It¡¯s like¡­ the single, most discussed topic since your guy unlocked the UI!¡±


    ¡°Magnus and I aren''t using it that much.¡± Astra let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Oh, my gosh! Thank Gaia, he answered. But he is kind of busy with ¡®waterboarding the human torch¡¯? And what does he mean by ''shush woman''? I will give him shush once he is back!¡±


    She looked to me for answers. ¡°What does waterboarding mean?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I think he misused that one. You know¡­¡±


    I stopped myself and crossed my arms in front of my chest before I glared at her. ¡°Why am I always the one who has to explain his verbal quips to you? You should start reading up on old pop culture if your partner likes it that much. You are the one who is sharing a bed with him. Most of the things he is referring to come from a period of less than a hundred years. It isn¡¯t that hard to get an overview of the references he is using. I am beginning to think I should have taken him for myself. At least we share that particular interest.¡±


    That earned me another slap on the shoulder ¨C slightly harder this time.


    ¡°I am still worried.¡± She gestured at the lake. ¡°It was no small fall. Something could have easily gone wrong.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°The fire guy slowed their fall by a lot and I personally took your metrics. Yes, doing a header from this height might be dangerous for you two, but Magnus landed feet first. On top of his opponent. I think Magnus has him exactly where he wants him to be. All he has to do now is to hold onto an ankle till the enemy stops twitching. I doubt someone with such a prominent fire mutation can hold his breath for long. Now, why aren''t you two using the chat function?¡±


    ¡°Uh... mh...¡± Astra fidgeted with her fingers. ¡°That''s a secret.¡±


    For a moment I was stumped. Astra was having a secret from me!?


    That was... new.


    Conla interrupted our conversation, ¡°If you two gals have time for drama and chit-chat during combat, then how about going down to the Old Camp to clean out the riff-raff? I don¡¯t believe the Thich have more juggernauts. At least none who could attack an airship easily, or they would have already used them.¡±


    I gasped in outrage. ¡°I am a healer! You can¡¯t make me hurt people!¡±


    ¡°Then how about me telling your mother you disobeyed orders during combat?¡± Conla shot back without turning her eyes away from the battle. ¡°I want the Old Camp clean so we have a fallback position in case the Thich pull another trick like the rockets and we are forced to retreat. This battle is far from won.¡±


    I pursed my lips as I considered what the actual repercussions of disobeying would be. Sienna wouldn¡¯t do anything too drastic, but she would do¡­ something. What exactly? That I didn¡¯t know.


    No doubt there would be consequences, given I was indeed filling the spot of a juggernaut on this mission and in this function, I was undoubtedly a part of the military command structure. Which meant the stupid sensor was my boss right now.


    There was no other option. I sighed and walked to the exit. ¡°Stupid idiots classifying me as a juggernaut. I am not even partnered.¡±


    Astra followed me, but I waved her off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will let loose for once, so don¡¯t stay too close to me.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I will keep my distance then, but I will nonetheless trail you in case you need help.¡±


    When I stepped outside, I saw another airship of ours turn away from the battle. It was burning thanks to some unknown reason, meaning the Thich had already taken two of our ships out of commission while we had managed a single incendiary run on one of theirs ¨C with doubtful results.


    ''Fly?''


    I thanked Cadence when she offered to carry me, but told her to stay behind. ¡°It¡¯s okay, girl. I will be on my own on this one. But it would be nice of you to come and pick me up once the fighting is over.¡±


    ¡®Cadence will come with Elegance! Then we go and find Loopsfast!¡¯


    It would be much less inconspicuous when I flew on my own instead of riding a huge drake into battle. It could also be my imagination, but the two bomber-sized females had gotten a little rounder lately. Maybe I should tell Astra not to take out my drake too often, since all they did on those tours was eat.


    I knew it was a deal Astra had struck with the drakes, but a rider had to prove some common sense. The drakes were specially adapted to eating the floating plant life of Mount Aerie. Most of the other stuff they wolfed down on their trips into the wilderness had far too many calories.


    After jumping off the observation platform, I allowed myself to fall for a few seconds to gain some distance from the airship. Once I was far enough away, I spread my wings and angled towards the Old Camp. As long as the wind wasn¡¯t too strong, I could sail decently enough without much effort.


    When I gained enough distance to be sure no Thich had taken note of my departure, I looked back.


    It took me a moment to realize that the fight wasn''t totally going in Thich''s favour. The drake riders had defeated their Thich equivalents decisively, paying a brutal cost in lives and mounts. Only about forty of them were left.


    But without the bat riders to oppose them, our people now had free reign over the sky. Conla had decided to pay the cost of gaining the upper hand and now the table was turning. Already, the riders were beginning a steady routine of bombing runs with incendiary devices fetched from our airships.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Without their riders to defend the comparatively slow ships, the Thich fleet was now easy pickings. Three of the Thich airships were already burning and a fourth was being harried by the remaining flock.


    But not everything went according to Conla''s plan.


    One of the Thich ships had abandoned the unwritten law of silent warfare and was using a cannon which was drawing attention with a steady rhythm of thuds. It was a zero-sum game. On one side, the cannon held our drake riders at a distance, forcing them to seek out other targets. On the other, the noise was already drawing in the forest¡¯s wildlife.


    I could already see at least five different omnieyes closing in on the airship with short jumps taking them high enough to surpass the treetops for a moment. The large, mantis-like predators weren¡¯t capable of permanent flight because their wings were atrophied, an evolutionary remnant, but if they were directly beneath a low-flying airship, they could easily bridge a height between fifty to a hundred metres.


    Meanwhile, our remaining fleet was trailing the Thich ships, wary of our enemies pulling another surprise out of their sleeve. Conla was obviously content with abusing the drakes'' victory to its fullest, keeping our vessels just close enough to guarantee short supply times for the drakes while staying just out of range of whatever had taken down our second ship.


    I turned my attention away from the battle and took a deep breath before I angled my wings to soar over to the Old Camp. I could already sense the anxiety coming from down there. The fear of being abandoned. To have to fend for oneself.


    The Thich''s departure hadn''t been orderly. They had left behind everyone who couldn''t board the ships in time. Their feelings were palpable and suffocating even from this distance. There wasn¡¯t much experience necessary to derive their meaning.


    It was something I could work with.


    Knowing my physical limitations well enough, I glided over the camp, staying well out of range of any arrows or guns while I made sure there were only hostiles within my range. If Earth supplied the Thich with rockets, then rifles weren''t out of the question. Though, the noise of shooting would draw predators which would then take care of the camp for me.


    The thought bounced back and forth in my brain before I decided not to risk it. We had injured riders everywhere. Drawing a large flock of predators might cause unnecessary deaths. The idea was just born from my unwillingness to use my abilities to their full potential.


    Steeling my resolve, I beat my wings to regain some height.


    I wasn''t afraid of anyone flying up to me. Any Thich capable of flight would have surely left long ago to flee with their airships.


    So I was unopposed when I banked and began a lazy circle above the Old Camp. Then I relaxed the tight hold I always had on my power.


    The feelings in my surroundings amplified and I concentrated on the fear.


    The fear of being left behind.


    To die in this strange land which wasn''t my home, far away from those I cared about.


    To be one of the nameless bodies for the predators to feast upon.


    I concentrated on the feelings of those beneath me and enriched them, pulling them forth from the darkest pits of their psyche. Right out of the subconscious animal which lay in all people.


    One of the soldiers broke. She abandoned her position and ran screaming for the woods.


    An officer with a cooler head called after her and then shot her with an arrow.


    That''s right, even your own people are a threat to you. It''s just human nature. They left you here to die!


    A frightened soldier drew a dagger and knifed the officer who shot the woman in the back. A comrade tried to stop him, but only earned a slash on his forearm.


    That''s what you get for thinking of others instead of yourself. They are already at each other''s throats! See to your safety! The others are just a threat!


    They withstood my effort longer than expected for normal soldiers, but one thing led to another and weapons were turned on comrade and friend. With the first few losing their calm, the rest quickly followed in a cascade of violence. Whatever had held them together as a cohesive unit of seasoned warriors was gone once their feelings lay bare to rule their every action.


    Because at the core of their hearts, all humans were just fearful animals. Reduced to their most basic instincts, there was only fight or flight when faced with a threat.


    The thought had me hesitate for a moment. Truly all humans?


    Well, maybe not. I never managed to frighten away Astra with my abilities. And Magnus was a special kind of crazy. It wasn''t as if he didn''t feel fear. He just dealt with it differently than others.


    The surge of raw emotion coming from beneath surged to a crescendo and then ebbed with the warriors¡¯ deaths.


    When I looked back down, I realized I may have overdone it a little bit. Only a handful of Thich were left. The rest had torn themselves to pieces like animals trying to escape an imaginary cage.


    I sailed down and landed on a roof which was still mostly intact. Then I surveyed the scene, doing my best not to puke at the sight of what I had wrought on these people. It had been so easy.


    Too easy.


    It was the Caravaners all over again.


    I closed my eyes and shuddered, balling my fists. No. These weren¡¯t the Caravaners. They were Thich warriors. People who attacked this settlement and slaughtered or enslaved the population. There were no families or innocents here. No childr-


    Astra landed next to me, her heavy armour and weaponry causing the planks beneath her to bend ominously.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied shortly. ¡°It has been some time since the incident. One might think I should be over it.¡±


    My friend sighed. ¡°You can never be over something like that. Not if you are a softy.¡±


    I chuckled and gestured at the battlefield. Not even the scarce survivors were in any state to oppose us. A woman lay in a fetal position, rocking back and forth. A man was trying to dig himself a hole to hide within. It would take them some time to regain their rationality ¨C if ever.


    ¡°Would a softy do this?¡±


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I looked around the area but felt nothing alive except for the few warriors who survived the psychic attack. ¡°I think those few who remain are no longer a threat. Can you sense anything worth investigating?¡±


    I quickly used the chat to inform Conla of the camp¡¯s liberation. As far as I could tell, there were none of the original inhabitants left. Either the Thich had killed them all or deported the survivors as slaves.


    ¡°I can sense some people hiding out inside the bunker.¡± Astra pointed at the only intact remnant of the settlement. ¡°But I would rather find Magnus before we check the place out.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take too long to get your beloved.¡± I smirked because Cadence and Elegance landed next to us at that moment.


    We mounted the drakes and flew over to the lake which took only a few minutes. We found Loops pacing back and forth a respectful distance away from the water with Magnus¡¯s spetum in his maw. Even if the male was smaller than the female drakes, he was still too large to be overlooked.


    When we landed at the shore, I knew right away that something was wrong. ¡°Back off!¡±


    I ordered the females away from the water. ¡°Don¡¯t get close!¡±


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Astra asked, staring perplexed at the dozens and dozens of starfish corpses floating in the lake. Other aquatic animals of all kinds were mixed among them, but the starfish dominated the local ecosystem.


    It was an ecological disaster of epic proportions.


    We must have gaped at the scene in silence for over a minute before a familiar helmet appeared from beneath the waves.


    Magnus slowly made his way over to us, pulling the floating corpse of his opponent after him while he walked over the lake bed.


    ¡°Hrlurp!¡± he bubbled happily and waved a hand at us.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, my gaze torn between him and the ecological crisis.


    Magnus dropped the body once he reached the shore. Then he took off his helmet and bent over retching as he threw up all the water in his lungs. ¡°Man, this ability sucks balls, Astra. What rode you to get this mutation?¡±


    Astra snorted down from atop Elegance¡¯s back. ¡°You are the one who keeps using it at every opportunity you get!¡±


    ¡°Touch¨¦.¡± Magnus shook himself like a wet dog and used his filaments to dry himself. For a moment, he looked like a human-shaped fluffball which shook various armour pieces to fling off the water.


    ¡°Forget your mutations!¡± I gestured at the dead animals. ¡°What happened to the lake?¡±


    Magnus turned around and looked appreciatively at his work. ¡°I came through on a promise I made when I came to this world. Damned starfish.¡± He kicked the corpse of the dead Thich. ¡°Just so happened that there was a secondary benefit. Bastard refused to suffocate!¡±


    I slowly got irritated with this conversation. ¡°Then why is he dead? I don¡¯t see any external injuries.¡±


    Magnus pulled forth a small metal vial. It was empty.


    ¡°A few droplets of deathnut oil works wonders!¡±


    I pulled on Cadence¡¯s back spikes to have her take another step away from the health hazard. ¡°Deathnut oil! Are you nuts!?¡±


    ¡°It was just a drop or two!¡± Magnus defended himself. ¡°I¡¯ve read up on the stuff after it was used on me. Such a small amount shouldn¡¯t be doing anything to me while killing anyone who doesn¡¯t have some form of poison resistance. I didn¡¯t even ingest all of it, so I should be more than fine. And given the lake¡¯s size, the poison should deteriorate within a day or two.¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± I cursed. ¡°Swimming in deathnut oil, even diluted as it is, should do an extraordinary job of absorbing it through any soft tissue!¡±


    ¡°Now that you mentioned it, I am indeed feeling a little bit dizzy.¡± He raised a finger, turned away from us and puked white foam onto the shore.


    ¡°If that doesn¡¯t remind me of something!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°That¡¯s why you leave playing with dangerous substances to professionals! Go wash upstream while you still can! Bath in the river feeding the lake! And then you are going to tell me how you got your fingers on deathnut oil! The clan is regulating its acquisition and distribution for a reason!¡±


    ¡°Blood,¡± Astra commented while we followed Magnus who walked more or less in a straight line towards the river mouth which was feeding the lake. He heaved all the way and stopped every few steps to spit out white foam.


    ¡°Blood?¡± I asked.


    ¡°His whole body was saturated with the stuff for days,¡± Astra explained. ¡°Knowing him, he drew some poisoned blood from himself and stored it for later use.¡±


    I closed my eyes and facepalmed. Nobody ever thought to monitor someone who was poisoned with deathnut oil. Well, because they were usually dead and the corpse would be quickly burned. ¡°Does that mean he has more of those accursed vials on him?¡±


    Astra smirked. ¡°More likely than not.¡±

 Ch 97 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    "By everything holy!" I exclaimed when Loops touched down at the Old Camp. It was a battlefield, and yet not a battlefield. The bodies lay every-which way imaginable. From the looks of it, some had been caught while trying to flee. Others had apparently taken care of themselves, and another sizeable number had torn each other to pieces from the looks of it.


    Thankfully, I hadn''t much first-hand experience with the aftermath of many battles. Only one true one, Tros, and it hadn¡¯t been pretty. Nonetheless, the aftermath at Tros had been clear ¨C one party against another. But this¡­


    Somehow I knew what had gone down here must have been pure madness.


    I threw a concerned sideways glance at Thalia, seeing her in a totally new light. Everyone had told me of her potential, but I guess I hadn''t truly rationalized the psychic''s true capabilities.


    ¡°That was you?¡±


    Thalia raised her chin and looked down on me from atop her much larger mount. ¡°~They~ did it to themselves.¡±


    ¡°I am not judging.¡± I raised both hands in an appeasing gesture and allowed myself to slide down from Loop''s back. The flight had been relatively short and there wasn''t any obvious danger nearby, so I had opted to risk riding my drake properly.


    Besides... through necessity, I had now confirmed at least one way to prevent immediate death if I ended up falling off. Landing anywhere except on water wouldn''t be pretty, since cancelling out inertia with flash step only semi-worked. But I had high confidence in my survival. Plus, Loops had notably calmed down over the last few days and was no longer trying to impress the two females at every opportunity with risky aerial manoeuvres.


    I gave myself another moment to take in the scene.


    ¡°Note to myself: Never piss off the psychic who can turn an entire settlement into suicidal maniacs,¡± I commented while I wandered through the remains of what was once the Old Camp. ¡°Are you sure there are more survivors inside the bunker?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Thalia replied curtly. ¡°We went to get you before checking it out.¡±


    There was no doubt she was currently trying to cope with issues of her own.


    ¡°What about them?¡± I gestured at the people my Second Sight revealed among the ruins. Those with some semblance of sanity were hiding like rats. Others¡­ others didn¡¯t care at all, staring off into space or doing something ¨C anything ¨C which worked as a coping mechanism for them.


    Was one trying to dig himself a hole to hide?


    I squinted at the silhouette I could see through the wooden walls of a shed and shook my head.


    ¡°They got a full blast of Thalia''s ability,¡± Astra explained. ¡°They won''t be a threat for some time. Normally, it takes a day or two for someone to regain his marbles after a full dosage.¡±


    ¡°What about those inside the bunker?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They won''t be affected to the same degree,¡± Thalia explained. ¡°Nobody has managed to explain how exactly psychic mutations work, but many of the abilities classed as psychic can be shielded against with large amounts of mass. The more material you have between yourself and the psychic, the better the isolation. My range is around five hundred metres with a clear line of sight and I can sense strong emotions through a layer of concrete, but my ability to affect people falls off drastically with obstacles. Also, wielding my ability at full power to cover a large area makes fine control impossible. Which means I am not much of a help with allies nearby ¨C unless you are willing to make the sacrifice.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I nodded. ¡°Like a wireless connection then?¡±


    Thalia sighed. ¡°Like a wireless connection. Though, our research has proven psychic abilities are most certainly not some sort of electromagnetic signal.¡±


    ¡°Would be too obvious.¡±


    I turned and we made our way to the bunker.


    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Mark***


    They were screaming.


    Wherever I turned, people were screaming as the monsters took them. It wasn''t unusual for some predator to find a way past the wall. At worst, a single creature might take out a shelter or two before the clanners would hunt it down ¨C depending on how adventurous they felt.


    If the monster went rampant for too long, the settlement¡¯s exiles would organize a hunting party of their own, but such a thing would usually take much longer than having the clanners take care of it because it required more people.


    A single predator getting past the wall was bad, but not the end of the world. However, this was a goddamn invasion! Did we have a hole in the wall? Had some god damned idiot opened the stupid gates which were nothing more than a safety hazard in my modest opinion?


    I cursed and ducked behind a vendor''s stall as something resembling a huge ass centipede rushed down the street, chasing two exiles who were trying to get to the bunker.


    The slower one was screaming for his friend to wait, but the other man wasn¡¯t listening. After all, if a predator was chasing you, you just had to run faster than the guy next to you.


    Unfortunately, he would have no luck, even if he got to the bunker at the cost of sacrificing his friend. Because that was where I was coming from.


    Gurney had been my first thought when my shelter was breached and so I made my way over there when I managed to slip past the omnieye which trashed the longhouse I was staying at. But the bunker was closed and on total lockdown. When I banged against the blast door, nobody answered. There was no getting in and standing out on the plaza was suicide. So I left.


    As soon as the centipede was gone, I rose and ran down the street as fast as I dared to while keeping close to potential hiding spots. Speed was of the essence, but not getting into a fight was even more important.


    The cellar in Bastion''s blacksmith shop was the sturdiest shelter I knew of aside from the bunker itself.


    I gripped my compound bow tighter and tried to soften my gait while I ran down the street, doing my best to ignore the screams while sticking to the shadows.


    The madness had begun right at the twilight hour when most people were still out on the streets but already on their way home. With dozens of monsters invading the settlement all at once, it had overwhelmed the guards and ensured complete chaos.


    Some may say I was acting like a coward for not fighting the incursion, but those people were idiots. This wasn''t a battle to secure the settlement, but to find the best shelter possible before the sun went down.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    A worried glance at the setting sun showed it already disappearing behind the northern mountain range. At any other time of the year, we might have another hour to clear the settlement and get to safety. But not today.


    The mountain''s shadow already encompassed the Old Camp and within a few more minutes the light would be gone. Only the sun¡¯s brightness ensured some remnant rays of light dancing across the peaks. And with their absence, the night would truly fall and all the unnamed horrors would come out of their hideouts to play.


    I cursed when I came across another battle barring my path. A group of eight men was trying to take down a large boar-like creature. I didn''t know what it was, but it was on the retreat, backing up against a wall while they menaced it with spears.


    It was a valiant, but stupid effort. In their eagerness to take down the creature, they had overlooked the time.


    Not that I could blame them.


    At the beginning of this fiasco, I thought I had plenty of time to find shelter. But with the bunker on lockdown, my plans of finding a safe haven with Gurney had been smushed. Now, the time I had left was running out.


    One of the men stepped forward and stabbed into the beast¡¯s shoulder, only to have the weapon ripped out of his grip when the beast used a tusk to bash it away.


    Right before a dark, avian shape swooped down from the sky and took one of the men like some damned mouse. He went screaming, but there was no way of escaping the avian''s claws. With the group''s cohesion broken, it was enough for the boar-thing to make its escape, trampling over one of the men on its way out of the encirclement.


    I used the opportunity and ran past the fight, having no desire to mess with the monsters or the people. In a situation such as this, other exiles could be just as dangerous as the monsters.


    Upon turning around the next corner, I sighed in relief. Bastion''s store was seemingly undamaged and there was no crowd of people trying to hog a spot in his shelter.


    I sprinted across the street, keeping a wary eye on the sky. Today was not the day I would be plucked off the ground and turned into bird food.


    The door to the shop stood open and I burst inside, seeing safety within my grasp. There was no way Bastion wouldn''t hear my voice from within the shelter like those fuckers at the bunker. Deep inside, I knew that with most of the clanners gone, the skeleton staff had likely heard me but ignored the plight of the people outside.


    ¡°Bastion! Bas-¡±


    I almost swallowed my tongue when the beast in Bastion''s shop turned around and glared at me with two red, burning eyes full of malice. The slender, multi-jointed limbs held the body of a man in a blacksmith''s apron and Bastion''s head was inside the beast''s wolf-like maw. The blacksmith¡¯s body was strangely twisted. The monster looked like a child squeezing a plush toy ¨C only that it was a human body.


    As I watched, the beast cracked Bastion''s skull and slurped, swallowing the head whole. Its throat bulged grotesquely as the meal went down, distending a lean belly.


    My bow came up and I let loose the poisoned arrow on pure instinct.


    As if it knew, the beast raised Bastion''s body and used it to block the arrow!


    I was prevented from firing a second shot when the body came flying at me like a cannonball. And all the creature had done was toss it forward in an almost casual manner.


    Dodging to the side, I rolled over my shoulder, already reaching for my belt.


    This creature wasn''t something I had ever heard of. It was bipedal and eerily close to the human form, but there was nothing human inside it. Was this one of the things going bump in the night? The ones nobody had seen and lived to tell the tale?


    Somehow, I knew I was already dead ¨C and that this thing wouldn''t allow me to fire another arrow. Bastion was one of the rare partnered exiles who made a living at the Old Camp. He had never told me why he wasn¡¯t with a clan, but there must have been reasons. But having twice the mutations didn¡¯t prevent him from becoming monster food.


    So I drew my poisoned dagger with a sense of fatalism as I came back upright, thrusting it up and forwards, fully expecting the beast to be already right in my face.


    My prediction was correct and my aim true.


    The beast caught my wrist with a clawed, four-fingered hand-paw and pulled forward and to the side, pointing the blade away from it with an eerie intelligence in its eyes.


    My shoulder popped and I screamed as the monster¡¯s vice-like grip crushed the delicate bones in my wrist. It was at least as strong as Gurney ¨C if not stronger.


    I kicked it as I was forced to follow the direction the beast dictated, but it didn''t care. My foot connected firmly with one of its leg joints, but the beast simply moved with the blow, absorbing it and even mitigating the force to some degree. If it even mattered. It felt like I had kicked a steel effigy. Admittedly, the kick was delivered from an awkward position, but given the monster''s slender statue, it should have done something!


    I wasn¡¯t a full strength-type, but I had at least one muscle enhancement which made me confident not to lose completely against something roughly my size.


    Another hand-paw clamped down on my upper arm and my feet left the floor as it brought me up to its level almost lazily, biting down on my lower arm with a maw lined with shark''s teeth!


    There was a ''crunch'' and an entirely new pain shot through me as I screamed and flailed to no avail, going insane from the pain as the fucking thing chewed in an almost devout manner to get a taste of me!


    I kicked its side repeatedly, as a primaeval instinct to fight or flee took over.


    The dagger clattered to the ground and the monster tossed away something.


    Was that my hand?


    At the edge of sanity, I realized I was hyperventilating as I fiddled for my quiver, my feet treading empty air as I tried to retrieve an arrow.


    Another hand-paw closed around my good arm as the monster changed its grip on me. And another squeezed down on my throat, reducing my air intake without cutting it off completely.


    Being choked returned me to my senses a little bit because of the reduced oxygen intake as I stared defiantly into my tormentor¡¯s eyes.


    Had the beast intended to bring me back to my senses to savour my terror? I didn''t know.


    Strangely enough, I was more concerned with the fact that it now held down all my limbs and a foot!


    Could it use its legs just like its arms?


    There was nothing I could do as the monster brought my face ever closer to its maw, presumably balancing peculiarly on one leg. Would it swallow me whole? Or chew off my face? Could I bite that damned, pink tongue as a last ¡®Fuck you!¡¯?


    ¡­ and then it toppled forward and fell on me. My face entered its maw and the impossibly sharp teeth nicked my cheek, but the monster didn''t bite down as the muscular tongue muffled my terrified screams.


    Was the fucking thing trying to French me!?


    I struggled, screamed, and squirmed, but nothing happened.


    It took me much, much too long to realize what had happened.


    My poisonous blood had finally come through, better late than never.


    I wiggled and somehow managed to free my remaining arm from the paralysed beast''s grasp. Then I immediately retrieved my head from its maw and pushed myself awkwardly out from beneath my foe.


    Not knowing how reliable the paralysing effect of my blood would be, I reached for the nearby dagger and, unable to resist at least a little bit of revenge, pushed it as slowly as I could into the beast''s eye. No doubt, the creature was still awake and aware, because the other eye went mad as the oval pupil flicked back and forth. But there was nothing it could do.


    Once I pierced the eyeball completely, I encountered resistance, preventing the dagger from going any further. So I leant forward and placed my sternum on the dagger¡¯s pommel. Bringing my weight into play did the trick and the dagger overcame whatever barrier prevented it from going further.


    It sank in all the way in one go until it was hilted fully inside the beast''s skull.


    Despite the paralysation effect, the beast shuddered for a second or two until it went still.


    Then I took stock as I leant above my foe for a few more seconds. I was in pain, my body broken and with an injury which reduced my survival chances to practically zero.


    I found myself laughing with madness, much like fucking insane Tulkas. The lucky bastard had escaped this hellhole right before the shit hit the fan.


    ¡°Curse my life!¡±


    For the first time, I dared to look down at my severed hand and winced. It was chewed off right at the elbow. Normally, I should have bled out, but the monster¡¯s tight grip on my upper arm was enough to squeeze off the arteries.


    I pried the beast¡¯s hand-paw loose and rolled the body off of me. The pain was still agonizing, but it was nothing compared to feeling the teeth grinding through my bone. And more pain was yet to come because I had to seal the wound somehow.


    If I lost consciousness now, it would mean my certain death. The starfish mutation ensured I would heal with time, but the keyword was time. There would be no healing if I lost too much blood.


    Already seeing stars in my vision, I got up and staggered over to the forge, leading with the stump of my arm as I grit my teeth. Thankfully, it was still hot and the metal hissed as I pressed the wound against the furnace¡¯s cover.


    I almost lost consciousness right then and there, but somehow I managed to stay awake. I felt disconnected from reality, but I had to pull myself together one last time.


    My eyes landed on the open cover of Bastion''s shelter. A heavy, metal door at the back of his shop. Miraculously, it lay open, inviting me in.


    But not yet.


    With my vision swimming sideways, I missed the handle of the forge¡¯s hot poker on the first attempt but grabbed it on the second. Then I made my way over to the creature and raised the poker before I struck down, lodging the nasty hook at the poker¡¯s side into my opponent¡¯s throat.


    When I pulled, it hooked firmly into the jaw.


    I giggled, aware of the insanity I was planning.


    As I was now, my survival chances were close to zero, even if I survived the night. I had no illusions about the settlement¡¯s survival. Whatever had happened was bad and tomorrow would be survival of the fittest with winter just a few weeks away.


    I took my first step, pulling the corpse with me. Step by agonizing step, but with a mad grin on my face. It was time to roll the dice.


    ¡°You wanted to eat me, bastard? Well, now I will eat you! Never mess with a bank accountant! We tend to take whole bodies when you offer a little finger.¡±

 Ch 98 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Are they really going to do this?¡± I asked Thalia with a bit of disbelief in my voice while I watched Magnus bang his fist against the huge blast door barring our way into the bunker.


    ¡°They are,¡± Thalia mumbled while she observed the scene of my partner taking out his frustrations on the door. ¡°Their emotions are dampened, but it feels to me like they have no intention of coming out.¡±


    In hindsight, we shouldn''t have been surprised at finding the settlement''s sole defensible position on full lockdown. After thinking it over, I realized I was considering the situation too much from the position of power which came with being a partnered warrior. Had I been unpartnered and in the Thich''s shoes, I would have also locked myself in a hole and hoped for reinforcements to arrive.


    Their only other choice was to flee hundreds of kilometres on foot with an airborne enemy breathing down their necks. The chances of surviving such an endeavour were next to zero.


    ¡°Magnus, you can stop,¡± Thalia said. ¡°There is no way they would open the door for us in their state of mind.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do then?¡± Magnus kicked the door. ¡°Maybe we should smoke them out? Hey! Do you hear me in there? Either you come out now, or we will find all the ventilation shafts for your little hideout and set some fires!¡±


    My partner pressed the side of his helmet against the door and listened while Thalia let out a deep, frustrated sigh. Probably because my partner¡¯s threat had set off an intense reaction of fear from those on the other side.


    Thalia massaged her temple and flared her wings before folding them against her back. ¡°You aren''t making it any better, Magnus.¡±


    I covered my mouth with mirth as I watched my partner pressed against the door like some naughty child. Hopefully, we would get back to our son soon. ¡°Magnus, just use your filaments to listen with echolocation. It''s ten times better than the old flesh flaps you got upon birth.¡±


    ¡°Hush, woman.¡± He waved me off. ¡°Someone is whispering on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are very afraid of us.¡± Thalia rolled her eyes.


    I sighed and turned to address her, ¡°We might have to wait for the return of the airships. They will have the equipment to crack that bunker open.¡±


    ¡°Unless your hubby finds a way in on his own.¡± Thalia gestured at Magnus who was trying to melt his way into the bunker by channelling a continuous ball of plasma. He held it in place right on the metal''s surface with considerable effort.


    I pursed my lips while I watched the attempt. It was a nice idea, but thwarted by the blast door''s huge mass which transported the heat away as soon as the plasma introduced it. Given it was also a remnant left behind by the original settlers, I wouldn''t be surprised if the door had inbuilt countermeasures against such obvious attacks.


    My partner abandoned his current approach when he achieved nothing more than chipped paint and a small glowing spot on the door. He shook his hand and the ball of arching plasma on his palm stretched out into a cone combined with the crackling sound of an arc welder.


    ¡°How long until he gives up and takes the easy way?¡± Thalia asked.


    I tilted my head from left to right as I considered his current antics. ¡°Till the ships arrive and crack the bunker for us.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of new arrivals,¡± Thalia turned and focused on a spot to our left. ¡°Someone is making his way in our direction. He is following the bunker''s wall to our left.¡±


    ¡°Why didn''t you say so earlier?¡± I asked. I was sure Thalia was capable of tracking people from further away than a few metres.


    ¡°Because the survivors who remained at the settlement are the equivalent of an emotional storm which makes it difficult to keep track of individuals. There is nothing I can do about it. I am not going to hunt down every single survivor for Conla,¡± Thalia bristled. ¡°She asked me to clear the settlement of opposition ¨C which I did. And I didn''t mention him because he was watching from the palisade for some time before becoming bold. I am sure it''s just a scout who was outside my range when I let loose.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I angled one of my javelins in the direction Thalia had pointed out, ready to launch an attack should the newcomer turn out to be hostile. The bunker wasn''t the centre of the settlement. It was set up directly at the northern wall, closest to the cliffs behind the grove. If someone was coming to aid the Thich inside the bunker, he would likely choose this direction as an approach vector. Otherwise, they would have to make their way through the settlement¡¯s ruins.


    A gaunt, almost wraith-like face took a peek around the curve of the bunker''s wall and disappeared again right away, giving me no opportunity to snipe him. He had obviously known we were here, or he wouldn''t have stopped right before presenting himself as a target.


    ¡°Are you clanners?¡± a shaky voice called out.


    I pursed my lips at the use of the term and relaxed with the javelin. Those belonging to a clan would rather refer to themselves and others by their clan''s name. The only ones regularly using the term ''clanner'' were exiles from the Old Camp, implying they had no clan of their own. ¡°Yes, we are from Clan Aerie. We drove away the Thich.¡±


    The person squinted once more around the curve of the wall. ¡°Astra? Is that you?¡±


    He knew me? Was he a survivor of the Old Camp? I took a closer look at the emaciated face in an attempt to line up his features with exiles I knew ¨C which weren''t many aside from Gurney, some stall owners, and... the haunted voice sounded familiar. ¡°Mark?¡±


    Thalia and I exchanged a glance.


    ¡°Thank Gaia! I thought you were a goner!¡± Using a flash step, Magnus appeared out of nowhere right behind the harrowing-looking survivor and slapped him on the back, making the man stumble forward and come into full view.


    At least that was what should have happened.


    Instead, Mark rolled forward, dodging most of Magnus''s palm, and came back up with his bow at the ready. Not that it would have helped him against someone in full armour.


    ¡°Hey!¡± My partner raised his arms and took off his helmet. ¡°Don''t be so jumpy. Everything''s alright! Don''t you remember me? You still owe me a few hunting lessons.¡±


    Once he recognized Magnus, Mark dropped his bow and actually went and hugged my partner who patted his hyperventilating friend''s back awkwardly.


    ¡°You... are back! You are... back! Not... more Thich!¡±


    Magnus let the strange reunion go on for a few seconds before he called it quits. ¡°Ah, too much, dude. Call me a macho, but I am not into that kind of stuff... unless it''s a pretty woman. And no offence, but you reek!¡±


    I cleared my throat.


    ¡°Of course! Astra here is the only one who can hug me like that!¡± Magnus quickly corrected himself to my satisfaction.


    With some encouragement from my partner, Mark let go and sank to the floor as if all his power had left him. Magnus helped, ensuring Mark wouldn''t just fall over like a sack of grain.


    ¡°Oh, oh, I am so glad... so glad,¡± Mark babbled, sounding slightly delirious and beside himself.


    This worried me.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Thalia and I made our way over to take a closer look at the survivor. Since our departure, I never thought much of Mark. To me, he had been just the exile who Gurney employed to teach Magnus basic survival skills.


    And later, Mark was just an acquaintance who hunted with Magnus and me for a few weeks before we left for Mount Aerie. I realized Magnus had formed a friendship with his instructor, but to me, Mark had been... a third wheel which interfered with the budding relationship I was trying to form with Magnus.


    But even knowing very little about him and overlooking my misgivings about his presence at the time, my impression of Mark hadn''t been bad. Mark was one of the better exiles. Certainly not someone who deserved to end up in such a state. Seeing him like this... this wasn''t right.


    His clothes were torn and his equipment looked like he had spent a few months in the woods. I had known him to be an experienced hunter ¨C at least around the Old Camp. He should have been fine as long as he had a shelter for the night, but whatever he had been through had left its mark on the man.


    Had he gone primal in the woods to avoid the Thich? How had he even survived the nights outside the Old Camp? I could dig someone being lucky a few nights in a row, not encountering anything too lethal. But several weeks? Impossible!


    Mark looked tired and gaunt to an unhealthy point, so I reached into the pouch at my side and retrieved one of the ration bars. I cracked the wax sealing open and handed it to him. ¡°Dried starfish. I hope you can eat it?¡±


    He looked forlorn at the food before he processed my words and snatched the bar out of my hands, tearing into it. Which only proved the state he was in. Any exile who didn''t have their UI unlocked should be extremely wary of food coming from an unknown source.


    Only a starving man would forget about triple-checking his food.


    ¡°Let me have a look.¡± Thalia pushed past me to perform her wonders. I was under no illusions. There wasn''t much she could do without medical equipment, but at least she could give Mark a first check-up.


    Magnus offered a flask with water from his supplies, which was handily rebuffed by Thalia. ¡°Do you want to kill him? You took a swim in deathnut oil less than an hour ago. Don''t offer your consumables to someone without poison resistance!¡±


    ¡°I washed!¡± my partner protested.


    ¡°You splashed yourself down ¨C which satisfies my safety concerns for the moment. At least when it comes to touching,¡± Thalia chided Magnus while handing Mark a water bottle from her supplies. ¡°If I were you, I wouldn''t get any of your gear near anyone until you disassemble your whole kit and wash it piece by piece. If you insist on using poison going forward, you won''t get around thorough schooling on whatever components you wish to use.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ma''am.¡± Magnus retracted his bottle and instead took a sip himself.


    ¡°I don''t know what deathnut oil is,¡± Mark pointed out. ¡°But I am pretty... good with poisons... my blood being one... and all that.¡± He chuckled self-derisively.


    ¡°Right.¡± Thalia regarded him with a frown and placed a palm on his forehead. ¡°You have a swampfrog mutation if I remember correctly? You can infuse your blood with various toxins. To be honest, I wouldn''t have suspected someone with your skills could survive this nightmare. Why don''t you tell us what happened here while we wait for help to arrive?¡±


    Mark did just that, beginning with the night of the Thich''s takeover. His speech was halting in the beginning, but he sped up as we fed him more of our rations.


    The tale he spun of his survival sounded almost fantastical. From taking down a night terror with serendipity to escaping the occupation forces which arrived the morning after.


    Most of the other exiles didn''t make it through the night. Those who did, didn''t have the spirit to resist the occupation. Mark connected the dots only after the Old Camp had fallen and he and a small group of exiles were fleeing into the mountains.


    The Thich must have agitated the beasts and taken down the palisade to have their work done for them. It also explained why the bunker was suddenly on lockdown at the worst of times with Gurney nowhere to be found. He was the only one who could have possibly taken the reins and repelled the attack.


    Mark observed the airship''s arrival from afar the day after, having no clue why a clan would suddenly attack the exiles in such a manner.


    The new rulers of the Old Camp had no scruples and picked those they had a use for. The rest was chased off to die in the coming snow. Some joined Mark''s group and others disappeared in the wilderness.


    Before winter came, the first group of exiles was flown away with the airships ¨C probably to become slaves. The rest were already gone when Mark returned after the spring storms ended.


    Mark didn''t know what happened to them.


    He and a few others made their way to the northern mountain chain where they used the closest Aerie travel shelters to get over the winter. Of the eight survivors in Mark''s shelter, only three emerged at the end of the winter. And Mark was now the only one left. The other two had been too weakened to survive the now flourishing fauna and flora.


    As far as Mark knew another group of exiles had tried to follow the mountain chain to Mount Aerie, but Mark hadn''t dared to risk it.


    Remembering how our group had just barely made it before the snow, I could only applaud his judgement.


    ¡°I returned and camped in the woods... I didn''t dare to leave the vicinity of the Old Camp,¡± Mark confessed. ¡°I knew the clans have settlements out there and the others insisted on trying their luck with finding another clan. But without knowing the direction, they could have run off into the backcountry for all I knew. So I stayed nearby and watched the Thich, hoping someone would come. When I saw the airships departing in a hurry... I almost didn''t dare to hope.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, Mark.¡± Thalia patted the man''s shoulder while holding his hand. ¡°Everything will be alright now.¡±


    I hadn''t failed to notice that my friend had used her ability on Mark because his halting speech became more fluent and secure the longer he spoke. From Magnus''s expression, he had also picked up on it but hadn''t said anything despite his dislike of psychic influence.


    Judging by how Mark acted before Thalia intervened, he just wouldn''t have been in the right frame of mind to tell us his story.


    We did our best for Mark until half an hour later, our fleet returned and we could hand him over to some medics.


    Of the ten airships in our fleet, only six were airborne, with two completely unrepairable ships.


    Conla had pressed the attack on the eight Thich airships as much as possible, but four airships still got away. Mainly because one of them had a special weapon on board ¨C a laser. It was the reason why two of our ships suddenly caught fire for no obvious reason. Allowing the ships to escape must have been no easy decision, but after losing ten more riders to the laser Conla decided to cut her losses.


    There was no longer a question that Thich was receiving weaponry from Earth. Our only luck was that weapons like the laser had downsides without a sufficient power source, limiting their reach and rate of fire.


    Had the elders sent any fewer ships, Conla might have been unable to retake the Old Camp. On paper, we had won a victory and chased off the enemy with fewer losses than we inflicted. Four of the Thich ships would never fly again while we lost only two. But we hadn''t taken out the laser and the rockets deployed against us were ¡°use and forget¡± anyway.


    It stood to question how much of this ''aid'' the Thich would receive in the coming conflict. Enough to counter Aerie''s air superiority?


    While our troops secured the Old Camp, we returned to Conla''s command ship.


    Thalia took Mark to the infirmary while Astra and I returned to the observation platform from where Conla was supervising the operation. We stayed for another hour until Conla declared the Old Camp as secured. Purging the bunker was a matter which we weren¡¯t needed for, so we set up a secure jaunt point and returned to Mount Aerie for the night.


    Which was of course very welcomed by Isaac, who went to sleep nestled in between us.


    The night was once more occupied by one of Gaia¡¯s cramming sessions during which she educated us on our ability. It was only thanks to the sub-identities I could even keep up with the more advanced theories she was sharing.


    My head was smoking when Magnus asked a question, thankfully calling a short pause on the lesson.


    ¡°Why is it that the growth rate of my filaments seems to be slowing down?¡±


    Gaia stopped her scribbles on the chalkboard and looked at us with a displeased frown. She was rather irritable and impatient when she was in her teaching mode.


    When no immediate answer came, Magnus clarified, ¡°I have been taking measures of my filaments, noting down their speed of growth to get an idea of when I might be able to soar like Astra.¡±


    The avatar pursed her lips. ¡°I am sorry to disappoint, but that is unlikely. Filaments aren¡¯t like hair.¡±


    Now it was my turn to frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Sexual dimorphism,¡± Gaia explained. ¡°Something the Gestalt came up with when it designed your species.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Magnus exclaimed baffled. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s unfair! Weren¡¯t you the one who manipulated our genes?¡±


    Gaia threw her chalk at his forehead and had a new one appear in her hand. ¡°Be a little more grateful. The differences between the sexes are something the Gestalt hard-coded into most of Earth¡¯s biosphere to foster evolutionary adversity and competition. It isn¡¯t something I can just ¡®do away¡¯ with. Unless you want to have bigger tits, weaker muscles, and your brain chemistry altered, you have to accept it.¡±


    ¡°I like his muscles,¡± I mumbled while I tried to imagine Magnus with said traits.


    ¡°No thanks,¡± he replied. ¡°On second thought, I am completely fine with shorter filaments. No need to sail when I can teleport. But why would the Gestalt want adversity and competition in her creations? Aren¡¯t we symbiotically linked? If I could design my own body, I would want it as perfect as possible.¡±


    Gaia shrugged. ¡°The Gestalt is thinking on different time scales. Designing an organism for a certain environment might be beneficial in the short term, but it would require a conscious effort on our part. As a whole, the Gestalt prefers a ¡®hands off¡¯ approach, allowing what you call natural selection and mutation. Power gained through adversity, competition, and polymorphy is something which requires no effort on our part and it is all the same to us. It has worked for millions of years and prevented our end several times. You won¡¯t change the Gestalt¡¯s opinion on this.¡±


    ¡°You differentiate between the Gestalt and yourself in this case,¡± I pointed out. ¡°So your point of view is different?¡±


    Over the last weeks, I had noticed a pattern of how Gaia was separating herself from the rest of the Gestalt not by being an individual, but by having a different opinion on certain topics.


    Gaia nodded. ¡°Being ¡®alone¡¯ on Tirnanog has allowed me to form a more independent opinion. As you might have noticed, I believe it might be beneficial to take a more active role in managing the platform I am living on. It''s less than ideal to have the peak predators among my creations fight among themselves instead of the enemy who wants to kill me. Can we return to the lesson now? I want to get this done.¡±

 Ch 99 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    I entered the infirmary of Conla''s flagship and checked the area with Second Sight. Within a moment I could make out Mark''s energy signature beyond a wall and made my way over to the door. I knocked and gave it two seconds before I opened the door with a wide grin on my face.


    ¡°You got your own room? No fair, I have to share all my quarters!¡± I joked as I made my way over to Mark''s bed.


    The subject in question lifted his head and gave me an exhausted wave. Someone had cleaned him up and hooked an IV drip with a clear liquid to his arm.


    ¡°Hey, Tulkas. I heard you are something akin to a prince now. Do I even deserve the honour of you visiting me?¡±


    I dismissively waved a hand. ¡°Call me Magnus when we are alone. Tulkas was just an alias I assumed for security reasons, though I still use it in public. And forget the whole ''prince'' thing until you know what you are talking about.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°At some point, you will have to tell me why an alias would be necessary. Anyway, so Astra isn''t the daughter of two elders who could point a finger at me and have me thrown overboard? And the most anyone would do is ask how hard they should throw me?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡±


    Mark rolled his eyes. ¡°So you are a prince now.¡±


    ¡°If you keep it up, I will shock you and feed you to my pet dragon,¡± I threatened. ¡°Besides, you already look a lot healthier.¡±


    ¡°Thalia told me those drakes of yours only eat plants ¨C though I don''t understand why they would need those dagger-like teeth for plants.¡±


    ¡°There are plants, and then there are plants in this world. Some shrubs are more dangerous than the animals,¡± I pointed out and shuddered upon thinking about the treemonae or the spiketrees which ended most unknowing exiles. ¡°Are we going to continue the banter for long? If so, I will go and get myself something to drink.¡±


    ¡°Touch¨¦!¡± Mark sighed. ¡°No, I guess I am done for now. Thanks for checking in on me by the way.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, just wanted to make sure you are recovering.¡± I gestured at my head. ¡°Some things in this world just mess with you.¡±


    Mark''s eyes took on a haunted expression for a moment, but he caught himself quickly. ¡°Yeah, I am a little surprised about it too. It has been just a single night, but the last months already... feel distant. I can''t explain it. Maybe it''s having four secure walls around me? The bed? People to talk to?¡±


    I grinned. ¡°Are you sure the nurse doesn''t have anything to do with it?¡±


    He gave me a deadpan expression. ¡°That woman is plain evil. Yesterday, she kept poking and prodding me till late in the evening, trying to quantify my new mutation. Instead of letting me sleep. I can''t put into words how much I missed a real bed.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. Don''t worry. I also went through Thalia''s medical examination.¡± I dismissed the matter with a wave of my hand. ¡°Be glad that you aren''t at Mount Aerie. On this ship, she doesn''t have access to all of her torture devices. What did you get anyway?¡±


    ¡°Some kind of sub-dermal armour which makes me stronger and faster, though not as fast as you if Thalia is to be believed. Apparently, it synergises with my Precognition, making the ability much more powerful. It¡¯s like having the proverbial sixth sense. Thalia said something about the cartilage tissue acting as my armour functioning as an extension for whatever affects Precognition in someone''s skin. Even though it shouldn''t be possible. Overlapping mutations not affecting each other negatively is extremely rare, which is why I became her new science project. According to Thalia, I won the genetic lottery with two overlapping mutations amplifying each other instead of turning me into a monstrosity.¡±


    If he hadn''t already told me of his fight with the night beast, I would have asked him which devil rode him to risk eating some unknown creature''s flesh.


    Instead, I raised an interested eyebrow. ¡°Are you stronger than me now?¡±


    ¡°He might be if you let him sleep and recover,¡± Thalia chided as she entered the room with a tray laden with food.


    ¡°Truly?¡± I asked, surprised at her confidence.


    ¡°There are different types of ''strength'',¡± Thalia explained. ¡°Muscles, by their very nature, can''t be good at everything. Countless factors influence the functionality like fibre density, heat build-up, nutrient supply and waste expulsion after acid build-up. There are no advantages without trade-offs. Some tissues are optimized towards delivering short bursts of explosive speed ¨C like yours. Others might be perfect for endurance exercise. And in Mark''s case, it''s slow power.¡±


    ¡°Slow power, eh?¡± I scratched my chin. ¡°Like Gurney''s? I remember him testing me after I got my mutation. Thought to myself there was no way he could overpower me, but that man''s hand was like a vice. Slow and steady wins the race.¡±


    Thalia nodded and placed the food in front of Mark.


    ¡°I still don''t believe I am as strong as Gurney,¡± Mark said while eyeing the food with watery eyes. ¡°Oh, you have no idea how hard it was. The only thing I could securely eat raw was starfish. My other mutations can''t be hunted in abundance anywhere in the region. And getting to the lake was almost impossible with Thich in the air and on the ground. Making fire to cook was a risk because of people smelling the smoke. The few times I tried, I had a patrol on my heels no less than ten minutes later. I was so hungry. After some time, you consider eating some raw plant just so-¡±


    Thalia took a piece of starfish and shoved it into Mark''s mouth. ¡°Just eat and stop pitying yourself! By Gaia, your doom and gloom is hanging over the room like a cloud.¡±


    She looked at me with an exasperated expression. ¡°I swear, I don''t know whether this guy has the most willpower I have ever seen in a person, or whether the self-pitying is a survival mechanism to cope with hunger. This is what I had to deal with since yesterday. The emotional abuse I went through is unacceptable.¡±


    ¡°No am urf mech...¡± Mark tried to explain with a full mouth, but Thalia shoved another piece into his face to shut him up while she unloaded her woes on me.


    I stayed for a while longer to make sure Mark was fine. Well, he was obviously not fine considering the emotional backlashes he suffered whenever something reminded him of the time spent alone in the wilderness.


    Thankfully, his nurse seemed to have things well in hand.


    Thalia using her ability to stabilize him was a topic of contention for me. I wasn''t a fan of using psychic abilities on anyone. But they existed. Telling psychics not to use their abilities was like telling me to stop using my own mutations.


    And I had seen the mess Mark had been before Thalia shoved his emotions back into the right place. No idea how long it would have taken Mark to recover on his own, or whether he would have recovered at all. In the end, I only knew Thalia was a trusted friend. And I had never seen her abusing her power.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Once Thalia assured me that Mark was on a path of recovery, I used my jaunt ability to return to Mount Aerie where I ran right into a medium-sized family drama.


    ¡°And I tell you, you have to be firmer with Isaac. If he does something bad, there have to be consequences.¡±


    ¡°And I tell you, I can''t punish Isaac for being curious! Nobody told him he can''t leave our quarters!¡±


    ¡°I told him not to leave the estate while he was in my care!¡±


    I entered the corridor connecting our private quarters and found Astra arguing with Maria ¨C a move I honestly wouldn¡¯t have the balls for.


    ¡°While he was in your care. Do you expect him to remember a rule forever? He is a kid, Maria,¡± Astra said.


    ¡°Which is why you have to set boundaries for the child, Astra. You are his mother. A part of being a parent is to consider possible dangers and prevent them. And if it is not possible to prevent danger, then you have to set some ground rules,¡± Maria reciprocated with waving hands.


    Still smiling, I was about to turn a one hundred eighty and leave just as silently as I entered the scene when the two women noticed me.


    ¡°Magnus, what''s your opinion?¡± Astra asked, clearly expecting me to be on her side in her argument with Maria.


    I kept spinning on my heel until I was facing them again. Depending on the predator you were facing, it was sometimes better to flee and other times it was better to stand your ground. Unfortunately, I had to learn early on that it wasn¡¯t possible to just run away from an argument with your wife. She would bring it up again and again until she was satisfied either way.


    ¡°Aehh¡­¡± Unsure which side to take, only an eligible sound escaped my throat. Astra was my woman, so getting on her bad side wouldn''t be pretty. But Maria was a damn scary old lady and the only capable babysitter we had. If my admittedly fairly limited understanding of Aerie''s society wasn¡¯t wrong, she was also a major political power should she ever decide to take the reigns again.


    Astra waved a hand at me. ¡°Just spit it out!¡±


    ¡°Without knowing the whole story, I must assume Isaac ran off again and got himself into trouble? Astra, while I may be lenient if it happens once or twice, you have to admit it''s turning into a theme with the boy. Maria might be right about us having to limit him somehow. It''s simply different if a rule is given by a parent instead of a caretaker. My parents always used the carrot and the stick with us. Mom was the carrot, Dad the stick. If you want me to, I can be the bad guy.¡±


    Astra opened her mouth to answer when we heard a loud crash from the living room. All of us quickly went down the corridor to see whether everything was alright, only to find Isaac balancing on top of a chair and Astra''s music player on the ground with a broken touchscreen.


    I winced, knowing very well how much Astra loved the valuable device. ¡°Ouch!¡±


    The boy looked between us and the broken device, but before he could say anything, Astra flash-stepped in front of him, her fingers closing around the crown of his head as she picked him up. ¡°Isaaac! We have to talk!¡±


    ¡°Ow! Uaaaah!¡± Isaac began to wail as his feet left the chair while his hands held onto Astra''s arm in a futile attempt to pry himself loose.


    ¡°Astra, you can''t pick a child up like that!¡± Maria complained.


    ¡°He is my son and has our strength mutations!¡± Astra retorted. ¡°I can pick him up any way I want if I deem it necessary!¡±


    I massaged my temple and went over to rescue Isaac. Maybe it was time to deliver some fatherly authority. ¡°Astra, give me Isaac. I will have a talk with him while you clean this up.¡±


    It didn''t take much to extract Isaac from Astra''s grip. Then I left the room, carrying the naughty boy at the scruff of his neck to somewhere where we could talk in peace.


    ¡°You are in big trouble, Isaac,¡± I chided the boy while rounding a corner.


    ¡°Mom¡¯s scary!¡± the boy retorted while holding his head once he had calmed down.


    ¡°She will be even scarier if the music player is no longer working,¡± I forewarned.


    ¡°But it glowed so prettily,¡± he replied with a pout. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Everywhere,¡± I said ominously while leaving our quarters. ¡°You will get the full tour.¡±


    I was sure the women would give me heat for this later on, but I was certain it would prevent more problems than it created in the long run. Isaac just wasn¡¯t a normal child. The abnormal growth surprised everyone. Now that he had reached the physical appearance of a toddler, his physical growth had slowed down. Nonetheless, mentally he was already far ahead of any child his age. In part to the memories he inherited from us and in part to his speech abilities.


    And therein lay the problem.


    ¡°Are you mad too?¡± he asked.


    ¡°About the music player? No. About you getting yourself into trouble at every opportunity? Yes,¡± I tried to explain. ¡°The issue is, I don¡¯t believe you are doing it intentionally. You probably already figured out that you are way smarter than a kid your age should be, Isaac. We adults don¡¯t know how to deal with it, which is why I am taking a leap of faith here. The others are probably blind-sided by your capabilities. You know far more than a kid your age should and they are subconsciously expecting you to act according to this knowledge while simultaneously treating you like a real toddler. They tried to shelter you, but your abilities make it hard or next to impossible.¡±


    I turned down the corridor towards the treemonae garden.


    ¡°Despite your maturity, Isaac, you obviously lack the life experience expected to come along with it. You know things, but you haven¡¯t learned how to judge a situation and consider the consequences of your actions. You see a pretty, shiny thing and immediately want to touch it when you could have just asked any of the adults to show it to you. If that¡¯s how it is, then the only responsible thing I can do for you is to show you the dangers of this world so you may choose on your own not to engage them.¡±


    That day, I took my boy on a tour through all of Aerie¡¯s horrors. As tame as the clan¡¯s residential cave system was, there were still plenty of dangers which would snack on a toddler without a second thought. From the estate¡¯s treemonae watchdog system to molerat carriages and Maria¡¯s garden of poisonous plants. I didn¡¯t hold anything back ¨C including the live-feeding of some Isaac-sized animals.


    When we returned from our little outing with Isaac riding on my shoulders, I was in for another surprise.


    ¡°Look at who decided to show up again!¡± I commented with an ambivalent smile upon meeting Iv and Hector in the estate¡¯s lobby. They were still decked out in full survival gear, showing they had just returned from their little outing. ¡°Three weeks in the wilderness without telling me anything.¡±


    My sister looked chagrined, but of course, her character didn¡¯t allow her to back down.


    ¡°Look, Magnus-¡± she began, but I interrupted her, deciding to follow Astra¡¯s advice and not mention anything about her relationship with Hector. Which didn¡¯t mean I had to approve of her actions either.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you greet Isaac at least?¡± I picked the boy off my shoulders and held him out to a stunned Iv. ¡°Isaac, this is your aunt, Ivonne. Ivonne, this is your nephew, Isaac.¡±


    Isaac waved shyly.


    ¡°I- ah- how?¡± was the only thing Iv managed to get out.


    ¡°A lot of things can happen in three weeks,¡± I answered. ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring him to Astra¡¯s quarters while I have a word with Hector? Isaac was a little naughty lately and together we affirmed he would have some apologizing to do.¡±


    For once, Iv didn¡¯t argue and simply took the boy from me and departed. She was probably too shocked by the situation to refuse.


    Once she was gone, I turned to Hector. ¡°Judging by your appearance, you two didn¡¯t partner up?¡±


    Hector shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it to be appropriate, even if Iv wanted to.¡±


    I crossed my arms in front of my chest and studied the man from head to toe before I met his eyes again. ¡°I would have expected you two to return as a partnered couple. So, is my sister not good enough for you?¡±


    Hector¡¯s expression turned blank. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Do you have second thoughts about becoming serious? Is it her looks?¡± I asked. ¡°Too skinny? Her boobs not bouncy enough?¡±


    He pretended to clean out one of his ears with his little finger. ¡°I am sorry? I thought you disapproved of our relationship and would be jumping with joy if we returned unpartnered. Ivonne is a wonderful woman, but I also don¡¯t want your hands around my throat again.¡±


    ¡°I would have been very upset,¡± I admitted. ¡°But now I have to ask myself whether you are serious about her.¡±


    Hector threw up both hands. ¡°Then what am I supposed to do? You dislike me partnering up with your sister. And now I get questioned for not hooking up with her! Sounds like there¡¯s no way to make it right!¡±


    I grinned. ¡°Welcome to the real world.¡±


    He raised a warning finger. ¡°You are messing with me!¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± I admitted. ¡°But seriously¡­¡±


    I placed a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°¡­ I got advised that there isn¡¯t much I can do if Iv really wants to hook up with you. And after some introspection, I have to admit that is true. But I have sacrificed a lot just to find the last remaining members of my family. Even got myself exiled on the mere hope of Iv and her sister still being alive. It¡¯s probably the biggest miracle I could have asked for to have her here with me now. I won¡¯t compromise this opportunity.¡±


    I patted his shoulder and smiled, hoping I got the message across as cheerfully as possible. ¡°But if you hurt her, or fail to protect her, know I will find a way to end you.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, The Ancient Grove***


    ***Vanya***


    I entered the observation platform with Anajed at my side, though right now I wished Tianna was with me. Unfortunately, she had gone with the task force to liberate the Old Camp.


    Skye Rumen turned around and nodded at me while the airship broke through a low cloud cover, revealing the disaster awaiting us. Jeng¡¯s Ancient Grove was burning and Thich airships were circling the area like a flock of vultures around a corpse.


    ¡°Are we too late?¡± I asked.


    Skye studied the scene and shook his head in dismay. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡±

 Ch 100 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I was awoken from my sweet sleep on the living room couch by the insistent whine of a very loud and dangerous-sounding siren.


    My main-me was still trying to figure out what the heck was going on while my sub-identities were already on the move, rolling my body off the couch and running off to the entrance corridor where my equipment was stored. The armour slipped on with practised movements as Astra joined me from the bedroom.


    The more I got used to partitioning my consciousness, the less I was thinking about it. But it were moments like these during which the true disturbing inhumanity of the ability resurfaced in its full, terrifying glory.


    There was a particular element of surprise to it if your body suddenly started moving without your conscious will behind it. Kind of like a reflex, but much more disturbing.


    I was already fully geared and leaving our private quarters by the time I truly woke up and the sub-identities on watch duty reintegrated with the main-me. Astra was marching next to me with the blank expression of a sleepwalker when we left our private quarters, indicating she was also in a semi-autopiloted state.


    Outside, we encountered more members of our strata on their way to the estate''s entrance hall where we found Sullivan standing on the receptionist''s desk while barking orders and handing out instructions written on sheets of paper. The arms master had been on night shift and was now apparently calling for a full mobilization of the strata.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Astra called over the crowd as soon as she snapped out of her daze.


    ¡°The fleet reached Jeng,¡± Sullivan replied while handing out notes. ¡°The Thich attacked them and the situation is dire. The elders decided to call for reinforcements. Everyone who isn''t in the reserves to ensure the colony''s safety is called upon to go through the wormgate now.¡±


    ¡°What about keeping the gate a secret?¡± I asked, perplexed.


    ¡°Haven''t I said it''s bad?¡± Sullivan replied a little incensed. ¡°Who cares about a secret gate when we are about to lose a third of the people who might fight on our side?¡±


    The situation with clan Jeng was that bad? Well, if he put it this way... fuck secrets.


    ¡°Get to the wormgate,¡± Sullivan gestured. ¡°I am sure you two don''t need transportation.¡±


    I took Astra by the arm and pulled her towards the exit. As soon as we left the estate, we took the connection tunnel leading to Gilbert''s estate where the wormgate was set up.


    ¡°We should have placed the jaunt-point closer to the gate,¡± I complained, even though I knew it wouldn''t have worked. That close to a gate, even a small one like the wormgate, a jaunt-point wouldn''t be stable and deteriorate to uselessness quickly, depending on how much the gate was used.


    It was why we had to move the jaunt-point at the Old Camp a little further up north to zipper shit creek ¨C knowing that Earth''s gate connection heavily influenced the area around the Old Camp.


    We now had jaunt-points at Hochberg, the Old Camp, and in our quarters at Mount Aerie. The only place we couldn''t reach easily was the fleet since it was constantly on the move. But in a way, the wormgate took care of that problem despite being less convenient than a jaunt-point.


    ¡°Doesn''t matter where we put it,¡± Astra retorted. ¡°As long as we can''t place the jaunts close to each other or a wormhole, there will always be some inconvenience involved. I for my part would rather have one at home.¡±


    ¡°About yesterday...¡± Since Astra seemed less moody than yesterday, I decided to try my luck by probing the waters. ¡°How long do I have to keep sleeping on the couch?¡±


    ¡°Till Isaac stops having nightmares, you bastard!¡± Astra shot back. ¡°You traumatized the poor child! What a bright idea to have him watch baby molerats being fed to the treemonae! Haven''t I shown you how the feeding animals get torn to bits between the filaments with guts flying all over? How could you show that to Isaac?¡±


    I sighed inwardly. ¡°I guess that''s fair. Though you have to admit he didn''t leave our side the entire evening. And he apologized to you.¡±


    The long-term effects of my educational treatment had yet to be seen. Personally, I believed Isaac had understood the lesson I tried to impart.


    ¡°He would have done that anyway once I was done with him,¡± Astra chided.


    ¡°Says she,¡± I mocked and received a light lashing from one of her filaments, to which I responded by running faster. The truth of the matter was, Isaac couldn''t have been forgiven any faster for scrapping Astra''s music player.


    Yes, my way of giving the boy a reality check was harsh, maybe a little overdone, but I was sure he would bounce back from the experience soon enough. I also recovered when my father took me hunting and forced me to gut the deer he caught.


    It wasn¡¯t like I gave the boy a beating ¨C just showed him the reality of the world he lived in. A few days of recovery and he would be just fine. Children were like that.


    We postponed the argument as soon as we reached Gilbert''s estate. The guard contingent ran us through an abbreviated version of the authentication process and we were cleared for access to the wormgate. Despite the medical check we had to go through, we were in fact cutting a long line of warriors and supplies, which was only possible thanks to our status.


    The other side of the gate was controlled chaos. People were everywhere as not only combatants but also members of all militarily relevant professions spilled out of the gate and had to be organized.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Once again, a helpful attendant took us to the side which allowed us to bypass most delays.


    A few minutes later, we found ourselves on the flagship''s observation platform. Sadly, the overwhelming atmosphere of chaotic urgency was no different here.


    It looked like shit had truly hit the proverbial fan, making me wonder what the tactical situation looked like.


    After two minutes of waiting, we found ourselves at a table with the elders Skye and Juliana, as well as matriarch Vanya with one of her attendants.


    A strangely familiar attendant, as my Second Sight revealed. ¡°Why is the Thich here?¡± I asked Vanya.


    The matriarch blinked at me in obvious dismay. ¡°Why does everyone have skills which allow them to identify people at a glance? It''s just unfair!¡±


    Juliana raised a hand. ¡°Not the time.¡±


    Then she addressed us. ¡°Be assured that the matter is addressed and of no issue right now. We need you two to run some errands and come back as fast as you can.¡±


    ¡°Forget about my bodyguard and errands!¡± Vanya exclaimed. ¡°How are the two of them here? I thought they were supposed to be with the Old Camp liberation party!¡±


    ¡°We... flew?¡± I suggested as sincerely as I could.


    Vanya crossed her arms. ¡°It takes an airship several days to travel between the Old Camp and Jeng. Even if you took a drake and risked the flight on your own, there is just no way.¡±


    Juliana shut down the matriarch with a wave of her hand. ¡°We are allies and Aerie decided to share some of our secrets in having the two show up here. But we aren''t obligated to hand over all the details about the various modes of transportation we have access to. I can only assure you that ¨C should the situation require it ¨C we will share. I am very sure you and your people have your own secrets.¡±


    For a small moment, Vanya looked like a child about to throw a tantrum. But when she looked into Juliana''s eyes, she clearly reconsidered and nodded. ¡°I guess I can''t argue against this mutual relationship. Everyone has their secrets. At least it explains the ''presumably'' nonsensical orders you had me prepare.¡±


    The elder returned her attention to us. ¡°Astra, I need you to get this folder to Hochberg as quickly as possible. Hand them to the first official you find and return to us. Magnus, this folder is for the Old Camp. The same goes for you.¡±


    ¡°What about the fighting?¡± I asked while I took the offered documents.


    Juliana dismissed the question. ¡°For the moment, your mobility far outweighs any impact you could have on the field. Now go. Time is of the essence. This won''t be over quick, leaving plenty of fighting for the two of you once you return.¡±


    I didn''t want to imply I ''wanted'' to fight. Rather, I wanted to know what was going on.


    But I didn''t bother to correct the elder whose attention had already turned to an attendant who gave a short-worded report on Jeng positions being overrun.


    Meaning, Astra and I were dismissed.


    I sighed while Astra and I walked away. Using a single filament, I established a secure connection with her through our special communication mode.


    ''How are we going to do this? Set up a jaunt point here?''


    ''We can''t place a jaunt in a moving airship,'' Astra pointed out. ''And judging by the chaos in here, the outside is a battlefield. As inconvenient as it may seem, maybe we should just deliver the orders and then jaunt back to Mount Aerie, then take the wormgate again.''


    I mulled it over for a moment and nodded. ''Seems like the best solution. Let''s meet at Aerie in half an hour?''


    Astra nodded and thought for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss if it takes an hour. I figure showing up at Hochberg with an urgent missive might raise some questions.¡±


    We searched out a more private area of the airship. The corridors to the living quarters were practically abandoned right now and once we had verified there were no observers present, Astra took a few running steps before she jaunted and was gone.


    I followed her example, focusing on the jaunt point at zipper shit creek as I exerted as much power as possible to form the right energy field. The world distorted and I found myself at the desired destination.


    The area was reasonably safe for a human of my current power level and I made my way to the Old Camp without too many interruptions.


    Once I arrived, I found only four ships hovering above the Old Camp. Two more were grounded next to the bunker with ongoing repair works clearly visible. Meaning, two of the undamaged ships were missing.


    Not wanting to waste any more time, I flash-stepped the rest of the way, even if doing so continuously was exhausting.


    I wasn¡¯t willing to try my luck with an experiment. Flash-stepping all the way up to Conla¡¯s flagship would have been cool, but a slight miscalculation might have undesirable consequences. So I did the responsible thing and found myself a drake rider at the bunker who took me up to the flagship.


    A few minutes later I was at the flagship¡¯s observation platform where Conla was conferring with elder Bruce and Tianna.


    ¡°What¡¯s up!¡± I asked as soon as I was in comfortable speaking range. ¡°I found two airships missing when I came back. Did something happen?¡±


    Conla shook her head. ¡°No. Elder Annie Kline took two airships northwards to check the shelters for more survivors.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°How generous of her.¡±


    ¡°She also wants to retrieve the body of her granddaughter,¡± Bruce pointed out quite frankly. ¡°If there is something to retrieve.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± How could I have forgotten? ¡°We closed the shelter with the bodies inside after the Thich attack. I mean, there should be something¡­ though I can¡¯t imagine it to be pretty.¡±


    ¡°I am sure she just wants the remains in their family crypt,¡± Conla pointed at the documents in my hand. ¡°I see you have something for me.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± I handed her the folder. ¡°Directly from high command.¡±


    Conla threw a glance at Tianna who was listening very interestedly.


    I waved a hand. ¡°Just read the missive. I am sure it answers most of your questions. I myself wasn¡¯t given the whole picture when I was at Jeng. Let¡¯s just say Juliana ordered what looks like a full mobilization and that Thich attacked Jeng.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Mary***


    ¡°-up! Wake up!¡±


    I groggily opened my eyes and growled while my hand began fumbling for the knife beneath my pillow. ¡°If this isn''t something urgent, I will skin someone and hang their hide on the door to my private quarters! What is it with this new generation not honouring an old woman''s privacy and sleep?¡±


    The attendant who had woken me up gulped and took a step away from my bed as soon as I turned my attention to her.


    Isaac was in her arms and waved as soon as I looked at him.


    I stared at the kid who had become entirely too familiar with me and glared at the frightened woman until I finally remembered her name. Maybe I wouldn''t exactly skin her in front of the boy, but a beating was still an option. ¡°Fifi! Speak. Now.¡±


    ¡°Th- th- the elders declared a state of emergency! You and the other ancients are requested to take care of affairs at home until-¡±


    ¡°Why can''t the administrative body take care of matters!¡± I barked.


    ¡°Clan Jeng was attacked. I- I- I don''t know how bad it is, but if the reports are true, the Ancient Grove is destroyed. They are evacuating everyone they can through the wormgate. We are about to get a lot of refugees and we don''t know where to put them.¡±


    ¡°The bugs are coming to my home?¡± I blinked. ¡°Who allowed those kids to invite foreigners to the mountain? I don''t want the bugs here!¡± By Gaia, I had enough of those fuckers and their nitpicking during the war. I was glad I could retreat to the mountains once everything was said and done!


    ¡°Th- th- they are people too!¡± Fifi stuttered. ¡°And m- my name is Fiona. Could you s- stop waving the k- knife around? Y- You are making me nervous.¡±


    ¡°When did this happen?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A few hours ago,¡± Fifi answered.


    ¡°If it¡¯s that bad, then why are you waking me up only now!?¡±


    The attendant gave the alarm bell above the door of my bedroom a pointed look. It had a fist-sized hole which perfectly matched the size of my hand.


    I grumbled and got out of bed.

 Ch 101 - EVO

    ***Earth, China, Asian Administrative Center***


    ***Everhart***


    ¡°Let go! I can walk on my own, you imbeciles!¡±


    The two meatheads didn¡¯t listen as they frogmarched me into the office of some useless administrator. Not caring about my feelings on the matter, they forced me down on a chair facing a man in a neat designer suit.


    He was well-built and I could see the first grey hairs settling in, indicating he was in dire need of some genetic modification. This was certainly an indication that he wasn¡¯t as high up the chain of command as I initially feared. The man looked like most of the well-off administrative middle class nowadays. Sadly, it wasn¡¯t a guarantee for competency.


    When I recognized him, I reigned myself in, greeting him with a nod. ¡°Head Administrator Stanton.¡±


    They brought me to the superior above my superior. Not the head of the entire project. Maybe it was still possible to clear up this situation and get back to my life¡¯s work.


    Stanton ran a hand through his hair in an exasperated gesture as he rifled through a folder in front of him. Then he looked at me and closed the folder before placing his palms in a prayer-like gesture while he studied me.


    ¡°Professor Everhart, do you have anything¡­ anything¡­ to say for yourself? I read the reports, but still find myself baffled at how it could get to this point. Just what went through your head when you took things into your own hands? Anyone else I would have signed off to be thrown into a deep, dark hole to be forgotten. But the upper brass is breathing down my neck in this case, so I had to talk to you in person.¡±


    I opened my mouth in an attempt to answer but was rudely interrupted by Stanton who hadn¡¯t been done with his sermon.


    ¡°You overstepped your authority, Professor! First, you hid that testing site ¡®A¡¯ managed to break free of our monitoring. From what the investigators pieced together, this was a deliberate act on your part. Then you commanded military assets you had no right to set into motion ¨C without consultation of your betters. This caused the whole situation to dissolve further. Worse, you made a deal with leading individuals on site ¡®T¡¯ and revealed the location of one of Earth¡¯s hidden weapon caches to them!¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°You had at most the authority to negotiate for assistance with individual exiles to further your research. One-way communication ¨C if I may remind you. Not engage with ¡®T¡¯s¡¯ leadership. Now, testing site ¡®H¡¯ and ¡®J¡¯ is as good as lost to us no matter the outcome. At best, it will take years till new subjects settle at the site. Why didn¡¯t you give us a report as soon as you lost control of the supercomputer at ¡®A¡¯? More proficient people could have dealt with the situation.¡±


    More proficient? Who else could be more proficient than someone of my intellect? There was no way an imbecile who couldn¡¯t even explain how to rearrange amino acids would be more qualified.


    I stopped myself right before stating the obvious, knowing it wouldn¡¯t get me anywhere with someone in Stanton¡¯s position.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± I answered quickly once I collected my thoughts. ¡°How could any of the higher-ups have understood!? We are working on groundbreaking topics. Medicine and permanent genetic health improvements for the whole world depend upon what we do. And maybe we will be able to claim Tirnanog as our own someday.¡±


    The administrator hit the desk with his open palm. ¡°You have drawn Earth into another conflict with the colonies, Professor! Considerable resources were used to ensure the current status quo and you have ruined everything with your actions. Somehow you managed to get us into a position where we either have to choose to do nothing and lose the fragile control we had, commit fully to your idiocy, or admit that a single man got out of control. It¡¯s as clear as day that an egghead like you should have never gotten access to such extensive facilities without supervision. I don¡¯t understand how anyone could have been stupid enough to give you the possibility to insert yourself into our military chain of command. Are you simply delusional or got overconfident with the resources you were given access to?¡±


    ¡°I did what was best for our research and used the available resources!¡± I leaned forward and tried to stand up, but one of the meatheads placed a hand on my shoulder and quickly forced me back down with irresistible strength. After all, they had all the necessary modifications for their job.


    ¡°Do you believe anyone who has access to a communication channel should be allowed to start ordering troop movements?¡± Stanton asked with an incredulous expression.


    ¡°The units on site should have dealt with the matter easily enough,¡± I defended myself. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have known that some of the subjects are capable of competing with the best we have to offer. If you had given me the information-¡±


    ¡°Scientists just as smart as you are looking into the matter, Everhart,¡± Stanton retorted. ¡°The genetic improvement project has been running for centuries and every now and then we got surprising results. You are underestimating the people of Tirnanog. We aren¡¯t conducting our research around three corners because we want to, Professor, but because we have to. The individuals you want to know about are dangerous and we don¡¯t want them here on Earth. We don¡¯t want them thinking of coming here. ¡®We¡¯ want them to forget about ¡®us¡¯. But your stupidity surely turned their attention our way.¡±


    For a moment, I was left stumped. They had withheld information from me? How was I supposed to do my job if I wasn¡¯t allowed to see the whole picture?


    Shaking my head, I reminded myself that this was not the time to question the organisation of information handling within the research institute.


    I leaned forward, desperate to make him see reason. ¡°You do not understand. The two subjects. We need to get our hands on them. Or a sample at least! Until now our technology could only incorporate Tirnanog¡¯s carbon-based D.N.A. into a subject. But we now have two cases of perfect synthesis! D.N.A. merged into two double helices of carbon and silicon ¨C with the carbon support enabling silicon processes at low temperatures! The new molecule encodes more than double the genetic information within the same space as a normal carbon double helix! They are perfect chimaeras of carbon and silicon-based life. We had such cases before. Singular events, but these two are capable of reproduction! It¡¯s like God himself reached down from the heavens to place his hands on his creation. With this, we can create an entirely new type of human independent of artificial support. How would you not approve of my actions to secure such valuable research?¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The administrator shook his head. ¡°You just do not understand the problem. You have great talents in the laboratory, but I see now that you are totally unaware of the political ramifications of your actions. Worse, you believe you have the capability to make decisions in these matters.¡±


    Stanton looked down at the folder and using the index, he pulled out a sheet of paper revealing a simplified schematic of the two intertwined double helices I was still trying to make sense of. One was based on carbon, while the silicon one was arranged around it like a protective layer. Yet, both were connected, indicating some mind-boggling chemistry I had so far only known from certain algae.


    ¡°How did you get your hands on my work?¡± I complained, but the hand on my shoulder reminded me of the situation I was in.


    Stanton didn¡¯t bother to answer the how and instead looked over my research while he spoke. ¡°I am sure those with more knowledge than I will look into your work, Mr. Everhart. If they deem it necessary, I am sure the government will authorize the procurement of a specimen ¨C using the proper channels. Be glad that your unique skills are still of worth. After having to deal with your clusterfuck, I would love to throw you through the wormhole myself. For now, you will return to your accommodations until I''ve had the time to review your current work process. There is no question that your position was left¡­ hmm¡­ too uncontrolled. Once there are sufficient security checks and supervision in place, you will return to your work with someone breathing down your neck at all times.¡±


    I balled my fists. ¡°You cannot do this!¡±


    Stanton waved his hand and the two goons pulled me out of the chair.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand! None of you understand!¡± I screamed and bucked while they pulled me through the exit and towards the elevator. Neither they nor Stanton cared. Just why didn¡¯t they understand?


    I was exhausted by the time we returned to the cell block where I had been forced to stay the last week.


    A man in white clothes was waiting at the entrance to my accommodations. With him, he had a trolley loaded with medical appliances. He wore a cheerful smile while he studied the various substances at his disposal. ¡°I was informed that Mr. Everhart was a little too excited during his meeting with the management. I am here to give him something to calm down.¡±


    One of the guards nodded and watched while the man prepared a syringe with various components. My eyes flicked over the bottles on the tray and I shook my head as I recognised one in particular. ¡°That isn¡¯t some relaxant you are mixing. What are you doing? That¡¯s a beta-blocker! You can¡¯t give me this!¡±


    Was he trying to kill me?


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you shut him up, gentlemen? I have years of experience as an anaesthesiologist and Mr. Everhart is obviously in distress,¡± the stranger asked, apparently completely oblivious to the grave mistake he had made.


    Before I could explain that what the so-called anaesthesiologist was mixing up was just as likely to erase random parts of my memory as to turn me into a drooling idiot, one of the meatheads covered my mouth while the other held me.


    I squirmed and screamed to no avail, even trying to bite the hand of the meathead holding me, but as a security guard, he had gotten a skin modification. It felt like trying to chew on tire rubber. There was no getting out of their grasp while the man pushed the needle into my vein and nodded with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Thanks, gentlemen. Doing my work is so much easier when I have help.¡±


    I felt myself relaxing, my mind drifting off while they threw me into my cell.


    ¡°Say, you guys don¡¯t happen to know a nice restaurant in the vicinity? I hooked up with the pretty receptionist at the entrance checkpoint and want to treat her to something nice. The problem is, I was just transferred to this new position from the Tibet Gateway and I must say you people have it so much nicer here. All that doom and gloom with the exiles get to you¡­¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Ancient Grove ***


    ***Sarah***


    The loud boom of an explosion forced me to duck deeper into the trench.


    Pebbles and dirt rained down on my helmet, making me wish our airships would finally decide to do something about the cursed mortar position the Thich had put up a few hundred metres ahead. Once I was sure there was a lull in the bombardment, I gripped my shovel tighter and began digging like a molerat.


    ¡°Stupid motherfuckers! Do they really want to attract all the wildlife within a one hundred kilometre radius?¡±


    ¡°I bet that''s exactly what they are trying to do,¡± Brook confirmed from behind me, where he was also shovelling like a champion. ¡°Makes me wonder why we are still here. If we run now, the Thich can die on their hill of ants.¡±


    ¡°Shut up and dig or do I have to question your loyalty!?¡± I shot back while my shovel easily stabbed into the earth thanks to my strength mutations. The dirt was hauled up and out of the trench in a steady rhythm where it added up to a little rampart and provided additional protection.


    Trench warfare had been known to be a slow, dirty, and ugly affair throughout history.


    All the other clans avoided static warfare like a plague. The longer you stayed at one spot, the easier it became for the creatures of the wild to make you their next meal.


    But unlike the others, Hochberg had taken to the philosophy and countered the weaknesses with specialized mutations. Like me, most warriors and workers were highly specialized in strength mutations. It was what allowed our clan to build our home, the twin fortresses.


    Where a normal human would have struggled with moving earth, it felt like nothing more than light powder snow to me. As long as we didn''t hit solid rock, everything was fine.


    Today, we had already worked our way closer to the enemy position by several hundred metres. All without leaving cover once and while going in a zigzag course so we wouldn''t expose ourselves.


    Several warriors were digging the trench while workers brought in granite slabs to cover the trench system meter by meter.


    We Hochberg were known for building almost impregnable fortresses overnight, so this was standard procedure.


    I grinned at the thought. My people hadn¡¯t taken a single offensive action, but we already managed to pressure several entrenched Thich positions. With every meter we advanced on the enemy, they had to consider whether they had to move their mortar further back.


    If the Thich stayed for too long and we reached them, they would have to fight a battle on our terms. The further they moved their mortar back, the less use they would get out of it against the Jeng.


    The wailing sound of more shells coming in caused me to throw myself to the ground, but this time something was different.


    In addition to the bombardment, I could feel the footsteps of heavy infantry through the earth. They were coming ¨C probably to contest the steadily advancing trench.


    When the first head appeared above the rampart, I threw one of the heavier stones which had impeded my excavation work. It was a slow throw, but the Thich yelped nonetheless when a 300kg piece of solid rock came hurling in his direction.


    Brook was the first on the rampart, where he confirmed what I already knew before he slid back down into the trench. ¡°They are doing a sortie!¡±


    I and several others along the newest trench segment readied the stone slabs and covered the trench right before the charging Thich stormed over our position.


    A spear found its way through a gap between the slabs and I broke off the tip.


    Fingers grasped at the slab as Thich warriors tried to uncover our trench. But while the upper side was polished and smooth, providing no convenient holds, my side had a few carved handholds.


    It was our job to hold out while the warriors in the trench further back bombarded our enemies with rocks. I left it to Brook to hold the granite cover in place while I reached for the hand trying to find a better grip on the gap.


    My fingers closed around a wrist and I pulled down and sideways, snapping the bone and tendons of a warrior with lesser mutations. Then I was holding a lower arm and threw it down before I went for the next one.


    I already knew this would be a long day.

 Ch 102 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Ancient Grove***


    ***Magnus***


    I landed atop the trench and swung my spetum in a wide arc, creating an arch of blood around me. My weapon sowed death and claimed the lives of several warriors like the Grim Reaper''s scythe. The poor sods didn''t even know what happened to them. One moment everything was fine as they tried to pry Hochberg''s pioneers out of their trenches. The next, they lay scattered in pieces all over the place.


    I had tried not to make too much of a mess, but it was hard to do when I was matched against unpaired warriors without sufficient armour and bad equipment. They were nothing more than cannon fodder sent out to delay the pioneers.


    Maybe they were exiles from the Old Camp, pressed into service? The thought made sense upon comparing their mismatched gear with the semi-professional Thich troops at the Old Camp. So far, I had yet to encounter Thich''s professional soldiers.


    Once I had the area clear of opposition, I looked around and clicked my tongue when I noticed I had missed an opponent. One soldier was still stubbornly trying to remove a granite slab which covered Hochberg''s trench.


    Twirling the spetum back to a ready position, I was about to stab the Thich when I realized it was not of his own volition that he was up to his armpit between two granite slabs.


    Well, and his screams were a pretty strong hint that he was in a pretty gruesome tug-of-war with someone beneath the slab. Once I overcame my surprise, I stabbed him through the head, ending his suffering.


    Hochberg''s fighting style was truly peculiar and they stuck to it with religious zeal. I had yet to see one of them leave their trench for more than a short peek to check out the situation. There was little to say against what they were doing since it obviously worked well for them.


    My precognition tingled a moment later and I raised my left palm towards the sky while using my right arm to shield as much of my helmet as possible. With a slight rearrangement of my filaments, I adjusted my armour in a way which would rather deflect than absorb the force of what was to come. Simultaneously, filaments covered my ears for protection.


    The shells came down on my position a mere two seconds later and I discharged an arc of lightning, detonating the closest mortar projectile early.


    The shock wave of the explosion forced me to stagger, but I held firm while shrapnel from the shell''s casing pinged off my armour. Two more shells followed while others impacted outside my sphere of influence.


    While intercepting more shells may be possible, I was hardly inclined to do so willingly. I had been ordered to assist this position in forcing back Thich''s artillery positions ¨C not tanking explosives.


    A few metres to my left, Astra was doing the same to give the pioneers some breathing room.


    As soon as there was a lull in the bombardment, I tapped the granite slab with the hind end of my spetum to gain the attention of the warriors beneath. ¡°Juggernaut here, check your assigned combat chat!¡±


    They should have already received an update on the situation and known we were here to assist. But it didn''t hurt to make sure they were paying attention. Once they joined the chatroom ''30203'' dedicated to this combat zone, they would be able to read up on the latest news.


    The high command wasn''t satisfied with the progress of the trench system in this area, so they ordered Astra and me to hold back the regular Thich raids which kept interrupting the work. A fairly easy job, since the brunt of the fighting was focused elsewhere at the moment.


    The goal was to force back Thich''s mortar positions far enough to allow Jeng to evacuate safely.


    After our return to the fleet, someone had finally found the time to inform us of the situation.


    Jeng had been attacked by a combined force of Thich and Vier troops. The clan had been totally surprised by the ferocity of the attack and was unable to resist the sheer amount of modern weaponry brought to bear against them.


    Their outer settlements and outposts had been wiped away with ease.


    Of course, they had immediately sent for aid from Hochberg, but their messengers were far slower than Aerie''s airships, and so they had yet to reach the twin fortress ¨C if they reached it at all.


    Thich''s rolling Warmachine only came to a halt when they reached Jeng''s capital, the Ancient Grove.


    It was a tree grove made up of the same species of redwood trees standing at the Old Camp and was dwarfing what I had seen so far by a fair margin. The larger trees¡¯ trunks had a diameter of more than a hundred metres and towered above the rest of the forest like skyscrapers.


    The Ancient Grove was located right in the middle of the large forest southwards of the Old Camp and was surrounded by fields. Those fields weren¡¯t intended to grow edible crops but to cultivate a certain bush which was the preferred food for iobeetles. Unfortunately, those very fields were now being torn apart by artillery and Hochberg¡¯s trench system.


    Like bark beetles, the Jeng had burrowed their capital colony into the bark of their trees. It was only thanks to this that Jeng had held out for three whole weeks till our fleet arrived.


    Since the trees belonged to the same plant species as the one at the Old Camp, they had resisted the modern laser weaponry which had proved the most troublesome for our fleet so far. The redwood''s bark charred when exposed to heat, but it didn''t burn on its own.


    A far greater problem had been the explosive artillery rounds which Thich had used to fell some of the more important trees. Thankfully, their armament wasn''t large enough to finish off Jeng''s capital in one fell swoop.


    Due to this, Jeng''s defenders managed to hold until our forces arrived.


    The Thich had far fewer ships than the Aerie, but they had enough to contest with Aerie''s fleet due to their modern weapon systems. After a few initial brushes with the rocket systems which I had already seen in action at the Old Camp, nobody dared to flip the coin by forcing a direct engagement.


    According to Vanya, it could go either way and it looked like the Thich commanders thought the same.


    The result was an uneasy stalemate between the two fleets while troops on the ground tried to force the Thich to use up their ammunition while taking as few losses as possible.


    After two days of fighting, Vanya''s staff had concluded that the Thich weren''t in a position to support their artillery with unlimited ammunition. The Jeng had already suffered the brunt of the attack and now the Thich were forced to use what was left more strategically.


    This was supported by the news that we had taken the Old Camp and seen no sign of Earth sending additional supplies. Though, Earth sending more materials might have been a possibility if Thich had stayed in control of the area.


    It wasn''t entirely clear what was going on with Thich¡¯s and Earth¡¯s cooperation, but it looked like Thich had received a one-time shipment with military supplies and that was it. Otherwise, we would have expected to see a supply line at established wormhole exit points like at the Old Camp ¨C of which there was no sign.


    The biggest problem was the extensive damage which had been already done to the Ancient Grove''s facilities. Even if the Jeng still fought on using their remaining trees as unassailable bunkers, they were fighting a lost battle.


    The elders had confirmed with Jeng''s leadership that the Thich had targeted and successfully destroyed installations which ensured Jeng''s freshwater supply and food production. Combined with the holes which had been poked into their defence, Jeng would be hard-pressed for survival against Tirnanog''s wildlife even if the Thich packed their things and left right now.


    It was certainly suspicious how the Thich knew exactly which trees to destroy in order to ensure the collapse of Jeng¡¯s colony even if Thich couldn¡¯t ensure an immediate victory.


    And as the Jeng revealed later on, they already suffered a population problem beforehand. I had heard of them having resource troubles ¨C which was the reason why they hadn''t tried to actively recruit people when I arrived at the Old Camp.


    Their issue was one of available living space ¨C since settling down anywhere except inside a sufficiently large redwood wasn''t a long-term solution within the forest. And the grove had only so many trees of suitable size.


    Hence, Aerie''s elders had chosen to reveal the wormgate and bring in as many troops as possible to fight off the attackers. But while the wormgate was a convenient form of transportation, the small size was still a time-consuming bottleneck for troops and material to get through.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Once the Thich were driven off, evacuating non-combatants to Mount Aerie would be possible, which would in turn ease the burden on Jeng''s warriors.


    Whether we could get to this point was still in doubt and depended on how much modern weaponry the Thich were holding back. Till then, all available fighting forces were needed just to hold the line.


    I lowered my arm when it was clear the bombardment wouldn¡¯t be continued. Likely, a distant sensor had noticed my arrival and informed the mortar crew they were wasting ammunition.


    Hochberg''s pioneers had already taken up their shovels once more and I could only goggle at the speed at which earth flew aside and the trench grew in length. The trench was expanded at a slow walking pace which I would have only expected from the use of powered tools. The pioneers were also bringing in new rock slabs through their trench system and covering up the newly unearthed areas as soon as possible.


    Every few dozen metres, bunker-like structures were erected, built with earth and interlinking rocks which reminded me of Egyptian or Aztec stonework.


    Each bunker housed a heavy-duty ballista large enough that even I would rather dodge the bolt instead of tanking it. Especially since I couldn¡¯t detonate it early with lightning.


    The growing ballista network didn¡¯t have enough range to contest with Thich¡¯s mortars, but it strongly discouraged groups of average soldiers from advancing too deep into the trench network. Each bunker was covered by the field of fire of at least three others and the deeper attackers advanced into Hochberg''s network of trenches the worse it got.


    I readied my spetum once more when I noticed two flying figures approaching quickly.


    It took me a moment to verify, but they weren¡¯t really flying. Rather, they were on a low trajectory as if they had jumped ¨C and they were coming from the direction of the Thich lines.


    So, the Thich had decided to send juggernauts of their own.


    I quickly added the information to the chat and called out for Astra, ¡°Astra, ready yourself and stay close. We have incoming!¡±


    My words weren¡¯t even finished when one of my sub-identities urged my attention back to chat 30203.


    ¡®Massive push! Thich deployed substantial juggernaut forces to your zone. Sending assistance.¡¯


    At the same moment, the two Thich arrived and went directly for Astra.


    I flash stepped, intercepting one of them only to have my spetum blocked by a tonfa-like bladed weapon. My opponent pushed my spetum aside with ease and struck.


    I flash-stepped again, appearing behind him only to receive a foot to the knee. Instinctively, I answered with a burst of electricity and managed to buy myself a moment of reprieve when the Thich shuddered and jumped back.


    The guy was clad in grey armour and without a doubt was not to be underestimated.


    I was just about to be back on my feet when he flashed forward, the tip of his blade aiming directly at the opening between my chest plate and my helmet.


    To another person it likely sounded stupid, but I flexed, supplying the coils Gilbert had installed in my armour with as much power as possible. The magnetic force drew the blade downward just enough and instead of slipping into an opening, the tip caught on the chest plate¡¯s rim which was intended exactly for this purpose: to prevent a weapon from gliding off and slipping into a less protected area.


    The blade bent and snapped, causing a brief moment of surprise and hesitation in my opponent.


    With a scream, I let go of my spetum and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards me with all my might while bringing my knee up with as much force as I could muster.


    The impact was powerful enough to dent the front of his helmet and break the tinted visor, but I didn¡¯t let off. Knowing the strength of iobeetle armour, my spetum or short sword would have fared little better than the opponent¡¯s tonfa.


    So I picked him up at the scruff of his neck and his belt, then launched us at the closest bunker, bodily slamming us against it while a stunned crew of pioneers gaped at us while I held him down.


    ¡°Shoot!¡± I screamed at the guy manning the ballista while grappling with my opponent.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Shoot! Now!¡±


    The ballista twanged, the bolt still not penetrating the cracked visor, but the physical force was enough to rock back my opponent¡¯s head with a snap.


    As the bolt sailed past us, one of the metal connectors holding the helmet in place snapped and I pulled it off the enemy¡¯s head, revealing the androgynous face of a woman.


    Not hesitating, I used the helmet to bash her three times until her body went limp.


    ¡°Finish her!¡± I commanded the pioneers before focusing my attention on the surrounding battle.


    Turning, I tried to get an overview of the situation, but the area had turned into a slaughterhouse within the few seconds my battle had taken. Warriors from both sides had arrived to kill each other with frenzied zeal. I could even make out two or three elders who had joined the fray.


    That¡¯s when I saw the other attacker from earlier holding Astra with something jammed into her neck.


    I didn¡¯t think and just flash-stepped, unleashing everything I had against this new foe who had dared to touch ¡®her¡¯.


    The man, and this time it was without a doubt a man, saw me coming and pulled the syringe out of Astra¡¯s neck.


    He dodged the integrated blade which slipped out from beneath my armour plates neatly while electricity danced over his body without obvious effect. My opponent was untouched, but the electricity jolted Astra awake. Her previously slack filaments came back alive and tried to capture her attacker.


    Our foe reacted with an attempted hammer blow to her head, but I intercepted it by bodily throwing myself in between, using both hands to launch plasma right at his helmeted face. This caused him to let go at last and he ripped himself free of Astra¡¯s filaments while rolling away from the continuous arch of plasma I was unleashing.


    ¡°Can you fight?¡±


    Astra coughed as I pulled her to her feet. She was still dazed and unsteady from whatever had caused her to black out.


    ¡°Jaunt! Now!¡±


    I turned to put myself between Astra and our enemy, who had used the time to fill a vial with the blood he had extracted from Astra with the syringe.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why they want you, but it¡¯s all the same to me,¡± he said while sealing the vial as if he had all the time in the world, seemingly oblivious to the heated battle surrounding us.


    And then he took a step.


    I drew one of my flechettes and launched it at him. Or rather, the spot he had been in!


    What?


    He took another step, pocketing the vial.


    I launched another one, this time giving it a little electromagnetic extra and once more missed completely. Whatever he did, he was not some speedster type and dodging me after the fact. No, he was moving even before I decided to act!


    ¡°Jaunt! Jaunt! Jaunt!¡±


    Finally, Astra jaunted and was gone.


    I tried to follow my own advice, but the man took a step again and casually threw something at me. It hit me in the chest and my chest plate cracked. Organs, bones, muscles, everything gave out a scream of protest as my upper body tried to move with the chest plate while everything else wanted to stay in place due to inertia.


    Then I was tumbling. Something cracked again as I barrelled through a bunker, the shocked faces of a ballista crew flashing by.


    And then a foot stopped me in mid-air, bringing me to a dead halt before we landed on the ground.


    ¡°Now, where do you think you are going, Magnus? And where did your partner run off to? I can¡¯t sense her anymore ¨C which is most peculiar! It has been a few decades since someone managed to run away from me.¡±


    He leaned down and I grabbed his foot on my chest as I felt myself being pushed down into the earth. Just how heavy was this guy? Was he pure lead?


    I coughed up blood, feeling as if I had been hit by a wrecking ball. ¡°How do you know my name?¡±


    ¡°Earth has developed an interest in you, Magnus. They haven¡¯t shared much. Only the important bits. How about a deal? You come with us without making a fuss and maybe you get to see your little sister.¡±


    I smiled while I burned his armour and the especially memorable helmet into my memory. The fucker had added a little crown of golden spikes at the top. As if he thought himself to be a real king. ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    Then I twisted his foot and he turned with the motion, using it to kneel on my thigh.


    There was a snap and pain shot through me, but I could sit up and strike his lower spine which caused him to grunt and get off me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you care about your sister? I promise we made sure she is in good hands.¡±


    I got up, using my filaments to stabilize my broken leg.


    The man stepped and I struck ¨C this time intentionally not where I intended to.


    And for the first time since he had displayed this strange ability, the blow connected. I only hit him futilely in the chest plate and my knuckles broke, but it was a hit, causing me to laugh with glee. A fight just wasn''t thrilling if I couldn''t touch the enemy.


    ¡°There was something about your mental profile,¡± the man said. ¡°You are some sort of anarchist when it comes to authority.¡±


    ¡°Why should I listen to a single word you say?¡± I asked. ¡°You threaten me with my sister and if I follow your orders I will just get fucked over. If I don¡¯t follow your orders you may do something to her or me, but that¡¯s outside my control. Since I can''t trust a single word coming from your mouth, there are no good solutions. But you are right here in front of me, so I can fight you.¡±


    I chuckled and jumped at him, slicing at his visor with one of my armour¡¯s blades. Then we traded blows.


    Hit!


    Block!


    Dodge!


    Strike!


    For a moment, I was within the flow my sub-identities dictated as they overwhelmed me and ruled my every action.


    Till I realized my opponent was fighting me with a single arm.


    Having enough, the man kicked my remaining good leg out from under me and I felt a stinging pain in my ankle. He ripped out my armour blade from my filaments¡¯ grasp and for the first time, I got to experience the excruciating pain of having filaments torn out of me. It was far worse than having your hair plucked, and not quite as bad as losing a limb. At least I imagined it so¡­


    He placed his foot once more on my chest and spun the armour blade he had taken from me around. ¡°I find the fact that you are still laughing most disturbing. Might be less trouble to take back a corpse. They just wanted a sample.¡±


    I chuckled and spit out what was very likely one of my molars. ¡°Maybe you should stop talking so much when everyone around you is fighting for their lives!¡± I had given my best to buy time, but it obviously wasn''t enough.


    Raising the blade, he was about to finish me off when a particle of glimmering ash flittered through between us.


    I would have thought nothing about it, but the man began to retreat right before a figure landed next to us. A silver blade flashed down and almost managed to bisect him. He got away with his life, but not without leaving behind the arm which had been holding my weapon.


    ¡°I am afraid you can¡¯t have him, Zacharias,¡± Mary¡¯s voice came from the silver figure who had placed herself between the man and myself. ¡°You have no idea how much trouble I would be in if he died and could no longer assume his responsibilities.¡±


    ¡°Why are you here and not on your mountain, old woman?¡± Zacharias asked. ¡°We ancients promised not to interfere.¡±


    ¡°Because I feel like it. And you are also violating the truce.¡± Mary rested the blade on her shoulder. The weapon looked like an organic extension of her arm. ¡°Besides, when I heard of your invasion I just had to take a look and make sure you stick to the rules. Colour me not surprised when you did not. Though, I must say I am happy about it. It was high time to kill you again. It¡¯s not like I would ever get tired of chopping you to bits. It''s like a recreational pastime to me, seeing you squirm.¡±


    Zacharias grinned. ¡°It''s not like you can do anything to me. I will come back no matter what. Why don''t you acknowledge you would be nothing without me and step out of the way? If I hadn''t killed your hubby, you wouldn''t have eaten that worm and gained such power.¡±


    ¡°But I do like killing you so much,¡± Mary replied and dashed forward.


    While they clashed, two Hochberg pioneers grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me towards the closest trench. It wasn¡¯t like I was in any condition to protest.

 Ch 103 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Don¡¯t move so much,¡± Richard Tate chided me while he dug with all the little squirmy things through my neck.


    ¡®Sorry, but you rooting around in my neck with all those things feels just plain weird,¡¯ I replied, using the UI chat system since my throat was somewhat sore at the moment.


    ¡°If you want to avoid my treatment, next time, you could kindly ask your opponent not to pull out that needle sideways and open up half your throat,¡± Richard quipped while the door swung open and another person was reeled in on a stretcher.


    All I saw was a glimpse of Magnus¡¯s armour.


    Anticipating my next move, Thalia¡¯s father placed a palm on my forehead and held me down. ¡°Where do you think you are going?¡±


    ¡®What happened to Magnus?¡¯ I asked over chat.


    He hadn¡¯t responded after I jaunted back to Mount Aerie and informed our command of the blood-stealing. How could Richard not understand how worried I was? And now they brought him in on a stretcher!


    ¡°Natasha is taking care of him. She was trained by me and is very competent,¡± Richard responded while holding me down. ¡°Now, do you want me to finish stitching your throat or lose even more blood?¡±


    ¡°He will be fine,¡± another doctor''s cheerful voice called over from outside my field of vision. ¡°He won¡¯t move for a few days until his bones heal back together, but he miraculously avoided life-threatening injuries. It''s like his opponent avoided killing him and instead tried to systematically break every bone possible.¡±


    What was there to be so cheerful about!? The next time I encountered that Thich I would squeeze the life out of him!


    It took me a lot of effort to stay still knowing this.


    Another hour went by until Richard finally removed his hand from my throat and put a humiliating neck collar on me to prevent me from undoing all his work.


    By then, the doctor in charge of Magnus had managed to peel him out of his armour which proved particularly difficult when it came to his helmet which had been deformed. It took four people with strength mutations to break it open without causing further injuries.


    If Magnus hadn¡¯t reawakened half an hour into the procedure and calmed me down, I would have thrown off Richard and done it myself.


    The most disturbing thing about the damage to Magnus''s armour was the chest plate, which had one of Magnus¡¯s own flechettes embedded inside it ¨C warped and deformed. The armour had withstood the impact just barely, with only the projectile¡¯s tip penetrating while the rest deformed around it.


    Till now, I hadn¡¯t even been aware that there was someone or something out there capable of damaging iobeetle armour.


    It took three more days for me to be released from the hospital, during which Isaac stayed with us in the room. One of the family¡¯s employees had been nice enough to bring him by, since Mary was reportedly out to, ¡®save the elders¡¯ asses¡¯, as the old woman saw it.


    And even if Isaac was shocked to see both his parents hospitalized, he had the time of his life once the child realized he had his parents all to his own as long as we were relieved of duty due to injury.


    But as soon as I was able to, I returned through the wormgate to find out what had happened while I was out of commission.


    I found the flagship¡¯s observation platform in far less disarray than last time ¨C which was good. Unfortunately, the gloomy faces everyone was making foreboded nothing good.


    The central planning table had more political power assembled around it than I assumed had come together in one place since the clan wars.


    For Hochberg, Matriarch Vanya sat on an extra large chair which elevated her to the height of the adults around her. Her advisor Tianna stood to her left and her dubious new bodyguard was to her right.


    Mary was standing with Skye and Juliana Rumen, representing Aerie.


    Supposedly representing Jeng, a gnarly man with grey skin and faceted eyes was eyeing the map laid out on the table. Two antennae swivelled slowly above his head and behind him stood two true monstrous creatures out-sizing even the larger Caravaners I had seen so far.


    Decked out in a carapace which was clearly no ''equipped'' armour, the man and the woman looked like bodybuilder knights blown up to a height of three metres. Though, the woman was maybe just 2.8! Even though the room was large and the equipment intended to be handled by people with above-average strength and dimensions, these guys were likely the upper limit of what the airship¡¯s interior could handle.


    ¡°Astra! You are back on your feet!¡± Mary proclaimed cheerfully upon seeing me.


    ¡°Barely,¡± I croaked, my throat still feeling sore. ¡°I couldn¡¯t lie around any longer not knowing what was going on. Did you catch the guy who wanted my blood?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t get away,¡± Mary replied to my great relief. ¡°Though a little stolen blood might be the least of our problems. Of course, we still have to find out why he was so interested in you in the first place.¡±


    The grey, gnarly man grumbled something and Mary gestured at him.


    ¡°Where are my manners, this is Felix Wolf. You would likely call him an ancient ¨C like me. And with him are the two head Paladins of Clan Jeng, Savannah and Ahmad Gentry.¡±


    The two ¡®monsters¡¯ gave acknowledging nods which I returned with as much respect as possible. I had only heard of them, but Jeng¡¯s Paladins were their fighting elites. Much like the twelfth strata was Aerie¡¯s fighting elite. But Jeng took it to whole another level with extreme mutations ¨C almost abandoning their humanity to protect the clan.


    Which was why some regarded them as abominations who had strayed too far from the rest of us. Having experienced ridicule of my own, I wasn¡¯t about to judge someone on looks alone.


    I returned my attention to Mary. ¡°Seeing you here, I assume the battle is over?¡±


    Vanya nodded. ¡°It is. For now. Thich and Vier retreated after Mary showed herself on the battlefield and Felix joined her. I can only assume they achieved some goal, or the cost of continuing the fight was too great. Still, we can hardly call it a victory. Jeng¡¯s colony is, excuse the expression, screwed. Essential facilities are destroyed.¡± She looked towards the two Rumens. ¡°Thankfully, Aerie pulled another miracle out of their asses and are willing to evacuate and shelter Clan Jeng for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Which won¡¯t be easy,¡± Elder Skye pointed out.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Vanya waved a hand. ¡°The far greater issue is that Tianna returned with very bad news. She couldn¡¯t find any traces of Gurney Camacho ¨C though captured Thich indicated he might have been shipped off only at the last second when our forces arrived at the Old Camp. We are currently trying to determine whether a rescue mission is possible. Though, to launch such a mission, we would first have to find the airships which escaped from the Old Camp and catch up to them. I assume only a full flight of drake riders would be up to the task at this point.¡±


    I found myself frowning more and more the longer the Matriarch spoke. ¡°Gurney!? The Old Camp¡¯s overseer? The Matchmaker?¡± I asked dumbfounded. ¡°Why would he be important enough to warrant a rescue mission?¡±


    I never disliked Gurney, but there was no doubt such a mission would cost many lives.


    Felix looked at me and spoke for the first time. ¡°And why would the scientist who invented the nano-machines and the gene-recombination virus not warrant our full attention? The one who created the first series of gene-spliced humans to colonize Tirnanog? After all, it is why we exiled him to the Old Camp, to keep him out of the hands of anyone who might be inclined to make use of his skills.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Mark***


    I entered the hospital room and waved a hand at the man who had both his feet wrapped tight within a supporting frame. Magnus looked like he had tried his luck in a direct confrontation with a wrecking ball, but like the maniac I had to come to know him as, he was grinning upon seeing me.


    ¡°Mark! What brings you to my humble abode?¡±


    ¡°You paid me a visit when I was recovering, so I thought it only fair to come and gloat in your misery the same way you did with me a week ago.¡±


    ¡°For that, you have to come to my home so I can show off my son once I get out of here.¡±


    If I hadn''t already heard from a certain doctor about Magnus knocking up Astra, I wouldn''t have believed it.


    I got myself a chair which was standing next to the room''s entrance and brought it up to the bed to sit down. ¡°I heard you got your ass kicked.¡±


    Magnus shook his head with a grimace. ¡°It wasn''t even that. More ''swatted like a fly''. My only luck was that I am more of a cockroach and the asshole didn''t expect it. Somehow, I survived long enough to allow one of our own powerhouses to show up and save my sorry hide.¡±


    ¡°You will be fine?¡± I asked while I stared at his legs, just to make sure.


    Magnus gave me a thumbs-up. ¡°Just broken bones and injured pride according to Thalia. Time will heal all wounds.¡±


    I looked at the door at the mention of ''her'' name. ¡°She isn''t here, is she?¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°Oh, I am sure she is somewhere around. This whole facility belongs to her strata and her parents are the managers. But she should be very busy with the aftermath of the siege. I have heard lots of injured are coming through the wormgate. Why?¡±


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    I nodded, having used the gate myself. Seeing such a thing felt unreal after my time at the Old Camp.


    ¡°Oh, nothin...¡± I waved a hand, not wanting to dive deeper into the topic. ¡°Just don''t want to run into her. That would be... awkward.¡±


    Magnus grinned. ¡°Now you have to tell me everything. You can''t just hand out a hint and leave it.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°In fact, as a gentleman, I don''t and I can''t.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on,¡± Magnus whined. ¡°I promise my lips are sealed. I am bored out of my mind lying here. Give me something to fantasise about.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°She kind of proposed to me.¡±


    Magnus''s eyes widened. ¡°Thalia? Please tell me you said yes.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I scratched the back of my head. It felt awkward to talk about it. ¡°I said I need time to think about it.¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with you?!¡± Magnus mimed lifting something plentiful and heavy with the open palm of his uninjured hand. ¡°Haven''t you noticed her very big ''arguments''? What kind of man are you? Do you need help? If you need counselling, I can lend a hand. I''ve successfully instructed Loops with his ''woman troubles'' and in his case, the women were the problem. So your issues should be comparatively easy to resolve.¡±


    ¡°I have seen her ''assets''. Yes, Thalia is pretty. And no, I still won''t dive into such a commitment without giving it the proper thought,¡± I countered. ¡°And isn''t Loops your drake?¡±


    ¡°Even animals need help sometimes.¡± Magnus shrugged. ¡°Are you gay?¡±


    I snorted. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I won''t judge if you are ¨C just know that I am not.¡± Magnus showed me the open palm of his good hand in a warding-off gesture.


    ¡°I am not gay!¡±


    ¡°Then what''s the problem?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°You weren''t above pushing me to hook up with Astra.¡±


    ¡°The situation was a tad bit different with you. You had just pissed off a member of a major clan, had no backing except for Gurney, and winter was right before the door. And don''t be mad at me, but you were a greenhorn at wilderness survival. If you had stayed at the Old Camp, you would be dead by now. Taking Astra''s offer was the best chance at survival you would ever get.¡±


    ¡°Peanuts, now spill.¡±


    I tapped my knee with a finger as I considered whether it was wise to share this story with someone like Magnus. ¡°I just don''t know, Magnus. I am not into the whole ''wings''-thing.¡±


    He raised a questioning eyebrow. ¡°Her wings turn you off?¡±


    ¡°It''s not the only issue. She is a very intense personality,¡± I tried to explain. ¡°And I feel... it''s hard to describe... ''influenced'' or ''used'' when she is around. That woman just triggers all the warning signals in the back of my brain...¡±


    I sighed. ¡°It happened during the flight to Jeng.¡±


    -


    I closed the door behind myself and locked it, sighing in anxious relief while conflicted feelings warred within me. After what I had been through, I felt glad I no longer had to be alone, but at the same time, the presence of other people felt like a threat.


    Being released from the medical ward was at the same time absolution and perdition.


    So was getting away from everything. And getting a little distance from the doctor also wasn''t the worst thing.


    Thalia always managed to send warm and cold shudders down my spine with her most recent behaviour.


    At first, I thought of her as an overbearing doctor. Then, once she had gotten a full list of my mutations, things changed. I played with the idea of her trying to flirt with me. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t be against a woman showing interest in me, but then her obvious attempts to get into my good graces became... just awkward. Maybe she was trying too hard?


    After three days of her treating me like a patient in the critical ward, it was good to gain a little distance.


    There was no question Thalia was trying to please, but she was just too damn good at it. It felt like landing in the hands of a very pleasing, but deadly courtesan.


    Abandoning the thought, I clapped my hands together and smiled at the little bunk I could call my own for the next few days at least. For as long as it took the airship to reach Jeng.


    The berth was maybe one and a half metres in width and three metres deep. I had to crouch slightly so I wouldn''t hit my head on the ceiling. The room had just a bed and a small night desk. The sanitary installations were down the corridor and for public use, but I didn''t mind.


    A smile stole itself onto my face as I surveyed the area like a king his land. No question, the walls surely weren''t soundproof, but their mere existence was enough to make me almost tear up.


    A knock on the door tore me out of my reminiscence.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I answered and opened it ¨C only realizing after the fact that I should have checked the identity of my visitor first.


    Thalia stood outside with a thin folder in hand, clad in a perfectly fitting white lab coat. She beamed a searing smile at me which offered me her everything and simultaneously sent a tingle of caution down my spine. My new mutation was doing backward flips just from that single action of hers.


    ¡°Hi, I just wanted to make sure everything is alright with your new accommodations.¡± As if not knowing anything about personal space, Thalia reached out and brushed her fingers over my chest.


    She needed no strength at all because the touch alone had me back away. It hadn''t felt bad. No, it felt good even. But there was an intellectual aspect to what just happened. Somehow I knew, I was a moth and she a fire.


    ¡°Um... hi,¡± I replied like a dolt. ¡°Everything is fine. I think?¡±


    Thalia stepped inside, making the situation even worse because the room was so small. Then the demoness closed the door and locked it!


    That wasn''t good. Why was I behaving like some high schooler with his crush when she was around?


    ¡°I have something we have to discuss in private.¡± She raised the folder in front of her chest and switched that blinding, one-thousand-lumen smile back on.


    ¡°Okay. Maybe we could go outside for space?¡± I tried to get past her, but Thalia practically threw herself into my arms.


    I froze up like some teenager when her hand absolutely not accidentally landed behind my head and traced a finger from the back of my ear to my jawbone. The sensation of her touch was just exhilarating and caused me to freeze up like an icicle.


    Next thing I knew, one of her wings hooked in behind my legs and we tumbled into the bed with her on top.


    ¡°I think this is so much nicer than talking outside,¡± the woman whispered with a husky voice while cuddling up to my side, her body somehow feeling so perfect against mine.


    A leg came up, hooking over my left thigh while her labcoat rode up beyond the line of decency. My mind went blank for a moment when I realized the vixen was going commando beneath the coat.


    ¡°Miss Thalia, I-¡±


    ¡°Hush now. There is something I have to show you.¡± She opened the folder and showed it to me, revealing a spreadsheet of mutations which looked similar to Gurney''s records. The only difference was, this one was a combined one, and half of it were my mutations.


    ¡°I have checked it several times and found us to be an almost perfect match,¡± the woman babbled on as if completely unaware of what she was doing to me. Her thigh was slowly moving against the bulge in my pants. Her free hand played over my body like a piano while touching what felt like pressure points of pure bliss and relaxation.


    Then the coat¡¯s uppermost button came undone as if by accident, confirming she wore nothing beneath as her cleavage tried to escape while she pressed it against my upper arm.


    ¡°Except for my run-of-the-mill mutations such as the starfish, my bloodvine and mindreaper mutations are pure support and psychic power. Meanwhile, your blood mutation is also heavily circumstantial, but it combines well with my bloodvines. For that alone, I already had my eyes on you back then. But both of us missing completely in physical defence just didn''t allow for a match ¨C or at least making a pairing unwise. Though, your newest mutation changes the situation completely. Not only is it a strong physical improvement and defensive, but it also mixes well with your Precognition ¨C which is a psychic mutation in nature. I just have to wonder what would happen if we would add my own psychic mutations to the mix.¡±


    ¡°I can see your point,¡± I replied while almost dissolving in her arms. For some reason, that woman laying her hands on me was bliss.


    If it weren''t for the nagging sensation of my Precognition going haywire, I would probably be already tearing off her clothes.


    I took the folder to have a closer look at her abilities. ¡°So, this is a proposition to partner up?¡±


    ¡°Definitely yes.¡± She laid her head on my shoulder and played with her lab coat, loosening another button. ¡°I have pondered over the possible match between us for two days now ¨C and I can hardly believe I could find a better match than you. Do I really have to get even more blunt for you to understand?¡±


    Oh, she had been plenty of blunt beforehand.


    I smiled and tried pushing her knee down without coming off as groping her. ¡°Thanks, but without wanting to offend ¨C I will have to think about this.¡±


    Thalia frowned and suddenly stopped the seductive act. ¡°Am I not appealing to you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are very appealing, but this feels rushed. I don¡¯t know you, Thalia, and you don¡¯t me. It also feels like you are trying to force this,¡± I explained, picking my way through my words slowly since I didn¡¯t want to offend.


    She looked downcast. ¡°I just wanted to show you the ¡®benefits¡¯ of being with me. You can believe me, I have considered this match from a purely logical angle.¡±


    ¡°This document only says you have empathic ability without detailing what exactly you can do,¡± I pointed out. ¡°So you weren¡¯t trying to influence my decision with said ability?¡±


    Thalia pouted. ¡°I am not that kind of woman. I didn¡¯t influence you in that way.¡±


    Does that mean she influenced me in another way? ¡°Look, all I am saying is you feel way too good to be true and that sets off all my Precognition alarm bells.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± she pursed her pretty lips. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Even if I don¡¯t use my ability to actively influence your feelings, I just ¡®know¡¯ what feels good to you. Why would I touch you where I know it feels off-putting? That would put me off too since I would get the emotional overspill from you. So I touch where it feels good. I guess you can call it a positive influence, but it¡¯s also not?¡±


    I thought it over. ¡°I think I understand where you are going with this. So it¡¯s not you influencing me actively. It¡¯s passive since you just know where I like it without having to try?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± She smiled again and this time it almost stopped my heart because it felt ¨C genuine!


    ¡°I still need that rain-check to think this over,¡± I pointed out.


    Thalia frowned. ¡°Are you really going to leave me hanging after I showed up like this? I really hoped we could play doctor right away.¡±


    She...


    Wanted to play...


    What?


    Thalia slapped the folder out of my hand, grabbed my wrist, and pressed my hand against the most voluptuous, pleasing boob I could have ever dreamt up.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I choked out.


    No!


    I had to stay firm! ¡°Believe me, I would love to do this, but this is a commitment I have to think over. The whole reason why I am in this world is because my former self never stopped to consider the consequences of my actions. When I was exiled, I promised myself to never repeat this mistake again.¡±


    Thalia blew out a raspberry. ¡°Fine¡­ I guess I kind of ambushed you with this idea of mine. But the least you could do is to help me blow off some steam. I was kind of looking forward to getting nailed for real.¡±


    ¡°Pardon me?¡± I asked.


    The woman sat up and rolled her eyes while she reached into the pocket of her labcoat with one hand. With the other, she undid the remaining buttons.


    My eyes went to ''the goods''.


    ¡°Gods...¡±


    All I did was gape at her alluring figure. Don¡¯t think of me as some idiot who lost all cognitive functions upon seeing a naked woman ¨C but it had been a year since my exile.


    The lab coat came off and a polished, wooden stick with a knob at the end was placed in my hand. It was very smooth for wood and from the feel of it, it was also... oiled?


    ¡°Don¡¯t break it or I break you. That¡¯s my favourite one and I like it deep.¡±


    Staring perplexedly at the ¡®dildo¡¯, I failed to stop Thalia from swinging a leg over me and the next thing I knew, she was going down on me 69.


    -


    ¡°Holy! She blew you one and you still said no?¡± Magnus asked, looking like he didn''t believe me. ¡°Don''t take this the wrong way, but something is definitely wrong with you.¡±


    I glared at him with a blank expression. ¡°Haven''t I just told you about the wooden dildo she brought with her for the occasion?¡±


    ¡°Astra likes tying me to the bed before she goes for a ride,¡± Magnus countered. ¡°You just have to go with the flow, man. The women in this world are just different from Earth. If they see a guy they want and he is single, they go and get him.¡±


    ¡°Have I mentioned that once she was done, she whipped out a bottle and ran off with my spunk to do more ''compatibility tests''?¡± I added with a deadpan expression.


    Magnus seemed unconcerned. ¡°Sounds like her.¡±


    ¡°What if she finds a way to ''use'' it?¡± I asked.


    Magnus laughed. ¡°Now, I admit I am not an expert, but that''s certainly not how the recombination virus and the nanites work. There''s also the UI, which you should have learned about by now. Be assured, it works only with two people of the opposite gender. And only if they do the deed properly. But seriously, if Thalia truly wanted to use nefarious means to hook up with you, we wouldn''t be having this conversation. She already gave you a peek at her true powers, but what she shared with you is only the tip of the iceberg. I can''t say more ¨C confidentiality and all that.¡±


    ¡°Then what about her ability to press all my buttons?¡± I asked. ¡°You are saying she wasn''t trying to influence me?¡±


    He tilted his head from left to right as he thought about it. ¡°Maybe give you an incentive by hinting at what she could do for you,¡± Magnus admitted. ¡°If she wanted to, you two would have probably gone through the Kamasutra twice that night and you wouldn''t have even thought about saying no.¡±


    I truly didn¡¯t want her to pull out her real powers against me. The demoness had taken her sweet time playing with me, always stopping right at the edge until the final release was almost salvation. ¡°So she was serious about... this proposal?¡±


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°Look, I only can say this. Thalia is a good person. I like her. I like you. She has her flaws. You have your flaws. If she hurts you, I kick her ass. If you hurt her, I kick your ass. Though, I bet there won''t be much to kick after her parents are done with you. And Astra is kind of a bitch when it comes to someone hurting her besty. Try not to piss her off. You might tell yourself your situation is different from mine back then, but it really isn''t.¡±


    He closed his eyes. ¡°But honestly? If Thalia wants you, there is nothing you can do to get away without pissing off a lot of really powerful people.¡±


    I gulped.

 Ch 104 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Ancient Grove***


    ***Mary***


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Astra replied with a deep frown. ¡°It would mean Gurney is at least a few hundred years old. Weren¡¯t Earth¡¯s genetic experiments started when they abandoned the colonies?¡±


    Felix scowled at Astra and then looked at me accusingly. ¡°Seriously? You haven¡¯t even told these youngsters what this conflict is all about? Have you done nothing but sleep while you secluded yourself on your mountain, Mary?¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do, Felix. There are few enough of us ancients left as it is and I and my people have done nothing but help you and yours. It also isn¡¯t like I owe it to anyone to share my life¡¯s story. Or anyone else¡¯s for that matter. I fully intended to live out my retirement from political affairs until I learned what was happening out here.¡±


    Felix frustratedly pressed his lips together but nodded. ¡°Fine. I am hardly in a position to question you after helping us, but do you at least know what happened to Greta? She would have been a great help with interrogating some of our prisoners to find out what the Thich are up to. I can hardly believe she would have died to some lowly Forgotten assassin.¡±


    Matriarch Vanya straightened at the mention of her predecessor.


    ¡°Of course!¡± I turned my attention to the girl and smiled. ¡°I only heard bits and pieces of the story, but it¡¯s obvious to me that the child killed her. It¡¯s the only logical solution, knowing Greta¡¯s character in combination with Thich¡¯s and Vier¡¯s cooperation.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Felix¡¯s head snapped towards Vanya and he pulled a knife from his belt.


    Before anyone could react and do something stupid, I whipped out one of my filaments and wrapped it around the blade before pulling the dagger into my waiting palm, leaving behind a cindering trail of ash.


    ¡°Hold, old idiot,¡± I ordered.


    Felix narrowed his eyes at me. ¡°You just said she killed Greta! She was one of us, Mary!¡±


    ¡°As was Zacharias. Times change, Felix. People you might¡¯ve once called friends are now enemies a few centuries down the road.¡± I gestured towards Vanya, whose guards seemed equally stunned at the revelation as the rest of the table. ¡°Why don¡¯t you allow the girl to explain?¡±


    Vanya fidgeted on her chair but regained her composure after Felix didn¡¯t continue to threaten her.


    ¡°I had to kill Greta because she intended to cooperate with Thich.¡± She looked at Tianna, begging her to understand. ¡°Greta intended to sell out the clans¡¯ treaty by joining a secret alliance with Thich and Vier. I tried to change her opinion, but she didn¡¯t want to see reason. Her only goal was to shatter the status quo. But given the political situation, the alliance would have meant certain war. It would have destroyed Hochberg and turned us into ground zero of a war between Aerie and whatever remained after Vier and Thich were done with Jeng. But Greta didn¡¯t care. In her mind, she was taking the side of the victors.¡±


    Tianna grabbed her Matriarch¡¯s shoulder and slowly turned the chair until Vanya was facing her. ¡°But what you did didn¡¯t prevent the war. It was high treason.¡±


    Vanya¡¯s bodyguard stepped forward but the girl raised a hand to stop her. ¡°Technically, I would argue Greta committed treason first. If we had followed Greta¡¯s path, Hochberg would be a battlefield now. The Aerie fleet wouldn¡¯t have passed us by. Not if it would have meant leaving an enemy at their back. I might have chosen a path with a less certain future, but I can¡¯t see any scenario at this point in which Hochberg would be turned into the frontline of an all-out war. Look at Jeng. They held out till now, but their home is lost!¡±


    The matriarch deflated in her chair. ¡°I had to prevent total war for the good of our people. So I removed Greta from her position in the only way possible. No matter what you might think, Greta¡¯s idea of teaming up three against two wouldn¡¯t have ended in a decisive victory. Yes, Jeng would have been destroyed either way, but it is unrealistic to think they would have just disappeared off the map. Thousands would have died, hardening those who remained even more. Thich and Vier would have been bound up in an endless guerilla war against Jeng survivors. And while they might have sent us enough support to ultimately beat back Aerie¡¯s fleets of airships, our people would have suffered for it. Not to mention the hubris of thinking Mount Aerie could be taken so easily. They are dug in within their caves at least as deep as our fortress city.¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyes hardened while she looked at Tianna. ¡°Sadly, we will still have a war. But the only thing I care about is that it isn¡¯t fought in our streets!¡±


    Tianna stepped back, looking shocked and lost for words.


    I chuckled, then laughed. ¡°I actually like that one. Greta axed herself when she took that girl under her wing.¡±


    Astra slowly raised her hand. ¡°I am sorry, but I think we got a little off-topic. Not that Hochberg¡¯s internal affairs are not of interest, but what has Gurney to do with this conflict and the ancients?¡±


    I turned my attention to Astra. ¡°For that, you first have to understand the timeline. Earth indeed abandoned the colonies to start their experimental research. But for the first few hundred years, little of actual value was achieved. It was the dark time during which the colonists barely managed to survive as little more than prey animals.


    Felix continued the story. ¡°Things got better when scientists created the first iteration of the recombination virus, but it was crude compared to what exists now. The success rate was too low to call it anything but an abomination. Though, it allowed the founding and rise of great Clans as we know them today. It was only some five hundred years ago that a genius bioengineer invented the nanotech capable of controlling a new iteration of the recombination virus. Controlling the virus via nanotech allowed him to prevent unwanted mutations, even if the process still wasn¡¯t perfect.¡±


    I grinned and raised a finger. ¡°But Gurney Camacho was a genius beyond what was good for him ¨C a savant even. A man of such intellect was dangerous to Earth¡¯s rulers. And when he managed to create immortality through the starfish mutation¡­ well¡­ you can imagine. Everyone wanted a piece of him.¡±


    There was nothing those with power would have stopped at to gain this secret.


    Felix took over. ¡°Gurney took his research and escaped through the wormhole to Tirnanog. He hid and it worked for a few decades. Nonetheless, he knew it was only a question of time. And so he handcrafted a loyal group of protectors. Twenty paired people with extraordinary abilities. A group you call the ancients ¨C loyal to him and only him at the time. Though, the term ¡®ancient¡¯ has been muddled over the centuries. Others not part of our original group gained the title through luck, power and age.¡±


    ¡°But nothing lasts forever.¡± I raised a finger as I continued the story. ¡°Earth eventually figured out his whereabouts and it kicked off the clan wars. The history you know about is still true. Earth had been expanding their hold over the colonies for decades in an attempt to regain total control. But finding out the key to immortality lay hidden on Tirnanog, it was the final spark of temptation for them.¡±


    Felix shook his head. ¡°We were loyal to Gurney, but he was a scientist through and through. As long as he could continue his work, he couldn¡¯t have cared less about how many died around him. It took us years, but we finally realized that a war with Earth couldn¡¯t be won. Not as long as they could send their people through the wormholes without giving us a chance to retaliate.¡±


    He took a deep breath. ¡°It cost us dearly, but we finally managed to bring Earth to the negotiating table. In turn for peace, we sold them Gurney¡¯s research, though Earth¡¯s elites ultimately couldn¡¯t care less about returning such a dangerous man to their fold. They were happy with leaving him stranded here on Tirnanog once they had their immortality.¡±


    ¡°Nonetheless, those of Gurney¡¯s guard who remained had their eyes opened to the man¡¯s true nature,¡± Felix finished the story bitterly. ¡°And worse, knowing the temptation, we couldn¡¯t leave him to his own devices, or in the hands of anyone who might be tempted to use his abilities. We too had changed over the years, influenced by the societies we lived in and our experiences. We were no longer of one mind when it came to how things should be handled. Hence, we exiled him to the Old Camp. Out of the hands of any of the great Clans and without the resources to continue his research.¡±


    ¡°Then how many of the ancients remain?¡± Vanya asked. ¡°I have seen you two break the Thich siege almost on your own. Can we expect Thich to field their own warriors of such skill? You handled Zacharias reasonably well, but what about others?¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Felix shook his head. ¡°Zacharias isn¡¯t a true fighter, though he can hold his own. His main power is his primary mutation which turns him into something of a planarian flatworm. Cut off a piece and it regrows into a whole new ¡®Zach¡¯. It¡¯s like the bastard can clone himself with his memories intact. Though, there has to be a limit to it because I have never seen more than ten of him at once.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I know of two who are living in the Mycelium, though it has been centuries since we talked. Greta is gone, and you know Zach who is working with Thich. There may be two on Vier¡¯s side and one more in Thich¡¯s territory, though whether she is with them is questionable. This makes eight ancients with Felix and me. As for the reason why only Zacharias led the attack on Jeng, the others might be trying to recruit the remaining ancients who haven¡¯t picked a side.¡±


    Juliana looked worried and said in a questioning tone. ¡°This sounds¡­ bad?¡±


    I played with a lock of my hair as I considered it. ¡°It¡¯s bad if they agree, but not as bad as you might think. Gurney ensured our abilities would be beyond compare, but we are hardly invulnerable. Greta¡¯s hubris ensured a kid could take her down.¡±


    Felix glared at me. ¡°The ¡®hardly invulnerable¡¯ might be questionable when it comes to you.¡±


    One of the paladins pointed at the map. ¡°All this is good to know, grandfather, but hardly of immediate importance right now. Could we concentrate on the real issue at hand and figure out whether there is a chance of securing Gurney?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Come on, come on!¡± Thalia pulled me out of the wagon and gave the driver a thumbs up.


    My head was still spinning from the meeting I listened to earlier this morning, and so I had allowed myself to be swept up in my friend¡¯s antics.


    Knowing she was no longer needed, the driver used the steering leashes to urge his molerats forward and drove down the central trade tunnel.


    Meanwhile, Thalia shook me excitedly. ¡°I have pulled some strings to get us this opportunity and I don''t want to waste it. You have no idea how hard it is to get a personal appointment with decent craftsmen during times of war.¡±


    ¡°Is this one of these famous shopping trips I have heard about?¡± Iv asked while Thalia guided us towards the front of some business which was proudly showing off a sign portraying needles and scissors, drawn with luminescent paint. Beneath the pictograph, it claimed a family name even I recognized. ¡®Brien¡¯, the second strata¡¯s elders who pretty much controlled all of Aerie¡¯s manufacture-related businesses.


    I let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Thalia, you know that I haven''t bought a single piece of clothing in... forever. I just don''t need... whatever it is you want to procure.¡±


    ¡°Don''t think of this as a mere shopping trip!¡± Thalia shot back. ¡°This is a social event for our clique! Besides, you already got your guy, so shut up! You should be the one rooting for Iv and me and give us tips! Didn''t I give you helpful advice with Magnus?¡±


    I grumbled, unwilling to admit Thalia''s support had indeed positively influenced my decision-making.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Thalia used a finger to tilt her ear towards me. ¡°I couldn''t hear you?¡±


    I sighed. There was no point in fighting a lost battle. ¡°Of course, I am going to help where I can.¡±


    Iv nodded.


    ¡°But seriously,¡± I babbled, unable to help myself. ¡°I don''t get what clothes have to do with the two of you being unable to get your men to nail you. Why don''t you just rip off their pants and hop on for a ride? It worked perfectly fine with Magnus.¡±


    ¡°Oh, by the goddess!¡± Iv covered her ears. ¡°I don''t have to know this about my brother! I am beginning to think it was a bad idea to tag along.¡±


    Thalia slapped Iv''s hands down. ¡°Don''t be a prude! We are about to shop for the secret of eroding any man''s sanity. There is no place for false shame and propriety.¡±


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I asked. ¡°The thing which can erode a man¡¯s sanity?¡±


    ¡°Lingerie!¡± Thalia and Iv answered in unison as I was dragged into the tailor''s shop where an employee stood ready to receive us. After Thalia gave her name, we were led to a private booth.


    I frowned when we entered the room which was filled with wooden dolls presenting various underwear. Very risqu¨¦ underwear.


    Iv was immediately drawn towards something black and lacy while Thalia explained her wishes to a female attendant who had been already waiting for us.


    As I looked around the room, I asked myself why all of this ''dressing up'' was necessary. I mean, Thalia trying to get herself a partner was fine and all, but I really couldn¡¯t see the point. If Thalia truly desired Mark I wouldn''t be above holding him down for her.


    Okay, maybe I wouldn''t go that far. That would be rape, but maybe I could ask Magnus to find out what the problem was? After all, Mark was Magnus''s friend. Getting some insider knowledge about what Mark liked was fair play.


    Still, one had to ask the question.


    ¡°Are you sure just getting naked didn''t work?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe Mark and Hector are... defective?¡±


    The suggestion earned me exasperated looks from all the women in the room.


    ¡°What? It''s a valid question!¡± If the mutation match was valid and the two people didn''t hate each other, then what reason was there to wait? If Thalia and Iv had to go to actual lengths to seduce their partners, then wasn''t there a deeper matchmaking problem which had to be addressed?


    Thalia scoffed at me. ¡°Excuse me, Astra, but your Magnus is a bit of a simpleton. As are you.¡± She looked towards Iv. ¡°No offence to your brother. Being a simpleton can be a good thing! I wish Mark was a simpleton.¡±


    Iv shrugged. ¡°None taken. He kind of is a little ''caveman-ish''. There is no denying it.¡±


    I crossed my arms in front of my chest. ¡°Hey! Just because Magnus and I used rational thinking as the basis of our relationship doesn''t mean we are stupid! We simply decided to build our future on a firm foundation.¡±


    ¡°Not stupid,¡± Thalia corrected. ¡°I said simple. Just because you prefer a simple solution doesn''t mean you are stupid. Which works perfectly for the two of you. Besides, I am doing much the same. When I tested my compatibility with Mark, I got back an 80% match! That''s a very good result!¡±


    Iv frowned. ¡°There is a test for what? Why haven''t I heard of it before?¡±


    Thalia gestured in a so-so motion. ¡°It''s not a reliable test and admittedly very much experimental, given the limited medical resources we have access to. I am trying to use sperm cells and female eggs to judge beforehand whether two potential partners might end up fertile. My current approach is to statistically correlate a successful partnering process by looking at how many times successful fertilization occurs with a given sample size. With Mark''s sperm and my egg cells, eight attempts worked perfectly fine and only two were unsuccessful.¡±


    ¡°How did you get his sperm and are not partnered yet?¡± I asked. ¡°Is there a story I want to hear about?¡±


    ¡°How would you get the eggs?¡± Iv asked.


    ¡°I am trying to bond with Mark the right way to ensure a future relationship,¡± Thalia answered me and turned to address Iv. ¡°With a needle of course.¡± She mimed the process. ¡°Just one poke and it''s done. I rarely miss.¡±


    Iv paled. ¡°No, thanks. I would rather try my luck. Too young for kids anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, you poor fool,¡± Thalia patted Iv¡¯s back and turned to face the attendant whose expression was a bit stiff after listening to us. My friend explained what she needed to the attendant who listened patiently before suggesting various getups she thought would work for Thalia.


    While Thalia and Iv talked to the attendant about their wishes, I went to one of the displays and picked out one of the tamer-looking panties. Until I realized it had a slit right where it mattered.


    Why would a woman put on clothes which didn''t serve their function? Rolling my eyes, I dropped the thing back down. Oh, I understood the point of sexy underwear perfectly fine, also the likely purpose of the slit. I wasn¡¯t stupid, but I just didn''t need all this stuff.


    When I turned around, Iv and Thalia were right in the middle of trying on some underwear sets and the attendant was smiling at me.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± she asked. ¡°Seeing your hair, I would suggest something black. But with the scintillating red mixed in we could try a combination of red and black to shake things up.¡±


    I pursed my lips and considered a diplomatic answer, but then decided against it. ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Thalia said while putting on a bra barely capable of holding back those udders of hers. ¡°At least try to play along.¡±


    Ok, I freely admitted, I was sometimes jealous of her size. Mine weren''t as magnificent, but unlike Thalia''s, they didn''t need support and held firm on their own. And Magnus always assured me they were perfect when he buried his face in them.


    The attendant smiled while she sized me up. ¡°How about it? With your hair, you could try one of our exotic pieces! We have one with shimmering red drake scales. If you would get out of your dress we could try some...¡±


    I stretched my hands demonstratively above my head and rearranged my filaments.


    First I drew most of them back to my spine and wove the excess into a flaring, multi-layered skirt which left my front open. A few filaments were enough to copy one of the more lascivious bikinis.


    Thalia always chided me for preferring styles which covered my entire body. But the fact of the matter was, all those filaments had to go somewhere and anything else besides wide, multi-layered clothes ended up plain out of balance or looking weird if I tried to show some skin.


    The colour wasn''t something I could influence, but I could adjust the fit in a way which was simply impossible with normal clothing.


    Looking down at myself, I made sure the filaments pulled and pushed my tits up and together just the right way to make them seem bigger. From experience, I knew exactly what turned Magnus into an absolute animal. Also, to give them that perfect little squeeze which made men wonder what might be hidden in between.


    Then I added my own touch to the bikini by withdrawing some filaments to show more without revealing anything. Very much unlike those tasteless panties.


    Deciding to draw just a little bit more inspiration from my surroundings, I also allowed for just a little bit of under-boob to show.


    As for panties, I went for simple and skin-tight, but not indecently so while having them emphasize my hips.


    I looked back up at the three women who had been ogling my demonstration and ran a hand through my hair, throwing it out behind me. ¡°What do you think? Just so you know, if you want them to turn into mindless beasts with the single goal of ravishing you, you just have to do this.¡±


    Winking, I blew a kiss at them and swung my hips to a little drumbeat I had in my head. With the other hand, I swung a few filaments behind me in an infinity symbol and flared my bio-luminescence to draw their eyes to the jiggly selling points of this performance.


    The attendant looked like she was about to faint. ¡°That''s just... so unfair!¡±


    Thalia shook her head. ¡°You know... I hate you. I really do! Why can''t you put on some actual clothes for once and suffer the same misery the rest of us womenfolk have to endure?¡±


    Iv had the panties she had been holding balled up between her hands and glared at me. ¡°No wonder my brother couldn''t keep it in his pants! You are the devil, Astra.¡±


    She pointed at the attendant. ¡°You!¡±


    The woman turned around. ¡°Yes?¡±


    Iv pointed at me. ¡°I want something just like that!¡±


    ¡°Ahem...¡± The flustered woman looked between Iv and the bikini I had improvised just moments ago.


    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Not that I ever need underwear, but isn''t this stealing of intellectual property?¡±


    Thalia nodded. ¡°Maybe. But I don''t care! I was the one who suggested you do the sexy dance in the first place, so want one too!¡±


    ¡°Aaah...¡± The attendant looked like she was in real trouble now.


    I scratched my chin. ¡°I don''t know how I feel about you two running around in underwear which my partner likes.¡±

 Ch 105 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I opened my eyes to the familiar scenery of a certain tropical island.


    The sun hung low on the horizon next to the other island visible in the distance. A blue moon was touching the horizon to its left, creating a surreal and alien picture. A weak breeze came in from the sea, bringing the salty smell of the ocean with it.


    Gaia had a favourite setting for meeting with us, but she was changing things up bit by bit. By now, I had a hard time comparing this dream with the island resort from my memories.


    Astra moved closer to me from my right and poked her index finger into my cheek.


    When I didn''t react, she swirled it around tentatively.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Aw, I was just checking whether you are lucid or not.¡± She clicked her tongue. ¡°Next time, I have to fall asleep faster.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and turned to face her. ¡°What would you have done if I had been asleep?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I still have to get back at you for groping me that one time.¡±


    I mockingly bowed to her. ¡°Feel free to grope anywhere you like, any time.¡± I spread my hands and hugged her, grabbing her ass and lifting her so she was level with me.


    Astra rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry while she held onto my shoulders. ¡°There¡¯s no fun in it if you are so nonchalant about it.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It''s not like we have something to hide.¡±


    A shrill, joyous shriek and laughter from inside the bungalow drew our attention.


    Astra extracted herself from my grasp and went to open the sliding door leading into the house.


    Inside, we found Gaia on the floor, playing with Isaac among a mountain of children''s toys. The whole room looked like a children¡¯s toy store, spoiling the child rotten. Though, currently Isaac was having the time of his life with a set of building blocks which he was assembling into a quite intricate ship.


    ¡°Isaac?¡± I asked, bewildered by the boy''s presence in the dream.


    ¡°Isn''t he such a delightful child?¡± Gaia asked and pulled at Isaac''s cheek. ¡°You love your aunty Gaia don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Mom! Dad!¡± Isaac wasn''t so easily swayed once he saw us. He got to his feet and ran over, slamming into Astra''s legs with a tackle hug. A moment later, he remembered to show off his ship and ran back to get it.


    ¡°There he goes.¡± Gaia sighed and got up. ¡°Fickle is the heart of a child.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Astra asked with a bewildered expression before she petted Isaac and praised him for his work while the boy pointed out various features of his ship like the retractable sails.


    ¡°I honestly have to say...¡± Gaia massaged her chin with a thoughtful expression. ¡°I haven''t a single clue.¡±


    ¡°You don''t know?¡± I asked mockingly, not believing the avatar. If there was one thing I had learned since getting to know the Gestalt, it was that there was no such thing as not knowing for this entity. Whatever any human in existence knew, the Gestalt knew. It was more likely she just didn''t want to tell us for whatever reason.


    ¡°You are doing it again, Magnus!¡± Gaia wagged a finger at me. ¡°What did I do to earn so much distrust?¡±


    ¡°Stop looking into my head to start with!¡± I countered. ¡°And sorry for doubting you. Didn''t you have an ethereal hand in our kid''s conception? I am still not entirely sure about us being experimented on.¡±


    Gaia blinked, looking baffled for once. ¡°You know I can¡¯t ¡®stop looking into your head¡¯. I am a part of you and you are a part of me. We are linked. But if you truly want to, I could leave your mutations to chance...¡±


    ¡°No! No!¡± Astra kicked me in the shin, which didn''t really hurt. ¡°We appreciate you looking over us!¡±


    I didn''t comment, feeling like there was nothing I could say to make it any better.


    Gaia nodded but gave us a lecture nonetheless. ¡°If you would use those little brains of yours, you would remember how surprised I was about your newest mutation allowing you to be lucid during the dream and communicate with me. Do I have to repeat myself about the randomness of evolution?¡±


    She tilted her head while she regarded Isaac. ¡°The only thing I can say for sure is that the trait which allows you two to contact me is genetically inheritable. I wasn''t sure, but I selected the gene sequence I assumed to be responsible and ensured it was passed down to your children. If your kids hadn''t developed your ability, I would have known something else is responsible. But now we know. The trait I chose to pass down alters your brain chemistry slightly. I just can¡¯t explain ''how'' this gives you the ability to contact me.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Then we are in the same boat with the ¡®not knowing¡¯ part. I still don''t know how I feel about being a guinea pig,¡± I groused unwilling to keep silent. The comment wasn''t genuinely aimed at Gaia. I just wanted to vent.


    ¡°Let it be.¡± Astra sighed and picked up Isaac. ¡°Gaia hasn''t guided us wrong so far. I am willing to extend her a modicum of trust by now.¡±


    The avatar touched her chest in feigned relief. ¡°I am so glad that you two are willing to give me a chance after all this time together.¡±


    Astra frowned in response. ¡°I am not the one who will end up with her dream space overrun with countless people within a few generations.¡±


    The avatar blinked. ¡°Now, that could indeed be a problem. I shall hope there¡¯s a way to split people into different dreams. Though it¡¯s a possibility I was prepared for when I decided to take a more active role in the physical side of my existence. Maybe I could become a guiding spirit for all my children. A true deity!¡±


    More like a haunting ghost.


    Gaia deflated, having heard my errant thought. ¡°Aw, come on. You know I don¡¯t think of myself as a god. That was just a joke.¡±


    ¡°A bad one,¡± I added, ignoring the glare with which Astra tried her best to bore a hole through my temple.


    ¡°You mentioned something about taking a more interactive role with humans. Won''t you get into trouble with the rest of the Gestalt? It sounds like a conflict of interest for you,¡± I said. ¡°From what I gathered, the Gestalt is really big on non-interference. Or at least on using indirect methods. Though, I am not sure whether it simply had no other option till now.¡±


    ¡°No, no. You are right about the passiveness thing,¡± Gaia admitted and shrugged. ¡°If I fall out of favour with the rest of the Gestalt, I will simply become my own entity. That''s how it works when the Gestalt takes control of different planets. Tirnanog is in a unique situation because of the wormholes. The regular contact through the wormholes didn''t allow the Gestalt to form an independent entity in this world. Without a wormhole, contact between planets is stunted due to the light-speed limitation at which information can travel. I would still have contact with the rest of the Gestalt, but information exchange would be slow, limiting the influence of Earth¡¯s overmind.¡±


    Gaia waved a hand dismissively and went to the sofa to sit down. ¡°I am rambling. Let¡¯s discuss matters you two can actually affect. I think it¡¯s time to get another mutation.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to ask about this Zacharias fellow,¡± Astra commented while grasping empty air. ¡°He was so strong. There was nothing I could do. The whole time it felt like he was toying with me.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I hate to admit it, but it was no different for me. Are you sure we are on the right path Gaia?¡±


    The avatar snorted. ¡°You can¡¯t expect to compete with a genetically optimized super-soldier. Not yet at least. To that end, I want to optimize your ability to store energy. Your physiques are already pretty good at creating and handling power on the principle of an electromagnetic charge. Your muscles are essentially highly effective supercapacitors. Unfortunately, your body size is limited and with it the amount of power you can store. We can¡¯t put a fusion reactor in there, so the only solution is optimization and an external aide.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Why would our body size be limited? I mean, I wouldn¡¯t want to turn into some monster, but some of the mutations people have are so far out of the box for me¡­ becoming a little bigger doesn¡¯t sound like an impossible feat.¡±


    ¡°You are already larger than an average human. There is simply a point at which size is more of an inconvenience than helpful.¡± Once again, the avatar wagged a finger at me. ¡°Besides, I already spent a lot of effort on optimizing all those chemical and biological processes inside you. I don¡¯t want to turn my creations into beasts. The Gestalt already tried to go big with the Neanderthals and it didn¡¯t work out. No, what I am aiming for with you is augmentation. Something which you already discovered to some extent on your own. You will travel to the large lake which is fed by the sanguine river, south of Hochberg. In there lives a creature which is called a thunder eel. It will provide your next evolution.¡±


    Gaia continued to explain how she intended to use the thunder eel¡¯s extraordinary ability to store power via electrochemical processes. Lastly, she dropped a hint about how a certain lightning-elk¡¯s core might be used and adapted as a transportable power backpack.


    The idea of controlling the biomechanical features of Tirnanog¡¯s creatures intrigued me. Given time and finding the right cores, Astra and I could build and improve upon our armour, making it a part of us.


    The only thing holding us back so far was the problematic nature of finding out how to control cores. Getting a working prototype wouldn¡¯t be easy, but the concept had limitless potential.


    Sadly, I wasn¡¯t exactly enthused about hunting down a thunder eel. According to Gaia, a Hochberg elder had taken the mutation some centuries ago and used the resulting mutation to great effect. The creature wasn¡¯t widely known, since it lived only in the deepest parts of the lake ¨C which meant we had to go for a swim.


    A dangerous affair, but possible thanks to us being able to breathe underwater.


    ***Tirnanog, Steppes***


    ***Mary***


    I yawned and blinked, looking up at the starry night sky. Beneath me, the drake¡¯s back moved sinuously as it propelled itself forward at maximum speed. The drake rider I was flying with reached once more for my shoulder and pinched it.


    ¡°Ancient Mary? I think we found them!¡± The voice would have been hard to understand if not for one of my mutations enhancing my hearing.


    I reached up and unbuckled the harness I had strapped myself down with so I wouldn¡¯t fall off while I slept. Then I got up and turned around while holding onto one of Split¡¯s back spikes. Split was one of the largest females we could find for the mission. While male drakes were generally fast on short distances, the females could outpace them when it came to endurance. Hence, the task force relied on females to hunt down the Thich who had abducted Gurney.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked. ¡°It would be bad to strike some random patrol. If they have a means of communication, they could warn others in the area and destroy our chances of finding the target.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t guarantee it,¡± the rider admitted. ¡°It¡¯s too dark to tell for certain. But one of the sensors assured us that the number of ships is correct. She also reported some damage which matches with the escaped vessels. I believe it is the best shot we can get. The drakes are tired, but right now we might be able to make a run for it if we attack. Another day of flying and we won¡¯t be able to make a clean getaway for sure.¡±


    I drew in a deep breath through my nose and slowly let it out while the wind pelted against my face.


    Three days of non-stop flying had worn out the task force. If we decided to attack and it turned out to be a random patrol it might be all for nought. On the other hand, coming across a group of Thich airships in the dark was a unique chance. We might be able to take them with minimal losses compared to when they saw us coming during the day.


    In the end, I could only trust the rider who knew the drakes best. If he said a clean escape would be impossible with further searching, then the choice was clear.


    I gave the order. ¡°Commence.¡±

 Ch 106 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°We have to do what!? I am barely healed and now this!¡± I called out upon skimming over the letter. It had been delivered by unexpected visitors and contained instructions from Mary.


    Having suffered through her educational lessons, I shouldn''t have been surprised. She was prone to giving out homework and these orders felt no different.


    How unfortunate. Thinking of us right before running off to save Gurney''s sorry ass.


    And here I thought I could sit down on the couch in our living room and just do nothing for at least a day. Instead, we got sent on another diplomatic mission ¨C though this time it looked like a messenger run.


    ¡°I have yet to hardwire Jeng¡¯s supercomputer,¡± I tried to come up with an excuse to ditch the mission. ¡°Besides, does Mary even have the authority to give us commands? Being an ''ancient'' is nice and all, but last I knew she played the strata''s administrator.¡±


    ¡°Taking a look at the computer is going to take you a day at most,¡± Thalia pointed out. ¡°We already have trained people at Aerie and Hochberg who can take over schooling Jeng¡¯s staff. And lastly, Teresa signed the letter, so there is no doubt about its validity. It''s essentially coming from high command.¡±


    I looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone present in a desperate bid for them to take my side.


    Nobody spoke up, so I flung the letter onto the coffee table, not even trying to hide how upset I was.


    On some level it came as a surprise when Mark showed up, linking arms with a preening Thalia who looked like a cat with a new toy. The growing wings on Mark''s back made the situation between them clear.


    When they arrived at our doorstep I considered making fun of Mark¡¯s appearance by pointing out that he looked like a little devilish cupid. I had saved the line for exactly such an event, but ultimately I abandoned the idea because it probably wouldn¡¯t have gone over well. Mark had already been conscious about getting wings and I didn¡¯t need to add tension since Thalia seemed so happy while he was more moody.


    Unfortunately, as it turned out, Thalia and Mark hadn''t visited us just to inform us of their sealed partnership, something I had anticipated to happen ever since he told me of her interest in him.


    No. They had brought bad news with them and two more visitors. A drafted pair of warriors who had been ordered to accompany us.


    ¡°It says we should go to some long-forgotten settlement in the Mycelium to search for one of her ''ancient'' friends,¡± Astra supplied thoughtfully. She had read the letter with me, leaning on the sofa while looking over my shoulder.


    At the same time, Astra was using her filaments to play with Isaac who was entangled in what I could only call a Gordian knot. The goal of the game was apparently for Isaac to unravel the knot.


    ¡°Please correct me if I am wrong, but wasn''t the Mycelium this mushroom forest you warned me of entering?¡± I asked Astra. ¡°The one where you inhale spores which turn you into a mushroom''s puppet zombie while it grows out of your ears and eats your brain?¡±


    I shuddered at the thought of something digging its roots through my precious grey tissue!


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astra nodded. ¡°Though, I remember describing it less vividly.¡±


    ¡°For an amateur, it is a pretty accurate recount of medical literature,¡± Thalia pointed out. ¡°The parasitic mushroom which infests the coastal region effectively prevented people from settling down. Only the hardiest of folk attempt to make a living there. Mostly outsiders with mutations which protect them.¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± I said with all the conviction I could muster and crossed my arms in an X in front of my chest. ¡°Been in the library to read up on the topic after I heard about it. Shit gives me the creeps!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ''nope''?¡± Astra asked. ¡°I know you have aversions when it comes to such things, but I am afraid going there is unavoidable.¡±


    ¡°Nope is nope! I am not going there!¡± I said firmly. ¡°The rest of the planet is already a single biohazard! Why should we go to a place with brain-eating parasites? Sounds like a bad horror movie! Parasites which float through the air, ready to be inhaled by idiots without breathing masks, no less. No, thanks.¡±


    ¡°Because it was an order,¡± Thalia pointed out unhelpfully. ¡°And besides, everyone who was selected for this mission should be fine. I was tasked with selecting people who are likely to be immune to infection and I am confident in my choices.¡±


    I threw up my hands. ¡°You aren''t selling this very well by using the word ''likely''!¡±


    Thalia ignored my complaints and pointed at us. ¡°We have two people with extremely resistant immune systems. Additionally, you both can withstand the most dangerous poison we know of. Just swallow a cup of fungicide and you will be fine.¡±


    Going full doctor mode, she continued with Mark and herself. ¡°The same goes for us two. Thanks to Mark''s mutation our blood is now literally poison. And my bloodvine mutation would be able to root out parasites anyway. I can even help you out if something goes wrong on your end.¡±


    She gestured towards the two new people. ¡°Lastly, we have the Cohens. Let me introduce you to Thiago and Ginevra. They are among the most potent regenerators I could find. Their mutation renders them immune to anything as long as they get the time to heal and aren''t killed immediately. Think starfish mutation times a thousand.¡±


    The woman bowed to us, followed by her partner. ¡°We will be honoured to help you on this mission any way we can.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at her. Ginevra looked unremarkably human ¨C I would have never thought I would think of someone looking like a baseline human as plain. But here they were.


    Anyway, Ginevra had brown hair and blue eyes which were pretty enough. I wasn''t checking her out, but she reminded me of something and I just couldn''t put my finger on it.


    Her voice had already irked me when we invited our guests in, but a single greeting wasn''t enough to pin down the reason why I felt like I knew her.


    Now I was sure it wasn''t just my imagination. ¡°Why do I feel like I know you? The voice and the eyes are familiar, but I don''t recognize the face.¡±


    Ginevra grimaced. ¡°We do know each other. I have yet to express my deepest thanks for saving my life.¡±


    Astra snapped her fingers with recognition lighting up her face. ¡°The poor poacher who we pulled out of the changeling broodmother''s guts!¡±


    I nodded, my slow brain finally remembering with Astra''s help. ¡°Now that you say it, it is definitely her voice. Sorry for not recognizing you, Ginevra. Last time we saw each other you looked like a peeled frankforter.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure whether it is good or bad that you haven''t forgotten me,¡± Ginevra muttered somewhat downcast and shuddered. ¡°Please don''t mention that event ever again.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Thiago bowed again. ¡°Let me express my sincerest thanks for saving my partner. If you ever find yourself in need, just ask and I will help if it is within my power. I thought her lost to her greed when the stupid woman accepted yet another risky job and didn¡¯t return.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Ginevra fisted Thiago¡¯s shoulder, but her partner didn¡¯t even flinch.


    ¡°I am only saying the truth,¡± he stated drily after shrugging off the punch.


    ¡°Seems like Ginevra got off the hook in the end,¡± I commented. ¡°I wasn''t sure whether we were doing her a favour by bringing her back to face judgement.¡±


    Ginevra shook her head. ¡°If you can call involuntary military service ''off the hook'', then be my guest.¡±


    Thiago looked at his partner. ¡°You can hardly complain given the alternative.¡±


    Ginevra crossed her arms, looking downcast. ¡°There''s no wealth to be gained in war.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Right,¡± I admitted. ¡°Though, the way it looks, this war won''t be a small thing. I am afraid the able-bodied won''t be able to avoid getting caught up in things at one point or another.¡±


    Thiago shrugged. ¡°We heard of the refugees. I admit it looks like we have a second Clan War at our hands. One involving all the clans ¨C large to small. The very reason why I had a dispute with my wife was her willingness to risk her life for monetary gain alone ¨C something I couldn¡¯t condone. But if I was informed correctly, then this mission affects the whole clan and our home''s safety. Which makes it an entirely different matter. I know, our strata doesn¡¯t have the best of reputation, but you have my full backing in this matter.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Astra pursed her lips while regarding the pair. ¡°Thanks for being upfront on this.¡±


    Thalia clapped her hands together. ¡°Great! Now that introductions are out of the way, can we talk about our schedule? When do we have to be where? What''s our timetable and intended travel time? Equipment? I want to get this done so Mark and I can go back to our lovenest and fuck.¡±


    Mark coughed. ¡°Don''t be so crass!¡±


    ¡°I am just telling the truth...¡±


    ¡°Thalia,¡± Astra used her filaments to cover Isaac''s ears. ¡°Please consider some age restrictions or use the chat!¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Thich City***


    ***Zacharias***


    ¡°See to it that the recruits get partnered with suitable candidates to maximize our combat potential,¡± I ordered, wondering why I even had to voice such instructions for my subordinates. It was too late at night to bother with administration. But given people¡¯s tendency to slack off, it was best to have a watchful eye on matters.


    The chief magistrate in charge of human resources rifled through his booklet. ¡°There is also the matter of the influential families. They have their eyes on some of the recruits. Giving in to their demands might decrease the academy¡¯s output of combatants, but it would secure the continued support of the ruling caste.¡±


    I tapped my fingers on the armrest of my chair. ¡°Just do it. We can¡¯t afford an uprising right now. But if they intend to funnel off recruits, make sure to include those self-proclaimed bluebloods in the conscriptions. I don¡¯t expect much of those mollycoddled ingrates, but we might be able to use them as additional cannon fodder.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± the magistrate answered, sounding doubtful about the success of such an endeavour.


    ¡°If any of them protest just send them to me,¡± I clarified. ¡°I will deal with the matter.¡±


    He nodded, now a lot more enthused knowing he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the families in person.


    Something twinged in the back of my mind and I turned the bulk of my attention to another one of my clones, located on an airship which was on its way back to the capital.


    ¡°We are under attack!¡± a soldier had woken me from my sleep ¨C screaming into my bedroom before running off to return to his post.


    I got up and quickly threw on trousers and a shirt before I rushed out of the captain¡¯s cabin and onto the bridge where I found the lieutenant and the steersman manning the observation platform while the sensors on duty called out their findings.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I demanded.


    The lieutenant saluted to me. ¡°Drake riders, sir. A lot of them. They came out of nowhere from right above us. We are trying to get our riders on their animals, but many of the owlbats were scared off when the drakes attacked.¡±


    I watched as a laser beam lit up the night, igniting random dust particles in the air as it searched for a target. It briefly passed over something, but the crew operating the weapon had trouble locking onto a target so close to their ship.


    An explosion followed and the beam sputtered out.


    Yet, it was just one of many and others found their victims, lighting up silhouettes in the darkness.


    The reflections of random hits quickly showed that we were being swarmed.


    I narrowed my eyes, wondering how they had found us. There was no doubt their goal was Gurney. Though, it hardly mattered at this point. I already extracted all the information I needed weeks ago. The only question was whether I should kill the old man just in case.


    After pondering over the matter, I decided against it. Except for his knowledge I needed nothing from him and I held no particular animosity towards the man who could be called my creator. Yes, maybe he could help my enemies in one way or another if he was freed, but since this world lacked the medical equipment necessary to make use of his skills I doubted it would have a large effect on this war.


    At least in the short term.


    The whole conflict would be over before anything Gurney could contribute would matter. My goal lay beyond this cursed world.


    My attention returned to the battle when a new star was seemingly born in the night sky above us. It shone brightly and spread wings of countless filaments, each glowing with their own inner light. A shower of embers drifted down from it. Like a butterfly shedding scales from its wings. It was a human-sized flare lighting up the riders and the ships.


    It was beautiful ¨C and oh so deadly.


    Several of the gun crews targeted the new enemy with their lasers before I could say anything.


    ¡°Tell the laser crews not to shoot at the bitch!¡± I ordered. ¡°You are just making her stronger!¡±


    The lieutenant relayed the order, but it was already far too late as several lasers dumped their energy into the nuclear fire Mary had become since eating from the worm. It had been a move of desperation on her part. One which should have spelt her end.


    Instead, it made her an unstoppable monster.


    Welcoming the additional heat, she bathed in the laser''s light. Then the butterfly beat its wings as it descended, turning into a meteor which punched right through one of my ships. The filaments followed, sheering the entire vessel in half like cheese cutter wires.


    ¡°Tell them to switch to kinetic weapons!¡± The lieutenant screamed while throwing a nervous glance at me. ¡°Stop using the lasers!¡±


    The ship Mary hit spewed out fire and the front half began a rapid descent because it didn¡¯t have enough lift to stay in the air. Given the fires, the remaining half would follow soon.


    ¡°The Verdant¡¯s bridge was taken out by one of those bombs, sir!¡± a sensor answered. ¡°We can¡¯t relay any orders to them. The gun crews are operating on their initiative.¡±


    I waved a hand at the lieutenant who was trying to rescue his little fleet. ¡°There is no point. We have nobody here who can stop her. Tell the ships to disperse. That might save one or two of them.¡±


    Mary swooped over the ground below before she returned in a lazy arc and hit the airship ahead of us, entering it from the bottom. As the radiant star vanished inside the ship¡¯s hull, the darkness of night returned briefly.


    I could only wonder what the crew might think when a burning angel of death broke through their hull, catching people and asking them questions while they charred in her grasp.


    A spot on the ship¡¯s hull began to glow. First red, then a bright white before Mary burst forth.


    I grinned when she headed right for the bridge of my ship. No wonder those bastards from Earth didn¡¯t dare to return to this world. Who would have dared to start another war with monsters like her around? Having a nuclear reactor coming after you was horrifying on the best of days.


    Too bad she hadn¡¯t seen things the same way as me. We could have been the ones in charge. Kings and queens of our own world with nobody to tell us what to do.


    But no.


    Instead, she had to go and start her little domestic experiment. A society based on intellectual enlightenment? Laughable! She might put on a mask of civilisation, but right now she was showing everyone that deep down she was a beast like any other.


    Mary hit our bridge like a comet. Half shattering, half melting her way through the extra thick glass panels which were supposed to stop Tirnanog¡¯s aerial beasts.


    She was beautiful. A radiant golem burning with an inner blue light now that she got rolling.


    Instead of attacking, the crew shrank away from her, their skin blistering just from being in her vicinity.


    The woman strode in like a queen in her personal throne room, going directly for me while she ignored the scrambling plebeians who fled the bridge.


    ¡°Zacharias!¡±


    I bowed mockingly, drawing an imaginary hat. ¡°Mary, we meet again.¡±


    ¡°Where is Gurney?¡± she asked with fury in her eyes.


    Instead of looking away like the others, I met those orbs of radiance she called eyes head-on as they lit up everything in her field of view. Facing her gaze, I couldn''t stop the tears in my eyes, even though I felt far from crying.


    ¡°Down in the hold,¡± I answered, seeing no reason to draw this out. The sooner she got Gurney, the sooner she might stop destroying my ships and retreat. ¡°I already have everything I needed from him.¡±


    Mary approached and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me with ease. ¡°There is one thing left to do before I go and get him.¡±


    ¡°You do like chopping me up,¡± I replied with a smile while my clothes burned and my skin blistered. ¡°This clone of mine is done for, but you won¡¯t win no matter what you do. You might be powerful, but you are only one person, bound to be in one place at a time. And no lone person can win a war.¡±


    I reached out and touched her cheek, my fingers charring rapidly from the heat. Then I leaned forward as far as she allowed me to. ¡°But I¡­ I am legion!¡±


    The bridge was empty of people by now. The sane ones had fled, while those who stayed died as Mary¡¯s filaments took care of them.


    She didn¡¯t chop me up this time.


    Instead, I burned.


    I blinked and returned my attention to the magistrate who was still kneeling in front of me. ¡°There is a group of Aerie drake riders within our territory. I need you to send word to the Raiders. I want the Aerie driven out if they don¡¯t retreat on their own.¡±


    The magistrate grovelled even deeper. ¡°It shall be done.¡±

 Ch 107 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I will have his ass tonight for running off like that!¡± I complained once Thalia finally declared our preparatory work to be satisfactory. Magnus hadn''t even listened to the start of the meeting before taking his leave and our two remaining men fled after the first hour.


    We hadn''t even been done with planning the route and it had taken us yet another hour to organize the mode of travel and equipment.


    The mission would start in a week from now, which gave Magnus and me enough time to at least attempt the hunt for a thunder eel.


    Using drakes and light equipment was determined to be our best option. As long as we travelled large enough distances, Magnus and I would be able to set up jaunt points along the way, ensuring regular resupplies.


    Neither Magnus nor I were confident in transporting a whole person through a jaunt, but small packages with food and equipment were no problem. After all, we had no trouble bringing our armour with us. Sadly, the physics behind jaunting limited the amount of mass and space we could displace with us.


    Given our current power, it was just enough to transport ourselves. Maybe I could take someone else with me if I abandoned all my equipment before the jaunt, but it would still be a risky endeavour. If given the choice, I would avoid trying it.


    ¡°Don''t look so gloomily at the map,¡± Thalia chided. ¡°You can use that unfair teleportation skill of yours to visit your little one every evening. And being able to send you two for supplies makes me feel much better about this mission.¡±


    ¡°It isn''t teleportation,¡± I replied absent-mindedly. I truly hadn''t thought about Isaac, since I could meet him every night in Gaia''s dream space so we could spend more than enough time with each other. ¡°What we are doing is an application of a stinted version of the wormhole technology. The wormhole¡¯s gateway forms around us, interconnecting two points in spacetime before it disperses and leaves us at the target location.¡±


    Thalia frowned. ¡°It sure looks like teleportation to me. Like the moving ultra-quickly thing you two do.¡±


    ¡°That''s flash step. It works like an Alcubierre drive by forming a bubble of altered spacetime around us. It¡¯s faster but limited by the mass we have to displace. Gas doesn¡¯t cause too much interference, but put a solid object in our way and we have a problem.¡±


    Ginevra nodded. ¡°So, if you fell into a lake, you wouldn''t be able to use it.¡±


    I hesitated, surprised the woman had figured out a weakness of ours so quickly. Ginevra was dangerously sharp now that her mind wasn''t distracted by pain. Magnus had only realized the problem after he fell into starfish lake and had to resort to poisoning his opponent. He informed me of the issue in private, but there wasn¡¯t anything we could do besides avoiding the water.


    ¡°Yes. Though we are by no means helpless in water,¡± I admitted and continued my explanation.


    Ginevra had been very forthcoming with explaining her capabilities. Given the nature of this mission and the small size of our party, it was a matter of survival to know what everyone could handle. While I wanted to keep the circle of people who knew about our abilities small, it was just a question of time until the knowledge came out. Including Ginevra and her partner in this small circle was an acceptable risk, given the importance of our mission.


    ¡°The two methods use the same principle of applying electromagnetism to cause ripple effects to the spacetime surrounding us. While flash stepping relies on the Alcubierre effect, jaunting opens an actual wormhole. The gateway just isn''t open for long enough to be observed. It forms around us and disperses, so jaunting only looks like teleportation,¡± I explained.


    Thalia''s frown deepened. ¡°Is Magnus teaching you all that? Don''t take this the wrong way, but I never knew you to be interested in physics all too much.¡±


    I blushed slightly, only now realizing what I had shared so casually. ¡°Yes, Magnus is giving his best to figure out what our ability can do. Besides, I don¡¯t consider it physics at this point. I need this knowledge to use my ability to its fullest.¡± I smiled, deciding to lean into Thalia''s misconception. ¡°Though I have to admit: If it weren¡¯t for Magnus I would have been satisfied with the speed and calling down lightning bolts. Thankfully, Magnus realized it can be used for so much more.¡±


    ¡°I am still envious,¡± Ginevra commented. ¡°Being able to set up a gateway network is just cheating no matter how you look at it.¡±


    I decided not to mention that personalized wormhole portals were the next step if things went according to Gaia''s plan. The shenanigans we could pull off with that kind of ability would propel us straight to the power level of the ancients.


    ¡°You mentioned you are forming the portal around you,¡± Thalia pointed out. ¡°How does that work? The wormgate and Earth''s wormhole are all normal portals as far as I have seen. There is a ring of light and something else on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no no no...¡± I replied. ¡°A wormhole connecting two points in spacetime would be naturally perceived as a sphere. But the wormgate and the Earth portal are going out of their way to reshape the sphere into an ovoid form. The distortions make it look like a ring of light once it is flat enough. The ring is a direct consequence of flattening the wormhole. A visual effect. In some ways like the reflection of a mirror because it concentrates light.¡±


    ¡°Why would they do that?¡± Ginevra asked. ¡°Is there a benefit to flattening the wormhole?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I guess it makes it easier to determine the velocity vectors and have material going through a wormhole come out in a certain direction? Spherical wormholes aren''t necessarily oriented as you want them to be. It would be highly inconvenient to throw something through and have it come right back at you because gravity on the other side sends it back. To a point, it''s certainly an aesthetic decision. Theoretically, you could go through the wormgate from the other side of the gate on the flagship and still come out at Mount Aerie. The only problem is that the machinery would be in the way if you do it like that.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Thalia rubbed her temple. ¡°I get what you mean, but you have to work on your explanation. If the wormgate is originally a sphere which was just flattened to a disc shape, what happens if you try going through the flattened side?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°That would be like trying to squeeze yourself through a crevice. If it is wide enough for you ¨C fine. If it''s not, you could get stuck or worse. Personally, I wouldn''t try it. You must stop imagining a wormhole as a hole because it is not. It''s a warped space without defined edges. I am much more comfortable with the sphere approach. Imagine a miniature wormhole the size of your fingernail. What happens if you wave your palm through it.¡±


    ¡°I will have a hole in my palm?¡± Ginevra asked, slightly horrified at the thought.


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Whatever mass enters the wormhole will be just ''warped'' to the other side. In reality, there is no defined edge which could cut you. At some point, you will encounter resistance because the part of your palm inside the wormhole will try to go one way on the other side, while the rest of your hand goes another as you pass through. To cause actual injury, you would have to apply enough force to rip yourself apart. I suppose you would stop and pull back before that happens.¡±


    ¡°What happens if the miniature wormhole closes while I have my palm inside it?¡± Thalia asked.


    ¡°Wormholes don''t ''close'' they ''warp back'',¡± I explained. ¡°Your palm would be fine. Are you two trying to weaponize wormholes?¡±


    ¡°Just wondering what our personal fairies might be up to in the future,¡± Thalia teased. ¡°I imagined you creating miniature wormholes to slice and dice your enemies with the forces of spacetime.¡±


    ¡°Well, let''s just say that the ultimate cutting tool you were likely imagining won''t work,¡± I explained with a smile. Which wasn''t to say other methods of weaponizing wouldn''t work. ¡°If it helps, I can imagine using small ones as a shield to displace attacks.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Thalia looked dejected. ¡°I suppose you will have to resort to finding an unpleasant place and warping our enemies there. We have to find a way for you to set up a jaunt point in the middle of the ocean.¡±


    I smiled at her. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a healer? What happened to the woman who dislikes hurting people?¡±


    ¡°Hurting people and fantasizing about the applications of a fantastical ability are two entirely different things!¡±


    Our meeting ended soon after and I departed to meet up with Gilbert while I left Isaac in Kiera¡¯s care.


    The gynaecologist wasn¡¯t a regular to be abused as a babysitter, but she paid us frequent visits to have a look at the eggs and Isaac. Thankfully, my son¡¯s rather rambunctious behaviour had cooled down somewhat after Magnus traumatized him ¨C which I still was not cool with. I was sure there must have been a better way, but to my great annoyance, it had worked rather well. Which I would never openly admit to my partner.


    Aside from the average little mishaps that happened to any child, Isaac hadn¡¯t gotten himself into a life-threatening situation since that day.


    At least it made me feel better about leaving Isaac with people like Kiera, who wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him if push came to shove, but at least they would be able to provide a guiding hand if he got himself into trouble.


    Since Kiera was pedantically documenting the medical state of my children, I had at least two hours to organize what I would need for the trip.


    It would be easy enough to have Uncle Sullivan prepare all the standard equipment which we would need. Like rations, garments, and tools.


    Our armour was something only Gilbert and his crew could fix. Except for a few scratches, mine was still fine and I didn¡¯t expect it would take too long to do the necessary maintenance work.


    Magnus¡¯s chest plate was another matter. Zacharias had cracked it, requiring a total replacement. I didn¡¯t want to imagine what would have happened to Magnus without the protection.


    I doubted Gilbert could make a new one on short notice, but he might at least be able to adapt another one for our hunting trip.


    The next day, we had everything we needed for our outing and headed for the drake stalls on our flagship which was still stationed at Clan Jeng. Our drakes had originally stayed at the Old Camp, but someone had the foresight to transfer them to a more central location.


    We nonetheless ran into a small problem when we entered the area where Loopsfast, Elegance and Cadence were housed.


    ¡®Riders are back!¡¯


    Loopsfast let out what felt like the mental scream of an oversized, eager puppy when we entered the stalls ¨C a puppy the size of a fighter jet.


    The drake surged towards us and gave Magnus a sloppy lick which had my partner cursing. Then the drake stomped back and forth between a corner of his stall and us with more agility than a creature its size should have.


    It would have been frightening if I hadn¡¯t known for sure that the drake wouldn¡¯t hurt us. For as long as the clan had used the drakes as mounts, incidents with injuries happened only rarely. And if they happened, they were almost always very tragic accidents.


    ¡®Show! Show! Brood!¡¯


    Ultimately, Loops proudly settled down between two piles of twigs and plants which barely deserved to be labelled nests. One sheltered four eggs and the other five. The drake spread his wings and covered them protectively.


    ¡®Mates made many!¡¯


    Magnus covered his temples with his palms and drew in a long breath before letting out a mournful sigh. ¡°Dude, I tried to help you with getting one mate. Who said knocking up both was a good idea? And why are you the one who is mother-henning the nests?¡±


    ¡®Strong male has to protect!¡¯ Loop answered without allowing Magnus to pull him down in the slightest. ¡®The more females, the better! Make more brood!¡¯


    ¡°Aw, congratulations, Loops!¡± I cooed supportively and elbowed Magnus in the side. ¡°Make sure to show them to us once they hatch.¡±


    Magnus sighed once again. ¡°Nonetheless, I also have to give my congratulations. Overshooting the goal is better than scoring none I guess.¡±


    Having Loop temporarily locked down guarding the nests was thankfully a manageable problem. While male drakes were very protective of their offspring, female drakes belonged to the faction ¡®lay the eggs and forget¡¯. So, commandeering Elegance for our ride to the lake with the thunder eels was no problem.


    The female drake was large enough to carry us and our supplies with ease.


    Our departure was only a little delayed when Magnus received his ¡®special delivery¡¯, a steel barrel which was covered with danger and poison signs.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked, pointing at the barrel which had been wheeled in by someone whose uniform suggested he belonged to the ninth strata.


    Magnus was in the middle of signing off a paper when he replied cheerfully, ¡°Deathnut oil!¡±


    Of course!


    ¡°We are going on a hunting trip!¡± I complained. ¡°We don¡¯t intend to cause an ecological catastrophe! How did you even get a whole barrel of the stuff!?¡±


    ¡°I talked to your parents and explained what we were up to,¡± he answered. ¡°At first they were suspicious, but after explaining what we would be hunting and why, I got the go-ahead from your father.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I know you are a little old-school and traditional when it comes to these hunting trips to rank up our mutations, but how exactly did you imagine this excursion would go?¡±


    I pursed my lips. Admittedly, I was more concerned with everything surrounding the trip than the hunt itself.


    ¡°I love you, Astra. I followed you into that accursed cave system to celebrate our partnership,¡± Magnus continued. ¡°But by Gaia herself, I am not going to rely on my ability to breathe underwater and dive down into a lake large enough to be an inland sea just to hunt down some critter! Who knows what¡¯s down there? As a kid, I had my neck hair standing up just from watching what is swimming around in Earth¡¯s oceans. And while we might be able to breathe underwater, we are otherwise very poorly equipped regarding underwater combat. I won''t fight whatever is down there in its natural habitat. Fuck nature. Nature wants to kill us. We are going to poison that lake and pick up whatever floats to the surface.¡±


    I wanted to protest, but thunder eels could rival drakes in size. And electrifying a thunder eel would likely do nothing but tickle it. Had I really considered diving down who knows how deep to spear one of the things while it tried to chew on me?


    Or was my immediate refusal to use deathnut oil a result of how dangerous the stuff was? So far, I had managed to avoid puking out my guts. Maybe it was simply time to endure something unpleasant to avoid danger.


    ¡°Fine! We will go with your plan.¡± I pointed at the barrel. ¡°But we will do our best to keep Elegance away from it!¡±

 Ch 108 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Grand Lake ¨C Southern Outflow***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°You know¡­ this feels very relaxing,¡± I commented while I cast my fishing rod into the lake. I did so every few minutes after slowly and patiently reeling in the hook. There was no reason to hurry. ¡°It¡¯s just like on a camping trip. I think I could spend a few days like this.¡±


    Astra observed my actions with a perplexed and slightly perturbed expression. ¡°Could you please explain why you are trying to fish after you threw a barrel of poison into the lake?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± I answered simply, thinking no more explanation was necessary.


    ¡°Because?¡± she questioned.


    ¡°Just because!¡± I reaffirmed, ignoring the dead starfish which bobbed head-first against the rock I was sitting on before it was slowly pushed past by the current. It was drifting belly up amidst the small waves beating against the shore. The creature was just one of many of its kind. A procession of death was passing us by, occasionally interrupted by a larger corpse.


    Some might be appalled at what I had done to mother nature yet again, but to me, the sight was simply beautiful. All these horrific monsters, laid low by human ingenuity.


    I wondered whether deathnut oil could somehow be spread in a gaseous form, doing the same to a land-based ecosystem. Maybe some form of spray that could be dispersed over a large area via airship!


    After thinking over my answer for a minute, Astra finally admitted, ¡°I am afraid I don¡¯t understand.¡± She clicked her tongue and gestured at the scene. ¡°Honestly, after what you did to Starfish Lake at the Old Camp this feels like you are trying to genocide all of starfishdom.¡±


    ¡°Certainly not!¡± I lied without an ounce of remorse. ¡°Look, pulling out a fishing rod to demonstrate my contempt for these creatures is just what a man of my calibre has to do. I admit it¡¯s like pissing on my opponent¡¯s corpse, but it feels too right not to do so.¡±


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°We have been together for long enough so I can tell when you are lying. Just tell me why you hate starfish so much that you take every reasonable chance you get to poison them.¡±


    ¡°I am telling you, they are just collateral damage!¡± I insisted and pointed at one of the larger corpses drifting by. ¡°Look, it¡¯s the big monsters we are after. And it¡¯s not like the nature of this world is anything worth protecting. Almost everything I have encountered so far tried to kill and eat me!¡±


    ¡°Starfish look freaky but they are relatively harmless compared to all the other horrors out there. Just admit it!¡± Astra crossed her arms. ¡°Don¡¯t we have an agreement, to be honest with each other?¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± I retorted. ¡°I have an axe to grind with them if you have to know. The day I arrived on this world one of the fuckers tried to kiss my face. Gave me the shock of my life.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Astra was lost for words. ¡°Are you going to crusade against any animal which ever tried to eat you? What about gutters? They also hunted you once.¡±


    ¡°All in its due time,¡± I announced ominously. ¡°I have a priority list. The starfish just got bumped up the list because having a go at them was convenient.¡±


    She sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder, accompanied by a deep sigh. ¡°I partnered up with a genocidal idiot.¡±


    ¡°A lovable genocidal idiot!¡± I corrected. ¡°And I know I can¡¯t eradicate all starfish, but a sight like this warms my heart. Don¡¯t you feel safer than ever sitting on this shore? Normally, we would have to look out for some predator trying to drag us into the water, but that¡¯s no concern right now. And the grassland behind us gives us plenty of warning time with Elegance on watch.¡±


    I didn¡¯t mention the ominous flashes of light coming from deep down in the lake. They occasionally lit up the dark water like a thunderbolt. We had observed them with concern from the back of our drake when we staked out the best area for our plan.


    Further up north the water was still lighting up from time to time, but activity close to our position had ceased entirely since we dropped the barrel.


    ¡°An idiot nonetheless. One who would have thrown his poison barrel into the water further upstream where the Hochberg outposts have their fishing operations.¡±


    ¡°A small oversight you prevented,¡± I groused. If I had been allowed to drop the barrel a little further up north, we could have poisoned a much larger area. ¡°Is there any reason for our banter?¡±


    She played with one of my filaments. ¡°Just waiting at the shore with you is so boring. How long do you think it will take until a thunder eel drifts by?¡±


    ¡°I am not boring!¡± I protested. ¡°And I don¡¯t know. If Hochberg¡¯s records are correct, then the eels are living in the deeper parts of the lake. It might take some time till one is attracted by all the dead starfish. Even if it wasn¡¯t poisoned initially, it might be done in by eating one of the corpses.¡±


    ¡°You are not boring, which is why I am talking with you,¡± Astra said.


    ¡°You could go for a swim and test out your poison resistance,¡± I suggested. ¡°I doubt we could ever find safer waters than this.¡±


    ¡°And then I have to puke out my guts twice. Once for recreational swimming and once for when one of those thunder eels happens to drift ashore? I prefer not to go into the water at all.¡± Astra shook her head. ¡°Besides, I find the idea of swimming among all those corpses rather unappealing.¡±


    ¡°Point.¡± I eyed the relatively shallow shore and then looked at the drake who had chosen a grassy hill as her resting place. Of course, sufficiently far away from the water. ¡°Won¡¯t happen. The eels are rather big and the shore is too shallow. If one passes us by, we have to jump in to get it since Elegance has to stay away from the water.¡±


    The river serving as the lake¡¯s outflow was rather wide. Maybe a hundred metres.


    The Great Lake was mostly a flooding area for the Sanguine River. The eastern area of the lake was covered by a reedy type of high grass. Most of the year it was flooded and indistinguishable from the rest of the lake. The rest, it was a boggy landscape, depending on the season.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Because of the recent heavy rainfalls, the lake had a rather high water level right now, creating a small inland sea. If the records were to be believed, the lake was still plenty deep at its deepest point in the western area.


    The lake was fed by the Sanguine River up in the north and had a southern outlet which wound its way southwest and disappeared further inland.


    This southern outlet was where we had made camp after dropping our poisonous payload via drake.


    Now, all we had to do was to be patient while we were waiting and checking the carcasses drifting by ¨C with one of them hopefully turning out to be our hunting goal. The plan was to wait for at least a day or two before risking a dive into the lake itself.


    Normally, I would have dropped the poison barrel further up north, but Astra was afraid it would pose a danger to the closest Hochberg outposts ¨C which were strewn across the northern shore. After all, Hochberg¡¯s economy was heavily dependent on the animals and starfish they retrieved from the lake and the surrounding area. It wouldn¡¯t have been advisable to destroy one of the industrial pillars of our closest allies. Even if the situation would have been only temporary.


    ¡°Too bad they don¡¯t fish for thunder eels. It would have been too easy to buy the flesh from some fishermen,¡± I lamented while I watched the corpse of something big and round drifting by ¨C whale-sized. It looked like the shell of a turtle, so not what we were seeking.


    I pointed at the mountain of unidentified flesh. ¡°You are still telling me you would have gone for a dive?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to use every opportunity to rub it in!¡± Astra threw up her hands. ¡°Your approach is the right one! I said it. Happy now?¡±


    ¡°I am!¡± I replied with a smug expression. ¡°Say, how much deathnut oil does the clan have?¡±


    ¡°Forget it. I already know what¡¯s going through that brain of yours. The barrel was probably half a year¡¯s worth of harvest. I was surprised my parents just signed off on it. Deathnut Oil, while highly restricted, is a military resource. For that, you are the one who can go and collect eggs at Zipper Shit Creek.¡± Astra poked my side. ¡°We have run out of eggs months ago.¡±


    I groaned. ¡°How many more of those eggs do we have to eat until we can stop?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t opposed to how we had preserved the zipper egg yolk, but after half a year of regular consumption, I had gotten tired of the salty treat accompanying every meal.


    She shrugged. ¡°I have no clue. Till we no longer notice our abilities improving? It doesn¡¯t matter. I like salt-dried eggs very much.¡±


    I grumbled and nodded. ¡°You were slurping them up like candy during your pregnancy.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Just telling the truth.¡± I whistled before pointing at a sinuous body drifting in from the lake. ¡°You think that¡¯s it?¡±


    It was long and white. Certainly at least twenty metres in length with a somewhat oval-shaped cross-section as high as a human.


    ¡°Only one way to find out,¡± Astra said and spread her filaments to take off. ¡°It certainly fits the description.¡±


    Not wanting to be left behind, I flash-stepped forward three times until I was directly above the corpse. It looked indeed like we had hit the jackpot, so I allowed gravity to take me.


    The intention was to land on the corpse and maybe use it as a raft, but even before I touched down, my vision turned white. I barely had the time to process the electric arcs dancing along the creature¡¯s body.


    Someone slapped my face and called my name before the world turned back into focus.


    I sputtered and coughed up lake water, purging it from my lungs along with the slightly sick feeling of being poisoned. It was nothing to be proud of, but my body was getting used to the deathnut oil, rejecting it less and less.


    ¡°Wha-? Happened?¡± I gurgled.


    Astra pulled me over so I could cough out more water. She kept holding me so I wouldn¡¯t slip off the eel.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am just glad you are alright!¡± she blubbered. ¡°You landed on the thing and the whole body lit up like a flashlight! Then you just slipped off and fell into the water. I thought- I thought you were dead.¡±


    She hugged me. ¡°You must have triggered some reflex. Whatever it was, it seems like it used up the charge, because it hasn¡¯t activated since.¡±


    I took a deep breath and firmly gripped her hand to reassure myself, shaken by the stern reminder that just one false move on Tirnanog meant death. If my mutations hadn¡¯t made me exceptionally resistant to electricity, the corpse of some eel would have just ended me by thunderbolt.


    ¡°Astra, whatever we do, we are not going to dive into the lake!¡±


    She nodded, fervently agreeing with me. ¡°If a dead thunder eel has enough power to knock us out, then I don¡¯t want to know what a living one can do.¡±


    It took me a few minutes to recover and after I was back on my feet we slowly began working on getting the body to shore. A branch long enough to reach the river bottom served as a means of propulsion. With it, we slowly got the body to shore until we managed to beach it on a convenient gravel bed.


    Then we dissected the carcass as best as possible.


    We avoided the organs which would have presumably absorbed a large amount of the poison. The plentiful muscle tissue along the creature¡¯s body was easy enough to extract while avoiding as much contamination with the river water as possible.


    The flesh would still be deadly for anyone else to eat. There was never a question about the downside of our hunting method, so we still needed the eel as uncontaminated as possible so we wouldn¡¯t hurl up after every meal.


    To preserve and safeguard the harvest of our hunt, we brought several barrels with salt which were now slowly stacked with strips of meat.


    It took the rest of the day to secure our catch and get everything ready for Elegance to transport the barrels.


    We could have spent more time gathering, but dusk forced us to retreat to one of Hochberg¡¯s fishing outposts.


    The next morning we journeyed back to the flagship which was still stationed at Jeng. The fleet hadn¡¯t moved since Thich¡¯s and Vier¡¯s troops had retreated, probably because our leadership was waiting for news from various scouting parties. Nobody knew where the bulk of the enemy¡¯s forces was heading now.


    But we had our orders, so Astra and I consolidated our new mutation without much time to test out the results. Suffice it to say, Gaia was right. Right the next morning I could already feel a vast difference in my capabilities. Not in what I could do. My skills hadn¡¯t changed, but everything felt so much easier. From handling electricity to flash steps and jaunts.


    Our group departed for the Old Camp the very next day.


    Astra and I were riding on Elegance while Mark and Thalia had Cadence as their mount. Ginevra and Thiago had been given a female drake of their own, going by the name of Melody.


    The Old Camp was only a stop for the night. We also brought some updates for Conla Leece who was still acting as the commander of the small fleet of airships still stationed there. The elders and the officials from Hochberg with Tianna had been recalled to the main fleet.


    At first light, we departed to make a quick stop at Zipper Shit Creek, where I found myself climbing the cliffs once more. Thanks to flash-step, the whole affair was much easier this time around. Unfortunately, getting hit by the hail of droppings the female zippers produced in reaction to me pilfering their nests was still unavoidable.


    I was using my filaments and armour to prevent as much direct skin contact as possible, but a bath and hours of cleaning were a given.


    My basket was already half-full when a familiar foe decided to bite my pinky. It was a zipper missing its tail and going by the numerous little scars on it the little rat was a veteran of many battles.


    I narrowed my eyes at the little monster.


    ¡°You!¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Zipper Shit Creek***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Can you tell me what he is doing now?¡± Thalia asked, narrowing her eyes at my partner who had forgotten about collecting eggs and was instead running back and forth at the base of the cliff, doing his best to catch a single zipper.


    ¡°I am going to eat you! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t remember you!¡±


    I closed my eyes and tried to ignore his enraged screams while I massaged the bridge of my nose. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I honestly don¡¯t want to know. Nor do I want to go down there and find out while being shat upon.¡±


    ¡°Dastardly little thing!¡±


    ¡°It sounds like he knows the zipper he is trying to catch,¡± Thiago commented. ¡°They must share quite the tale. Though I wouldn¡¯t anthropomorphize the creatures as much as he does.¡±


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t say so himself, but he has been a little bit off kilter since the thunder eel electrocuted him,¡± I admitted a little nervously with a laugh. ¡°He may have lost a few IQ points due to the electrocution. I am sure he will get himself back under control before we reach the Mycelium.¡±

 Ch 109 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Come on, Magnus. Stop pouting. You can keep trying to catch the little feller once we return from our mission,¡± Astra teased through our private chat while we sat on Elegance¡¯s back.


    The drake was quickly approaching the mountain ridge which was separating Hochberg¡¯s grasslands from the Mycelium. It was hard to believe. A mere day of relatively relaxed flight had taken us the same distance as over two weeks of travel on foot.


    ¡°I am not pouting,¡± I replied. ¡°I am annoyed that I had to admit defeat. Whether I would have tried to catch the rat for another day or a week, it wouldn¡¯t have made a difference. Which doesn¡¯t mean I will forget it. I simply have to return and try again once I am faster.¡±


    ¡°Well, you were stealing his eggs and you ate his tail. So you shouldn¡¯t complain about having your finger bitten,¡± she pointed out. ¡°It¡¯s not like he did any damage, so your feelings on the matter seem slightly irrational to me.¡±


    ¡°The little bastard waited till I had to hold onto the edge of the ridge before he struck,¡± I pointed out. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t had my gauntlets on I might have fallen and broken my neck.¡±


    ¡°You would have just flash-stepped to cancel the fall so everything was fine.¡±


    ¡°Details,¡± I retorted. ¡°Are you seriously questioning the morality of me hunting an animal for its meat? The woman who suggests for us to brave the wild together at every opportunity she gets?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Astra replied with a contemplative hum. ¡°Just pointing out that your motivation for hunting that particular zipper goes a little beyond a mere hunt. It¡¯s not like you cared about the others, even though there were hundreds around you.¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­ we have the eggs and they are safely stored at home.¡± I waved my hand dismissively, desiring nothing more than a change of topic. ¡°I was just thinking how much faster we are on drake. Sans the random flying monster this mode of transportation is also a lot safer. It¡¯s insane. We had to cross that mountain on foot last year!¡±


    I gestured at the mountain ridge we were heading towards. It was the same one from which I had observed the Mycelium last year.


    ¡°It was the treaty¡¯s fault,¡± Astra explained. ¡°As long as it was still in effect no clan was allowed to move military assets into the area. Be it partnered warriors, airships, or mounts. The Old Camp was meant to be a neutral zone with zero compromise. A playground for the younger generations to interact with the other clans. At least that was the intention when the treaty was signed. The sad reality looked much different with a lot of hot-blooded idiots competing for irrelevant gains while continuing the rivalries of their parents.¡±


    We were interrupted when I had to hold onto Elegance¡¯s spine. The drake had spun up her internal engine to gain some height.


    She used her special propulsion method only sparingly when she wasn¡¯t pressed for speed and instead relied on gliding most of the time. While the gliding segments of our journey were relatively comfortable, I could have happily passed on the drake speeding up now and then with vomit-inducing force.


    Astra continued the conversation once Elegance settled back into a long glide. ¡°Unfortunately, we will have to resort to using our feet in the Mycelium. The drakes can¡¯t take the hot environment and the parasites living there. The spores in the air are the main problem.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t she fly to the coast, drop us off and fly back?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Possible, if we decided to dismount by jumping off during flight. I prefer not to,¡± Astra replied. ¡°Because of the fog, we won¡¯t be able to see what is beneath us.¡±


    The Mycelium had a unique microclimate. Humid air constantly came in from the sea and facilitated the formation of clouds which then broke on the mountain range to rain off. This ensured a very hot and humid environment at the shore. Due to this, the air was saturated with the spores of the flora in the area, all of them very infectious.


    Astra continued, ¡°If one of our drakes is forced to descend into the fog for any reason, death is almost assured. Their propulsion method relies on them inhaling and exhaling. Not to mention the high temperatures would trouble the drakes.¡±


    The Mycelium¡¯s most recognizable feature was the permanent fog lying over the land. And if it weren¡¯t foggy, the heavy rain would reduce visibility to a few dozen metres at most. If the drakes couldn¡¯t handle even short exposure, then Astra¡¯s assessment was right.


    I harrumphed, acknowledging that it was an unnecessary risk to take. ¡°So we land at the safest peak and make our way from there.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s the best option.¡±


    ¡°I just hope it¡¯s worth it,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Mary¡¯s little errand sounds dubious at best if you ask me.¡±


    Astra replied, ¡°I wish I could say otherwise, but searching for one of her ¡®old friends¡¯ sounds indeed like a long shot, especially since the letter didn¡¯t give me the impression she had seen him any time within the last decade. I don¡¯t believe someone of her power level would have trouble surviving the Mycelium, but what guarantee does she even have that he is still with those cultists? There are certainly better places to live in.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have a reply.


    According to the letter, we had to seek out a small, village-like settlement at the shore. It was inhabited by a group calling themselves the Mycelists.


    Astra researched them beforehand, but there wasn¡¯t much known about them. The Aerie only had very poor records of them, so we requested additional information from the Matriarch and the Caravaners.


    The most reliable sources Vanya could come up with described the Mycelists as a small clan which tried to settle down at the shore and conquer the Mycelium¡¯s inhospitable environment. Their success was¡­ questionable at best.


    The Mycelists were a conglomerate made up of splinter groups from Hochberg and the Caravaners. During the initial stage of their migration, they managed to establish a reasonably secure settlement at the coast. Unfortunately, like many of the smaller clans, they were fighting a battle of attrition and losing it slowly but steadily. If our sources were to be believed, then their initial success was only thanks to some very powerful individuals who carried and protected the group as a whole.


    Few people had ever visited the coast and returned to tell the tale.


    Seeker Holly from the Caravaners informed us that the Mycelists were slowly dying out, their settlement growing smaller in numbers each year. They nonetheless clung to their beliefs with religious zeal. As if something was keeping them there. These cultists rarely left the Mycelium, so we didn¡¯t even know whether they were still around. The last recorded visit Holly¡¯s people knew of was by a group of hardy Caravaners some thirteen years ago.


    ¡°Why do I always allow myself to get roped into situations such as these,¡± I asked myself aloud when our drake settled in for a final glide towards a plateau on the mountain. It looked like a big enough landing spot for all three drakes to set down without issues.


    Beyond lay a thick fog, hiding the land beneath.


    ¡°Situations?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°Like hiking through the monster-infested wilderness or a deadly cave for a bonding experience,¡± I clarified. ¡°Though, I must admit it¡¯s nice to go outside without feeling like we are at the absolute bottom of the food chain. Me being this foolish can¡¯t be just because you are pretty.¡±


    My partner huffed. ¡°Because this mission is necessary ¨C and obviously because I am pretty! Just admit that deep down you are simply an absolute caveman. All I had to do to hook up with you was get naked and twirl around.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I grumbled, unable to come up with a witty reply in my favour.


    Elegance finally reached the plateau and we landed safely.


    Astra petted Elegance¡¯s side after we dismounted. ¡°Wait for us for as long as you can, but leave if the fog rises too high. Don¡¯t risk yourselves. If this place becomes unsafe, return to the Old Camp. It may take some time, but we can return by ourselves if it must be.¡±


    Elegance turned her head and studied us with a single huge eye.


    ¡®Will wait here. Fly back to human colony when air becomes bad.¡¯


    There wasn¡¯t much more to be said. Elegance wasn¡¯t the conversational type. In fact, except for Loops, none of the drakes I knew were. Then again, maybe Loops was more talkative with me because I was his rider ¨C and because I pestered him like a child after I had found out that the drakes could talk.


    We met up and checked our gear before we descended into the fog. It was a steep climb, but not challenging enough to require specialized gear. I, as well as Thiago and Ginevra, had to climb down the mountain while Astra, Thalia and Mark glided from spot to spot, either holding onto a rock or standing on an opportune ridge.


    The slow approach wasn¡¯t the worst thing because the environment changed rapidly as we descended.


    Firstly, the high humidity immediately became noticeable the deeper we went. A few minutes into the journey and I was already soggy down to my undergarments. Not because of sweat, but because the water condensed on my body.


    Neither was breathing easy and we quickly began coughing up mucus. The air was so laden with water that it was already hard to breathe, but the problem was amplified by what seemed like dust particles contained within every water droplet drifting in the air.


    A mere half an hour later, Thalia already advised everyone to take a dose of her anti-parasite meds, which was supposedly even better than deathnut oil. Something she stressed when she explained the contents of her mixture.


    I was pretty sure she just didn''t want me to drink deathnut oil again.


    Afterwards, breathing was less of a problem, but the high humidity was still an issue.


    It became so bad that Astra had to abandon her gliding method which relied on her filaments providing enough surface area to lift her like a dandelion seed. In this case, the high surface area of Astra¡¯s filaments worked against her as the filaments began catching the condensing water and weighing her down so much that gliding became impossible.


    Only Thalia and Mark remained flight capable because they had no trouble shaking out their leathery wings to get rid of the water.


    As we descended, the rocky cliff levelled out until we were able to walk down a heap of rocks which had fallen from the mountain due to erosion.


    Our journey went on and the rocks were soon covered by thick layers of moss. The growth was thick enough for me to sink in up to my knees.


    But this was just a transitional phase.


    As we neared the bottom of the mountain, we entered the real Mycelium and visibility was reduced to almost nothing. Everything was covered by a thick layer of mucus and sponge-like growths.


    It looked surreal. The closest analogy I could come up with was a coral reef deciding it had enough of the sea and claiming the land for itself.


    We had to choose our path wisely because advancing through the thick mucus was next to impossible. Instead, we wandered over a branching web of sponges while we tried to head straight eastward, never quite able to go in the direction we wanted.


    If Astra and I had to rely only on our normal sight, I would have quickly voted to abandon this mission because the fog ensured visibility was down to just a few metres. It was only due to my Second Sight penetrating the fog for over two dozen metres that I felt slightly more confident.


    The other members of our group had their own methods to cope with the fog''s sensory deprivation.


    But nothing helped us to ignore the eerie silence which had surrounded us since we had left behind the ever-present blue sun blasting Tirnanog from above.


    And the deeper we went, the darker it got.


    ***Tirnanog, Eastern Border of Jeng¡¯s Forest***


    ***Mary***


    I stopped pulling the improvised sledge when the man on it coughed. Before I checked on him, I used the chat to tell the drake riders circling above us that I would make a short rest to recover. They acknowledged and fanned out to monitor the area.


    ¡°Oh, god. Why do I feel so sick?¡± Gurney coughed again. ¡°This feels like starvation and radiation poisoning all rolled into one.¡±


    He raised his hands and picked at his skin, peeling off a strip. ¡°Fuck. This is radiation poisoning! Did I sleep on top of a reactor?¡±


    ¡°You are talking from experience. And yes, you are indeed suffering from radiation poisoning,¡± I said while I walked around the sledge and into his field of view. Then I shoved a package with provisions into Gurney¡¯s sickly, skinny hands. ¡°Eat on your own. I have had enough force-feeding your sack of bones.¡±


    The scientist looked nothing like his usual rotund self. His skin was grey and hung in flabby folds from his body, but it still showed steely musculature beneath.


    He coughed and blinked at me, apparently not quite believing I was truly there before he grinned. ¡°Mary, my lovely girl. How are you doing? You don¡¯t look so well yourself if I might say so.¡±


    I clenched my teeth and looked down at my arms. The veins were still shining through my skin with the blue glow of Cherenkov radiation, but it had gotten a lot better since I shut down the energy core which I had gained through my worm mutation. My body was rapidly rebuilding itself and shedding the cells killed by the radiation.


    Even though I had used my full power for just a short time, it had almost cost me my life.


    ¡°I may have overused it a little,¡± I admitted. ¡°A week or two of self-quarantine should do the trick to get down to manageable radiation levels for others to be around us. It will take that long to get back to Jeng anyway.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Gurney commented. He was already far more interested in the contents of the ration package. ¡°I guess I am lucky to be a resilient fellow then.¡±


    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t known you would survive it, I would have planned the rescue differently. What happened to you, Gurney? Why did Zacharias starve you?¡±


    Gurney shrugged before he stuffed his face with a piece of dried starfish. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know what went through that kid¡¯s head. I was settling in for another boring winter when everything went to shit in my little kingdom. Lots of screaming and people dying with monsters within our walls. I thought Tirnanog had produced some new devilry to wipe humanity off the planet till the Thich inside my bunker rose up to backstab us. Then their airships arrived and began rounding up everyone. By then, I knew what was going on but not why.¡±


    ¡°Zacharias said he wanted to know something from you before I killed him. And he got what he wanted,¡± I pointed out. ¡°What was it?¡±


    Gurney frowned and swallowed before he spoke. ¡°Did he? I have no clue. I know you won¡¯t believe me, but I fought valiantly until the Thich managed to subdue me. Then they threw me into the darkest hole they could find and forgot about me till summer. Zacharias visited me only once to have a conversation before they transferred me to a holding cell in one of their airships.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t tell him anything of importance?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe you were delusional? Did they drug you?¡±


    Gurney looked at me with an exasperated expression. ¡°I promise you I was as coherent as I am right now. Which is exceptional given the circumstances I might add. Without too much self-praise, I did a good job on myself.¡±


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°Can you recount your conversation with Zacharias?¡±


    Gurney drew in a deep breath and let it back out. ¡°He asked some strange questions about conjoined twins and how such a particular situation could affect the recombination virus. I promise, I told him nothing he wouldn¡¯t have been able to learn from common knowledge anyway. It sounded like he was trying to deduct how to set up a primitive experiment with an unknown mutation. One with a stringent set of requirements for it to work. Though, I don¡¯t see why anyone would stubbornly try to work out how a particular mutation works when there are so many other powerful possibilities available.¡±


    Or maybe Zach just wanted to know whether Gurney knew about the violet mutation.


    My eyes narrowed while I thought over Gurney¡¯s words. ¡°First they are after sisters and now conjoined twins? Just what are they up to?¡±


    Gurney frowned. ¡°What was that about sisters?¡±


    I told him everything we had learned so far. The violet mutation and its connection to Earth. Thich seeking out sisters with particular traits. It wasn¡¯t much, but if anyone could make sense of it, it was Gurney.


    The scientist listened carefully to my story while he ate. Judging by his facial expressions, it was the first time he learned of the scale this conflict had taken already.


    Even after I ended my story, he remained quiet for some time.


    Gurney only spoke up well after I began pulling his sledge once more.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t much, but I can only concur with your people¡¯s conclusion. From the looks of it, it sounds like Thich is involved with some experiments dating back to the beginning of the colonisation efforts. It wasn¡¯t related to my research, but due to my particular profession, I got involved with certain¡­ projects. Things like unknown genetic samples landing beneath my instruments ¨C brought in by government types and taken away as soon as they had their answers.¡±


    He harrumphed.


    ¡°I only remember the incident because it was such an unusual case. A tissue sample was brought in by a suit. It wasn¡¯t much to work with, but I decoded the genetic sequence. Very peculiar. Unlike anything I had seen previously. Largely based on silicon. Now, forgive me for being vague, but getting my hands on a genuine silicon-based DNA string was a true novelty for me at the time. I could only guess at most of the properties a lifeform with such a genome would have. By using analogies with carbon-based DNA I was fairly certain the resulting creature would be intelligent and prone to a dualistic morphology. With most organs and extremities having spare replacements. Back then, I theorized it might be possible to clone the sample by using a human twin genome as the basis. The result would have been very much unlike the original specimen, but something to continue our studies with. Now that you told me your story, it sounds very similar to conjoined twins. Though the source of the human condition is vastly different from the sample DNA¡¯s makeup. If they are experimenting by trying their luck with the recombination virus, I am not surprised that they are having trouble with their experiments.¡±


    I stopped for a moment and looked back at Gurney. ¡°Intelligent, you say. Do you think they brought you a piece of a genuine alien?¡±


    Gurney shook his head. ¡°Who is to say? They took the sample from me and scrubbed my computers once they knew what they wanted. Only one more reason for everything I did afterwards.¡±


    I nodded and continued pulling the sledge, wanting nothing more than to be back on my mountain.


    And maybe¡­ just maybe¡­ play with Isaac.

 Ch 110 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Charmaine Pinault***


    ¡°Larvie, larvie, larvie! Come here and get your larvas!¡± Charm threw another handful of woodlarvas to her pets, making sure all of them would get some. In reality, she just wanted them to come closer to the security wall so she could have a look at them.


    The yellow shroomheads were always more timid than the greyish, a little shrivelled ones. Probably because they were younger. If Charm didn¡¯t make sure they would get their fair share, there would be no woodlarvas left for the prettier shroomheads by the time the others were done. Then they wouldn¡¯t come closer to the wall for Charm to study.


    She was a little sad that the violet shroomhead didn¡¯t make an appearance today. The violet one showed up only occasionally, but she was the prettiest of them all.


    The girl leaned against the protective balustrade when she saw something violet peek out through the window of a ransacked and dilapidated house. When nothing showed up, Charm thought it must have been only her imagination, so she continued throwing her woodlarvas strategically so she could attract as many of the shroomheads as possible.


    Long ago, the village had been much larger, but nowadays the lower levels were left to rot. There just weren¡¯t enough settlers left to keep everything intact.


    The adults thought Charm didn¡¯t understand the dire situation with her eleven years of age, but she understood well enough that the community was slowly dying. A year ago, there had been a boy of Charm¡¯s age in the village, but he got eaten by the shroomheads.


    Stupid Lesner had listened to their calls and promises despite the adults¡¯ warnings.


    Some of the shroomheads stayed intelligent for a while after they got infected and that was Lesner¡¯s doom. When he climbed over the balustrade, they snatched him!


    And no more Lesner.


    Charm could still remember his cries and the adults trying to save him. But there was nothing to be done once he was all scratched up without the mutations to withstand the infection. And within a few days, he was one of the shroomheads.


    ¡°Charmaine Pinault.¡±


    Charm stiffened when she heard her father¡¯s voice behind her.


    Slowly, she turned around and smiled at him, hoping he wouldn¡¯t be too mad.


    His eyes narrowed as his stern gaze wandered to the woodlarvas in her hand. ¡°What have I told you about playing outside the village¡¯s inner ring?¡±


    Charm sighed and looked down at the ground. ¡°I am not supposed to leave the inner ring. Or the house, if possible.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± he urged.


    ¡°And no feeding the shroomheads,¡± Charm added reluctantly.


    ¡°And?¡± Her father didn¡¯t let go of the matter.


    She blinked innocently, hoping to persuade him with her innocence, but he had gotten wise to her persuasive skills some time ago. It had been possible to avoid punishment while he believed she wasn¡¯t capable of understanding what she was doing, but not anymore.


    Father pointed at her hand. ¡°Where did you get the woodlarvas?¡±


    ¡°Do not climb the coraltree,¡± Charm added dutifully another prohibition. There were so many dangerous and forbidden things to do in the village, sometimes Charm believed the only safe thing for her was to lie down in her bed till she was a grown-up like the other villagers. At least then, the adults wouldn¡¯t be able to command her around any longer.


    Balthasar shook his head and looked at the sky as if he was the one in trouble. ¡°I think you already know what this means.¡±


    Charm tried her luck. ¡°One-week house arrest.¡±


    ¡°One for feeding the shroomheads.¡± Her father nodded gravely. ¡°And another one for climbing onto the coraltree to collect woodlarvas.¡±


    Charmaine couldn¡¯t help herself and let out an indignant shriek at the unfairness of the world when her father grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the balustrade. How else was a single girl supposed to entertain herself with nothing but boring adults around in this boring village made up of boring things?


    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Conla Leece***


    I let out a groan when someone began frantically knocking on my door. The knocking was loud by a normal human¡¯s standards, but to my sensitive ears, it felt like one explosion going off after another.


    Couldn¡¯t they wait for just a few minutes before bothering me with the next crisis? It was impossible to concentrate on my work with so much noise and I was already behind with my paperwork!


    I never should have taken this job. There was always something requiring my attention and nobody to delegate important decisions to. In the early days of taking over the bunker, Tianna had helped out a lot. Unfortunately, she was the matriarch¡¯s right hand and had to return to Jeng as soon as things were settled here.


    And since the Hochberg only ever intended to fulfil a supervising role on this mission, they hadn¡¯t brought enough people to warrant their own commanders.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Only Elder Bruce Patel was there to help out¡­ sometimes¡­


    Bruce wasn¡¯t the administrator type and preferred to be out and about on scouting missions after handing out orders. Which was likely why I was interrupted yet again when I was busy with bookkeeping and missives!


    ¡°Stop knocking! Stop and come in!¡±


    A distressed warrior opened the door. ¡°The wormhole is open and people are coming through!¡±


    Rubbing my tired eyes, I pushed the documents aside and hurriedly followed his lead out of the bunker. Earth wasn¡¯t expected to send us more exiles. Not yet at least. The wormhole wasn¡¯t in use during winter and it was too early for Earth to return to their normal schedule.


    So, the only reason for the wormhole to be open was for Magnus¡¯s people to be coming through. I would have preferred to be better informed about what was coming, but Magnus himself didn¡¯t know the exact details of what his people would do.


    If things had gone as planned the organisation should have received a message about Magnus securing our aid on Tirnanog. What they would do with this information depended on how things looked back on Earth.


    We arrived at the pool in front of the bunker only to witness a scene of utter madness.


    The wormhole was open exactly where it was supposed to be ¨C about ten metres above the water.


    Normally, Earth tended to drop off their female exiles in this spot so they wouldn¡¯t be hurt too badly by the fall. From what I knew, it still wasn¡¯t a pretty affair, but at least the water prevented deaths.


    Only this time, this safety measure was being tested to its limit as a seemingly endless stream of people and material poured forth from the portal.


    Too many for the pool to take, so I quickly began to shout out orders for my men. The area beneath the portal had to be cleared out quickly to prevent unnecessary injuries.


    Some of the crates which were haphazardly being dropped through the portal floated on the water, so they also had to be moved out of the way! Else someone would fall on them and get injured.


    Then there was the problem of people falling onto each other!


    The wormhole wasn¡¯t supposed to be used like this!


    I had my warriors form several rows to clear the area beneath the portal with haste, but no matter what we did, things were getting away from us as the frequency of men and women coming through the gate ramped up.


    Judging by their jumpsuits, some of them were exiles. There were also people in military uniforms and suits, worker¡¯s clothes and casual outfits. It looked like someone was shoving through all the people who just happened to be at the gateway facility at the time.


    Why?


    I wanted nothing more than to keep order in my camp, but at some point, I simply had to choose between letting the newcomers roam free and maintaining control of the bunker. So I ordered my men to shove everyone and everything off to the side and let them see to their well-being.


    The courtyard in front of the bunker already looked like a dump and I was beginning to worry whether we would simply have to let things be and allow everything to pile up beneath the portal.


    Fights were also breaking out among these newcomers, but all I could do at the moment was to send out a few groups who would forcibly pacify the crowd. Thankfully, I had ordered my men to disarm everyone when the first camouflaged soldier with a gun came through the portal.


    Disarming them would have been no problem in any case, since humans with only basic enhancements coped badly with Tirnanog¡¯s bright sun and arrived blinded and encumbered by the higher gravity. It was still a surprise that not a single shot had been fired so far and that the armed people who came through the wormhole were generally cooperative.


    What felt like an eternity passed, but it couldn¡¯t have been more than half an hour before the flow of people and material came to a trickle and halted completely.


    Three last figures fell through the portal and landed between drifting crates before they were pulled to shore by my people.


    So far, nobody had identified themselves to be in charge. Some men and women had announced themselves to belong to the organisation and that this was their operation. The few people I had questioned always said the leaders would come last.


    I crossed my arms and gave the trio my best glare when the two men and one woman were pulled out of the pool.


    Hopefully, they had a really good explanation for dumping this mess to my feet!


    What was I supposed to do with...


    I looked around, trying to come up with a quick ¡®guesstimation¡¯ of how many people had arrived ¨C whether willingly or unwillingly. To my dismay, it was impossible to overlook the crowd.


    But if I was right about this debacle lasting around half an hour with a person coming through the wormhole every two to three seconds, then I was looking at a number between 600 to 900 people. Maybe slightly more.


    So, worst case scenario, I had now up to a thousand dependants without mutations on my hands!


    One of the men, an older fellow with grey hair, bowed like some old-school gentleman while using a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He somehow managed to make it appear dignified despite looking like a wet socket and the unfamiliar gravity warring with his body.


    The trio looked well aged, but athletic for Earthers. No doubt, they had their fair share of medical treatments as far as these things went for the general population. Nonetheless, I was sure they would have faced retirement in a few years if they hadn¡¯t chosen to come here.


    A starfish mutation would fix the problem of age soon enough.


    ¡°I am Gunnar Elrod, Miss. I hope Magnus announced our arrival?¡±


    The gentleman looked around, scanning the crowd. ¡°I believe all of us are here, so there is no longer a need for the portal.¡± Gunnar lifted a device he had held firmly in his hand so far.


    It looked like a deadman switch and I stiffened at the sight.


    Before I could stop him, he removed a cap with his thumb and pressed a button before throwing the device over his shoulder, it having fulfilled its purpose.


    A second later, the wormhole above us closed and was gone.


    Since nothing had happened, I abandoned my first thought of him being some sort of suicide bomber. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Gunnar smiled. ¡°I just nuked the Tibet Gateway. For now, we don¡¯t have to worry about our enemies getting more assistance from Earth. At least on this continent. I think you would appreciate it if the three of us help to sort out the crowd behind you. Between storming the gateway facility and trying to minimize casualties, we kind of ended up shuffling our people, exiles, and gateway personnel together.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Ancient Grove***


    ***Loopsfast***


    Loop was a very busy drake right now. He had to see to it that his brood always had the right temperature. He had to turn the eggs so they wouldn¡¯t lay too long on one side. He had to make sure the moisture was right and there was no mould. He had to do so many things.


    He kind of wished his females would help with the caretaking. Where were they anyway?


    Loop pondered the problem of his missing females for a moment before his thoughts returned to the eggs.


    Counting them again, he made sure none of them was missing. One nest held four and the other five.


    Although, the fifth egg from the larger clutch looked unhealthy and it didn¡¯t feel like it had the right weight.


    Loop studied the egg sadly, remembering the hatching lore taught by his father. Sometimes, eggs just didn¡¯t come out right. Sometimes, they got infected with parasites. In any case, the bad egg had to be dealt with or a drake risked the loss of the entire brood.


    The young father was conflicted about getting rid of an egg, but he had two broods anyway. More than any normal drake could hope for.


    He was fairly certain the females wouldn¡¯t remember the number of eggs they had laid anyway, so Loop removed the bad egg from his nest and rolled it out of the nesting hangar until it fell off the humans¡¯ flying colony.


    It disappeared in the forest below and Loop stared after it for a moment, mourning the loss.


    Then his thoughts returned to the other eggs. It was time to turn them! No, he had done that a moment ago! Temperature! Yes, he had to control the temperature!

 Ch 111 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Magnus***


    Something moved in the periphery of my vision and I snapped my head around before aiming the tip of my spetum in the general direction of the movement.


    One of my palms was already pointing a ball of plasma at the potential enemy while arcs of electrical discharges danced around my arm. The new mutation was making everything so much easier. I didn¡¯t even have to think about building up the energy. It was simply already there at my fingertips when I needed it.


    But even though I reacted nearly instantly, there was nothing out there. No enemy to roast with arcs of lightning and supercharged plasma.


    Just as the previous times, something came close enough for me to notice, then slipped away before I could identify it.


    ¡°Did you see it this time?¡± Thalia asked. She and the others had been alerted by my reaction.


    ¡°A shadow,¡± Astra said. ¡°No larger than a human if I am not mistaken.¡±


    ¡°There was definitely something,¡± I affirmed while I watched the fog. When nothing emerged from the mists, I relaxed slightly and allowed the plasma in my palm to slowly dissipate with a wave of hot air and the smell of ozone.


    If I could, I would have willed my second sight to penetrate the fog which was providing a convenient cover for whatever was stalking us. ¡°I am sure it is trailing us. I am not imagining things. It¡¯s unnerving how it somehow repeatedly manages to barely graze the edge of our sight. It stays just outside of our vision. Could it be a nightstalker?¡±


    If the thing had the same sight as me it would explain how it manages to always skirt around the edge of our vision.


    Mark shook his head. ¡°No. Nightstalkers are rare, but they are relatively well-known predators at the Old Camp. They follow their prey when they hunt, but not in this manner. More importantly, they are only active in complete darkness. We are dealing with something native to this environment.¡±


    Since splitting up with the drakes, we had delved deep into the Mycelium and none of us were comfortable with the thick fog shadowing the environment with seemingly eternal twilight. At first, the alien vegetation was colourful and bright, like a coral reef showing off its hidden beauty.


    The deeper we went into the fog, the greyer and drearier the world became. Greyish-white fungi replaced the spiky grass and the few corals which remained in this zone lost their vibrant colours. Now they looked like a boneyard overgrown with fungus. The fungi and corals formed their own biosphere with smaller ones taking up the role of grass, all the way up to tree-like structures creating a canopy above us.


    The sun seemed nothing more than a distant memory to this place.


    ¡°If my Precognition wouldn''t scream bloody murder each time one of you twitches, I would have thought you are jumping at ghosts,¡± Mark added while looking around. My friend also wisely checked the sky. He had his new compound bow ready, but the arrow was aimed at the ground while his eyes searched for a target. ¡°I can see next to nothing in this soup.¡±


    ¡°Something is out there,¡± Thiago Colen assured us while following something with his head. ¡°It never came close enough to see, but I can hear it. It¡¯s currently moving in that direction, circling around us.¡±


    He pointed, his finger following the sounds of some unseen foe only he could hear.


    Ginevra nodded. ¡°It is very good at staying quiet, but there is definitely something out there. I can hear it too.¡±


    ¡°As can I,¡± Astra said. She had several of her filaments spread out around us, touching and sensing the environment like feelers, providing her with a sense of echolocation. The rest of her filaments was wielding an entire set of spears. They fanned out from her back, ready to cover almost every angle of attack.


    I could have copied her, but my shorter filaments never allowed me to perform as well as she did. Echolocation was also a skill which required extensive training and experience, so I preferred to rely on my visual senses. Maybe I would train the ability when I found the time.


    We waited for another minute while Thiago and Ginevra tracked the movements around us with their exceptional hearing.


    When the creature refused to come closer once more, I slowly lowered my spetum and started walking again. ¡°It feels like something is hunting us and I don''t like it. Whatever it is, it is toying with us. It must be smart enough to recognize when we sense it.¡±


    ¡°Should we flash step towards it the next time it approaches?¡± Astra asked. ¡°We could at least try to identify it.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Thalia replied firmly. ¡°You already tried it three times and all we got was more sightings of shapes hidden by the fog. If we split the group and lose someone, I see no chance of finding them again. Especially when you two start zipping all over the place leaving no tracks to follow.¡±


    ¡°What can I say? The creature is fast,¡± Astra muttered defensively.


    ¡°We leave tracks,¡± I pointed out unhelpfully.


    ¡°Every thirty metres or so,¡± Ginevra groused. She and her partner weren¡¯t the best fighters, but hearing and tracking skills were above even Astra¡¯s outdoor skills. No wonder Ginevra had made a living as a poacher.


    ¡°Thalia is right. We won''t do that. The last time you tried hunting the creature you didn¡¯t find your way back and we had to call out so you could follow our voices. I would rather not announce my presence to any predators living here. The fog is an annoyance, but it hides us too.¡±


    I nodded. People weren¡¯t afraid of the dark. They were afraid that there was something else with them.


    Mark raised his voice, ¡°Maybe we are allowing ourselves to be spooked too easily. Yes, knowing something is following us is nerve-wracking, but I think if it could pose a danger to our entire group it would have attacked us already. At worst, it is some sort of opportunistic predator hoping for an opportunity. Let¡¯s just not give it an opening and we should be fine. What is worrying me more is the coming night. Have you seen anything which could serve as shelter?¡±


    I mulled over his words for a bit. ¡°You are right, Mark. But I would rather just hunt the thing down and be done with it. How long can this go on before we inevitably make a mistake? Better let it know now that we are hard to digest.¡±


    ¡°Can you promise to find us again after following it? Because we surely won¡¯t be able to catch up to you,¡± Thalia asked. ¡°Can you at least find your way home on your own?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± I answered with absolute confidence.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Then show me the direction towards the mountains,¡± Thalia challenged.


    I pointed in the direction from which we came, not hesitating at all.


    Thiago coughed and pulled out a compass before adjusting my arm about thirty degrees to the left.


    I hadn¡¯t been totally wrong. But wrong enough to miss the drakes and eventually get lost.


    ¡°No harm, man. This fog plays tricks on me too.¡± He waved the compass in his hand. ¡°This place messes with everyone¡¯s senses.¡±


    Grumbling, I partly retracted my previous statement. ¡°You have a point, though nothing stops me from using my own compass. Okay. Maybe we should do it differently? Just give it an opening? Lure it in?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to play bait?¡± Thalia asked.


    ¡°Not really,¡± I replied, fearing my suggestion would end up with me being bait.


    Astra raised a hand to stop the discussion. ¡°Let¡¯s just move on okay? Make enough distance to leave the thing¡¯s territory. The less time we spend in this fog, the less time it has to find a weak spot in our guard.¡±


    When nobody objected, we finally moved on with more purpose in our steps.


    We had been walking for hours and the last rock formation which I identified as convenient shelter had been outside the fog. The coral-like vegetation covering the area offered little protection. I supposed it would have been possible to hack a path into the denser part of the grey, shroom-like bushes which grew in patches, but I didn¡¯t trust it to be a safe solution. There were some larger tree-like formations, but they didn''t look like they could be used to hold off large predators.


    When I arrived on Tirnanog, I had survived a night by sleeping in a tree. According to what I knew now, I had been extremely lucky nothing with a taste for humans had found me.


    ¡°Can we dig a shelter?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We will have to start doing so in an hour or two, or we wont get done by nightfall,¡± Astra pointed out. ¡°I would rather avoid it, but better a dirthole than sleeping in the open. It may give us some time to come up with a plan if something dangerous finds us.¡±


    We continued our journey and it began to rain which was not surprising at this point. The fog had been alternating hourly between a drizzle and heavier rain as if the world couldn¡¯t decide on the best method to drench us in water.


    What was concerning though was the sudden speed with which the latest weather change happened. Unlike the previous times, the rain got heavier and heavier as we walked, developing into an outright storm.


    Then the sky above us lit up with light, turning the fog surrounding us into a world of white brightness.


    I blinked, and the world was back to normal before the crack of thunder rolled over us.


    ¡°That felt too close for comfort,¡± Mark commented while shielding his eyes from the rain which was now coming from a sideways angle.


    ¡°Three seconds times 343m,¡± I announced quickly. ¡°So about a kilometre away.¡±


    Thalia pointed away from one of the larger tree-like mushrooms. ¡°Which means we should get away from any high points and dig in a little earlier than planned.¡±


    We were about to move on when a second, much louder lightning strike thundered the world.


    With it, I sensed something approaching us quickly. It was purposeful, aiming in a straight line for our group.


    Flash stepping, I appeared in front of Ginevra a mere moment before the attacker could barrel into her. My spetum barely caught the creature in the chest and I was pushed back, my fingers slipping along the wet shaft as the creature forced itself forward as if it intended to impale itself.


    I caught a pale, leathery limb striking out. It was multi-jointed with a paw at the end, sprouting a set of four wicked claws.


    The initial momentum of my counter was enough to divert what should have been a lethal blow to Ginevra¡¯s head, but the creature¡¯s raw animalistic power forced the claws back on track, coming threateningly close to Ginevra¡¯s face.


    One of Astra¡¯s spears impacted the monster¡¯s side, once more derailing its single-minded attack. Her speartip drew blood, but couldn¡¯t penetrate the tough skin completely. It stopped just a few centimetres into the creature¡¯s hide.


    Wrestling with it, I could have sworn there was something like subdermal chain mail beneath the creature¡¯s skin.


    My spetum was already wedged between the creature¡¯s ribs, refusing to go any deeper.


    Turning its attention to me, it grinned with its hound-like snout, revealing rows of uncanny teeth as it studied me with two red, beady eyes.


    Then Mark was on it, wedging a nail-like dagger in its throat.


    Letting go of my spetum, I laughed and caught the clawed arm which snaked around to eviscerate Mark. ¡°Die you ugly bastard!¡±


    When it returned its attention to me, I let go of the power, pouring everything I had to give into the creature.


    It screamed and I could smell burned flesh before it ripped itself away from us and disappeared within the fog and rain almost as fast as if it had flash stepped.


    Flash-stepping after it, I discharged another lightning strike at the thing.


    Realizing I was alone, it turned around to charge me. Guided by my sub-identities, I only raised my hand and discharged all the power I could muster into the sky to create a local imbalance in the lightning storm''s charge.


    Right as the creature reached me, a lightning bolt more powerful than anything I could have produced on my own struck our position and raw power ran through me, setting every fibre in my body on fire.


    When it was over, I couldn¡¯t make out anything but white before I realized I was looking into the fog surrounding me. Then the rain which had been temporarily evaporated in the vicinity began falling once more.


    Astra appeared next to me and bonked me over the back of my head. ¡°Don¡¯t try that again, you idiot! I bet it wanted you to run after it like some imbecile! It probably has some friends out there!¡±


    ¡°Did you see where it ran off to?¡± I asked. ¡°Forget that, did you see what I just did?¡± I laughed. ¡°I caught a fucking lightning bolt!¡±


    Astra bonked me again, making my helmet ring, but I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°It ran off after it caught the edge of the impact.¡±


    Together, we returned to the rest of the group which had formed up to cover every possible angle of attack. Astra was admonishing me for my reckless behaviour, but I couldn''t care less right now. What I had done was born of pure improvisation and a moment''s inspiration, but it had worked!


    Admittedly, my sub-identities deserved most of the praise, but they were me as much as I was them.


    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± I asked the others over the storm before quickly picking up my spetum which had fallen to the ground. I was still slightly befuddled at how little damage we had done to the creature. Astra, Mark, and I each got in a clean strike with a blade and we didn¡¯t do more than scratch the thing. It also tanked a full lightning blast from me and behaved like I had done little more than taser it!


    ¡°It¡­ it¡­ it looked like the thing which almost ate me at the Old Camp,¡± Mark stuttered after a moment of hesitation. ¡°But the one I killed had dark skin. Almost black. This one was white!¡±


    ¡°I hope your dagger is poisoned, Mark,¡± Thalia reminded her partner.


    ¡°Of course it is!¡± he shot back. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it will do much. The one I managed to paralyse bit off my entire hand and still didn¡¯t die from it.¡±


    ¡°Attention people!¡± Astra shouted. ¡°Everyone! Switch to the chat! We no longer talk via sound while we are out here!¡±


    ¡®First of all, Ginevra, Thiago, why didn¡¯t you notice it?¡¯ Astra continued. ¡®You had no problems tracking it previously.¡¯


    ¡®It came at me right after the thunder,¡¯ Ginevra pointed out. ¡®I was deafened for a moment.¡¯


    ¡®I don¡¯t think it aimed for Ginevra by accident,¡¯ I added. ¡®Ginevra and Thiago are the only ones who managed to track it beyond our vision range.¡¯


    We were interrupted when I noticed something approaching quickly, dashing through the rain towards us. Was the fucker back for more already?


    There was no time to think. I simply raised a hand and unleashed a lightning arc in its direction, feeling more powerful than ever after the lightning bolt had supercharged my reserves. The creature bleated and dropped like a sack of grain. It tumbled and came to a halt in front of us as a smoking, twitching wreck.


    Too late, I realized it wasn¡¯t our foe, but some tripod-shaped thing with the features of a grazing animal. Probably startled by the storm.


    ¡®Dig in right now?¡¯ Astra asked after a heavy pause while the group stared at the corpse. ¡®We are wasting time.¡¯


    ¡®Won¡¯t any shelter we dig be filled up with rain right away?¡¯ Thiago pointed out.


    ¡®We walk through the night,¡¯ Thalia messaged. ¡®Watch out for the thunder and stay close. I don¡¯t believe we will get much sleep tonight. If the lightning hits us, it hits. I believe everyone here can take a strike or two without dying.¡¯


    We continued through the storm, miraculously left alone by what we decided to name a night-terror. It was likely licking its wounds and waiting for a better chance. I wasn¡¯t so optimistic as to assume that the poison on Mark¡¯s dagger had done more than give it indigestion.


    On and on we went until five hours into the trek the ground became steeper and rocky. It was a rapid drop in elevation, likely leading down to sea level from the plateau we had been on. There we found a narrow crevice to hunker down. It wasn¡¯t comfortable, but it provided protection from the wind and rain.


    While the others were setting up camp, I took Astra¡¯s hand and pulled her with me to the crevice¡¯s entrance. ¡°We will take the first watch!¡±


    ¡°Magnus¡­¡± Astra sighed. ¡°I am really tired.¡±


    ¡°Tired?¡± I gestured at the storm. ¡°There is no time to be tired right now! We have to dance with the storm and catch ourselves some lightning bolts! Trust me! You will feel it too once the first one hits you!¡±

 Ch 112 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Facility***


    ***The Designer***


    Translated transcript: 02-05-3998 064


    Designer¡¯s Report_Log 34530-2349:


    538 cycles since allowing intentional contamination of environment testing site 35-F-33.


    Summary of findings and personal observations.


    Please refer to the linked research results for details.


    Current Situation:


    The plague has managed to find a firm place within planet 35-F-33¡¯s ecosystem despite our best efforts. Suitably adverse environments with hostile conditions have been developed to at least slow down the plague¡¯s spread. Unfortunately, environments that stop the spread require conditions preventing other organic life from flourishing.


    Plague-derived lifeforms are highly adaptable and will infiltrate existing fauna and flora given enough time. The only known environmental conditions ensuring prevention of plague infection are environmental temperatures above 44 grak and below -30 grak. Which is outside the operating range of carbon-based processes.


    Any silicon-based life relying on carbon processes to function would be severely limited by such temperatures. So far, only the Creators are known to withstand such conditions ¨C as they are energy-based entities.


    As per mission profile, we report the state of the plague¡¯s current iteration.


    The plague has once again developed bipeds as its main host. The base-line form of these bipeds, imported from origin contamination world 46-E-19, is currently unable to survive permanently on the test planet¡¯s surface, which can be seen as a partial success.


    Unfortunately, the hosts quickly developed a method of rapid mutation by copying or mimicking established lifeforms. This rapid adaptation to the hostile environment is being enabled by a combined nanotech virus.


    All attempts at using this virus against the plague¡¯s hosts have been actively thwarted by their Gestalt and the virus''s unique adaptation to the hosts'' genome ¨C preventing it from surviving outside the host.


    Though the virus is not perfect. In some cases, hosts have devolved from their original form. So far, there is no known way to encourage the occurrence of this failure mechanism in order to favour harmful traits.


    As for microbiological testing sites 234-234 and 346-743:


    We have found some avenues of biological warfare working on smaller groups of hosts. The released biological agents dealt considerable damage before the rest of the population could adapt. The surviving individuals are expected to die out due to environmental hardship and the inability to increase their numbers.


    However, this approach does not seem promising! As a result of their exposure, the surviving populations are now entirely immune to the used biological agents.


    As in the past, the hosts'' manifold immune system makes it impossible to attack the entire population at once.


    Most of the other host populations are actively avoiding the testing sites. Yet we believe forced worldwide introduction of the used bio-agents to be inadvisable. We do not expect this method to work on a large population of hosts, as there would be enough survivors left to rebuild.


    In the long run, attacks of this nature only strengthen the enemy as a whole.


    At this point, we are inclined to conclude that any purely biological warfare against the plague is doomed to fail or backfire. Like the attempt to introduce a strain of flesh-eating bacteria only caused the plague to adapt the bacteria for its own purposes, incorporating it into the hosts¡¯ immune system.


    Trying to combat the plague on a biological micro-scale is not feasible.


    We will nonetheless continue to explore our approach of macro-scale biological warfare.


    Planet-wide sterilization remains the only reliable method of resetting the plague''s evolution progress. Due to the plague''s ability to penetrate deep into a planet''s mantle with certain extremophile specimens, sterilization without complete destruction of the contaminated planet remains impossible. Even then parts of the plague will survive and possibly contaminate other planets unless all of the debris is taken care of. An undertaking that is almost impossible since a single spec of dust would be enough to carry the plague.


    Complete extermination is still impossible with known methods, but by removing the plague''s higher cognitive elements, permanent suppression might be feasible.


    As a future avenue of research:


    It has to be said that some of the environment¡¯s inhabitants were corrupted by the plague and are now actively assisting the plague¡¯s hosts. These cases of ¡®taming¡¯ creatures initially designed to kill the hosts are currently being researched. We are confident to remove this flaw from future iterations.


    Current state of host population:


    Due to their new adaptation method, the hosts currently inhabiting the planet have not developed a homogeneous genotype.


    Yet, it can be noted that the new hosts are on average larger and physically more capable than their baseline variants. As with previous versions, their individual intelligence can be regarded as insignificant. However, some rare individuals are close to what is considered the galactic norm. We currently regard them as outliers.


    Looking at the population as a whole, it seems like the plague prefers to operate on a system of specialists working together instead of granting its hosts widespread mental capabilities. Compared to other sentient races most of the plague¡¯s individual hosts can be regarded as unfit for most intellectual tasks. Despite being insular talents in their singular respective fields.


    As an example: No individual host possesses the ability to build a planet-wide environmental control system or understand more than the smallest magnitude of such an undertaking. They would be utterly out of their depth with a menial task which could be performed by most recognized higher species.


    It can be said that the hosts¡¯ requirement to work together and share information to achieve anything of note may be a reflection of how their Gestalt functions. Research in this field is dangerous since it requires direct interaction with the Gestalt, but we believe this research to be crucial to understanding the Gestalt and its weaknesses.


    The Creators have tried for aeons to attack the hosts as a means of eliminating the Gestalt, but maybe we can deal with the Gestalt first by using the hosts against it.


    While our newest approach looks promising, we still harbour doubts about using the hosts against the plague. Just as their individual limitations make it easy to infiltrate host sub-groups, these same limitations make it impossible to utilize them as a whole against the Gestalt.


    We have to question whether the hosts'' mental limitation is indeed a flaw ¨C or by design.


    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Thalia***


    I huddled closer together with Mark, our wings wrapped around us to combat the wet cold creeping into our bones.


    Ginevra and Thiago were out cold beneath their blankets. Hugging each other they slept like the dead despite lightning bolts coming down left and right around us while thunder threatened to shatter our eardrums.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    How could they sleep with all this havoc going on around them? Weren''t the two sensors supposed to be extra sensitive to noise? Wasn¡¯t this why I had chosen to take them on this mission?


    ¡°I will give Astra a piece of my mind if we survive this,¡± I groused, knowing very well that scolding Magnus would be met with deaf ears. ¡°Taking first watch my ass! Who takes the first watch and then summons a lightning storm around the camp!¡±


    I screamed the last bit into the storm. They likely didn''t hear me but it felt good to vent. It wasn''t like they had cared about my complaints when I sent them through the UI''s chat. Instead, they were just ignoring me!


    ¡°I prefer the lightning to the ¡®white stalker¡¯ coming back,¡± Mark admitted. ¡°And I don''t believe they are ''summoning'' the storm. Influencing it is more likely.¡±


    ¡°I prefer sleeping above anything else. And maybe killing the night-terror and adding it to our mutation,¡± I replied. The whole reason why I was fire and flame for hooking up with Mark was because I wanted to catch up with Astra¡¯s power.


    Not that I didn¡¯t like Mark for other reasons too, but now Astra had gone and added a whole new dimension to her abilities! It wasn¡¯t fair!


    ¡°Is that safe if we don''t know anything about it?¡± Mark asked. ¡°What if it gives entirely different mutations compared to the one I ate.¡±


    ¡°It should be.¡± I shrugged. ¡°There are documented cases of adding different sub-races of the same species to someone''s mutation. The opportunity doesn''t present itself often, but it worked out well in all cases. In fact, mutated versions of the normal specimen are a highly valued source of improved mutations. Most stratas are breeding the animals providing their main mutations in the hope of nurturing such specimens. Even if the animal in question is useless otherwise.¡±


    We fell silent for a while and watched the duo through the crevice''s exit as they danced like lunatics, lightning arcing in between and around them.


    ¡°Don''t you find it concerning that they aren''t paying much attention to their surroundings? The ground around them is completely scorched,¡± I mused. ¡°Once they calm down, we have to look into their newest mutation. How did they even get the idea for it? It gives me the feeling they are on a sugar rush or something.¡±


    Mark shook his head and pointed. ¡°I don''t know. But what I find more concerning is that their feet aren''t touching the ground.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Astra***


    We danced and for once I was laughing like mad together with Magnus. Where other creatures had to hide, the storm provided us with protection and power as we spun around each other in what felt like an eternal round dance.


    The two of us were opposite poles who guided the storm as lightning bolt after lightning bolt went down to recharge our power. It was like the gods themselves were trying to smite us, but we had little care as we took their power for ourselves.


    When Magnus took me out into the storm I had been dead tired, but now I felt revitalized, ready to take on whatever may lie ahead.


    ''We have to make this a regular thing!'' I used the chat to be understood despite the storm.


    ''How would we even find ourselves a lightning storm if not by chance?'' Magnus replied. ''Ready for the positively charged lightning bolt?''


    ''Always,'' I shot back with a smirk and a twirl. ''The only thing which might be better than this is sex!''


    ''We have to try!''


    ''Are you nuts!? Thalia would get a stroke. She''s already spamming the chat like some troll,'' I retorted.


    ''Maybe some other time then.'' Magnus smirked and twirled me around in the other direction with his magnetic field pushing against mine.


    At this point we didn''t even have to touch each other, so powerful were the forces dancing between us.


    We continued the dance for a few more hours during which the storm slowly died down and fizzled out. I was a little sad when my feet touched the ground again, announcing the end of our playtime. Without the storm¡¯s constant recharge, we couldn''t continue what had become a little game of managing the energetic charges between us to attract as many lightning bolts as possible.


    No longer able to agitate the weakening storm, we stopped and returned to the crevice where the others were already waiting for us in full gear.


    I only now rationalized how long we had been out.


    Before saying anything, Thalia pointed a threatening finger at me, but a small bolt of electricity zapped her when she came too close ¨C totally unintentional.


    ¡°Ow! By Gaia''s jiggling...!¡±


    ¡°I am so sorry!¡± I raised my hands apologetically and made sure to shut down my muscles, evening out the charge with my surroundings. ¡°Static discharge! It should be fine now.¡±


    ¡°Astra, I am very upset!¡± Thalia continued after she composed herself. ¡°You two were ignoring us and behaving like drug addicts! I couldn''t sleep a second!¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± I hesitated and thought about her words. ¡°Will you survive a day without sleep?¡±


    ¡°Of course I will!¡±


    I let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Then it''s fine.¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling you aren''t taking me seriously, Astra!¡± Thalia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me. She only did that when she was truly upset.


    ¡°I am sorry, Thalia, but it was so much fun.¡± I gestured at the sky. ¡°It was like truly drinking water for the first time after having survived on mere sips for my entire life! Even now I feel¡­¡± I searched for the appropriate word, but there wasn¡¯t one, so I chose the closest approximation coming to mind. ¡°¡­ charged like never before.¡±


    Thalia frowned. ¡°Your new mutation is responsible for this? That¡¯s something we have to talk about. You two are taking on new mutations way too fast. Normally, people consider the pros and cons for decades before taking a risk at your stage.¡±


    I winced.


    How could we possibly explain this situation without revealing Gaia? ¡°We-¡±


    Thankfully, Ginevra interrupted, ¡°Give the two some slack and let us continue. Right after a storm like this, the area should be safer than ever. Most large creatures will have vacated the area or hidden themselves in a shelter. Every minute we waste now is unmolested travel time.¡±


    Thalia grumbled and switched back to using the chat. ¡®Fine, but I still want an explanation! And how could you two sleep through all the noise.¡¯


    She pointed at Ginevra and Thiago.


    Magnus and I used the chance to escape and pick up our gear to get going.


    Thiago shrugged. ¡®We closed our ears.¡¯


    ¡®Closed your ears?¡¯


    Ginevra nodded. ¡®Yes. Like other people can open and close their eyes, we can close our ears. With our sense of hearing, we would turn insane if we couldn¡¯t.¡¯


    Fortunately, this was enough to keep Thalia¡¯s attention for the next couple of minutes during which they kept arguing long after we were already back to travelling. By the time they switched topics again, Thalia didn¡¯t take up the matter of our mutations again.


    But knowing her, I couldn¡¯t avoid the topic forever, so I had to come up with a convenient excuse for the next time.


    It turned out that Ginevra had been right with her assumption and we made a lot of progress without encountering any predators.


    About two hours into the journey, the two sensors informed us that our stalker was back, but the white night-terror didn¡¯t come close enough for me to see it this time. It appeared like we had instilled some respect in the creature by thwarting its attack. We argued whether this was good or bad, but ultimately, the only thing we could do was to watch out in case our stalker tried to capitalize on our inattentiveness once more.


    We marched on like this for another night, having decided that if the fog was thick enough for night-predators to come out during the day then the best we could do to reduce the danger was to reach our goal as quickly as possible.


    On the third day, we had to run from something big.


    It announced itself with the stomping sounds of feet before scythe-like appendages came down from the fog above. The attack came from an entirely unsuspected direction and was only thwarted because of Mark¡¯s and Thalia¡¯s precognition which allowed them to dodge the first stabbing appendage.


    At which point we chose to flee without long discussions.


    None of us was willing to fight a creature that likely rivalled a saherna in size. Whatever it was, it was too big and slow to move quickly, granting us the opportunity to escape. Though we heard its footsteps following us long after.


    On the fourth day, we finally reached our goal with the white stalker still following us.


    But our sensors knew it was falling further and further behind the closer we came to our destination. As if it was unwilling to come too close to the city which was built on the largest shroom-tree-thing I had ever seen. We only knew the city¡¯s general layout because the soft breeze from the sea had cleared up the fog for a few precious minutes in the morning.


    This close to the coast the fog apparently wasn¡¯t a permanent thing.


    The mushroom tree was growing in layers above layers with a central stem as thick as a skyscraper. The layers were getting smaller the higher it went and each layer was covered in rudimentary buildings which looked more rotten and decayed the closer to the bottom they were.


    Our only justification for not turning around right then and there was the lights coming from the uppermost layers, hinting that some people were still trying to eke out a living despite their obviously failing settlement.


    With our goal in sight, we hurried through an abandoned open gateway and down a central square leading up the city¡¯s layers in a winding stairway. From the looks of it, it had been built when the inhabitants still had hope for their settlement, expecting it to turn into a flourishing home. The stairs and the pavement were made with stone, finely worked to outlast the houses around them.


    Then we reached the uppermost layers and to our horror, we arrived at what looked like the final stage of a siege.


    What could only be the city¡¯s former inhabitants were swarming against an impressive wall, piling up atop each other while a single girl was throwing things at them from atop the balustrade. The townsfolk were no longer human!


    Where their eyes and ears should be, multicoloured protrusions were growing out of them, though yellow and grey were the dominant colours. It was the final stage of the mycelia infection Thalia had warned us about.


    I flash-stepped forward, unleashing a lightning arc at the zombified horde. Some fell, but the rest charged at me. Then Magnus was suddenly at my side and swung his spetum with enough force to cleave through the infected.


    The horde was slow to turn their attention towards us, and so we used the chance to punch our way through the edge of the clump that had formed beneath the girl.


    After our fight with the white stalker, these things felt like a cakewalk. They were slow to react and unorganized, their attention seemingly entirely on whatever the girl was throwing at them.


    Except for a single violet variant which was a little faster than the others, but it too was no match for us and Magnus split it in twain from head to groin when it crossed our path. Working together, we quickly fought our way to the wall.


    Ginevra and Thiago climbed up first, their hands seemingly sticking to the wall. Mark and Thalia flew up while Magnus and I simply flash-stepped the short distance to join the lone defender who was gaping at us with an open mouth.


    Once we held the battlement and I had assured myself that the infected were too stupid to climb, I finally turned my attention to the girl who had been defending the wall.


    She had green hair with what looked like roots woven in between and her skin had a somewhat leaf-ish texture. For a kid, she looked well protected with light-coloured wooden armour covering her entire body like a set of chain-mail. Her eyes were black orbs, having lost their white sclera for some reason. Lacking a better term, she looked like a little dryad with the plant-mutation theme she had going on.


    I wrinkled my nose when I noticed the fist-sized grub wriggling in the girl¡¯s hand.


    Then she pointed an accusing finger at us. ¡°You killed Vio!¡±

 Ch 113 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Charmaine Pinault***


    Charm was torn between excitement and impotent childish rage at the appearance of these strangers. On one hand, they were the most exciting thing to happen in her entire life. People from beyond the endless fog! What fantastic stories might they be able to tell?


    On the other, they had killed the pretty violet shroomhead she had fancied as a favourite pet for so long ¨C if one she could only look at from afar. The violet shroom had been unique and so the loss irked her to no end.


    The strangers meanwhile looked taken aback at her accusation.


    Despite their evident confusion about Charm¡¯s reaction, the whole situation also felt a little intimidating because these people were equipped with very imposing gear. Their armour looked worn and each of the newcomers carried more weapons than she had seen on the village guards so far.


    Charm suddenly no longer felt as confident as before. She was alone, facing six adults she didn''t know and who could do anything to her. With their expressions hidden behind their helmets and their entire focus on her, it felt like they were judging her. It was too much even for her overblown confidence. Her father was the strongest person in the whole world and Charm was sure he would have no problem dealing with these people, but he wasn¡¯t here at the moment.


    She was also suddenly very conscious of the larva still wriggling in her hand, which made her look childish, and Charm didn''t want to look childish in front of strangers.


    ¡°Killed who?¡± The busty woman with the wings asked before taking off her helmet, revealing a cute, almost bewitching face. Beneath her helmet, she didn¡¯t look terrifying at all, so some of Charm¡¯s confidence returned.


    ¡°You killed the pretty violet shroomhead,¡± Charm repeated her accusation. ¡°And all the others¡­ the villagers will be mad once they find out.¡±


    ¡°Oh, deary, you know that the infected can¡¯t be saved once their condition has gotten this far?¡± The woman spoke with a soft, compassionate voice. ¡°The mycelium eats their brains.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you should tell that to a child?¡± the lighter-armoured woman of the group interrupted.


    ¡°I know that!¡± Charm shot back, feeling irritated at what she perceived as condescending treatment. She was big enough not to be coddled! ¡°I was just feeding them so I could look at the pretty ones.¡±


    The beautiful woman frowned, apparently put out by Charm¡¯s explanation. ¡°These aren¡¯t some animals to play with, deary. And I wouldn''t exactly think of them as... pretty.¡±


    ¡°Can anyone explain to me why these people allow a child to be out here?¡± the lightly armoured woman inserted herself once more into the conversation. ¡°There has to be something wrong in their heads.¡±


    The others ignored her and instead waited for Charm to speak.


    The girl was about to reply with a sermon about colours and how precious they were to admire in this endless, boring, foggy world when they were interrupted.


    ¡°What do we have here?¡± a woman''s voice asked, a voice Charm knew all too well.


    It was Annika.


    Charmaine reacted quickly and decisively, throwing her last remaining larva over the balustrade to get rid of the evidence. Now that she wasn''t the centre of attention, she moved without a second thought.


    Then she turned to face the newcomers with her hands behind her back and the most innocent expression she could muster.


    The ¡®Quadruplets¡¯ were not related at all, unlike their nickname implied. One man and three women were standing just a few metres away, fully geared for combat.


    But despite being adults, they were the youngest villagers aside from Charm. Their shared age had caused them to form a little clique and consequently their tendency to do everything together had earned them their nickname.


    Cruz, the only guy among them was their de facto leader ¨C though Charm assumed it was only because the women allowed it. Despite his age, he wasn''t the brightest and Charm wasn''t naive enough not to notice that the women were only flocking around him because they were hoping for a chance to partner with him at some point.


    To partner with anyone, in fact. It wasn''t like the village offered a lot of choices. Charm didn''t understand it nonetheless. Picking Cruz was like taking last month''s boiled leftovers and dipping a woodlarva into it before taking a hefty bite. She had said so on multiple occasions with all the childish honesty a girl her age could muster ¨C which hadn''t exactly endeared her to the group. It was just Charm¡¯s luck for them to be on watch-duty when she decided to play with the shroomheads.


    Luckily, the strangers provided a convenient distraction.


    Cruz, the ''Quadruplets¡¯ leader, pointed a finger at Charm. ¡°We will deal with you later. Your father will be very displeased once he learns you are coming out here despite his order. But first, we will see to these strangers.¡±


    One of the newcomers stepped forward. She was covered in full body armour which admittedly looked wickedly cool to the girl.


    Among all the strangers, this woman and her partner were instilling an almost instinctive respect in Charm. The blue glow coming from the four eye-slits in their helmets had something otherworldly.


    The mantle of spears on the woman¡¯s back reminded Charm of a cape that kind of looked like the ones in the worn-out superhero comic her father had given her. To top it off, that helmet was stolen straight from the history illustration about Roman legionaries. Charm didn''t know a lot about humanity''s history, but the one book she read had given the impression that the legionaries were the top warriors of their time.


    Their entire gear also looked like nothing she had ever seen in the village, ticking all the right boxes of adventure for Charm.


    ¡°We are messengers from Clan Aerie,¡± the woman began. ¡°We have to deliver a message for Pin-¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t care about any messages, outsider! The major will deal with all of this after we arrest you,¡± Cruz interrupted and stepped forward, hitting the woman square in the face with all the power his strength-mutation gave him.


    Charmaine expected the snapping of a spine, or the woman being sent flying.


    But nothing of that sort happened.


    Instead, the heavy ¡®thud¡¯ of a fist hitting a helmet could be heard and the woman took a few befuddled steps backwards, clearly more surprised by the attack than truly hurt.


    Then things happened faster than Charm could comprehend.


    One moment the two groups were still facing off each other. The next, the heroine¡¯s partner stood in front of the Quadruplets, his spear in the finishing movement of an upwards swiping arc drawing a trail of blood behind it.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    And then he blurred!


    A fist hit the faceplate of a helmet, denting it inwards and sending Annika almost comically spinning down to the ground.


    An arc of electricity connected the warrior and another Quadruplets, causing Bojana to scream, shudder and fall, no longer in control of her limbs as she twitched and flopped around like a fish on land.


    A foot hit a knee with a resounding ¡®crack¡¯, baring white bone to the world and angling the limb in a direction it was not intended to go. Consequently, Megan also went down screaming.


    A falling Cruz was sucker-punched, then grabbed and whirled around like a rag-doll. The warrior lifted him with ease, performing some move Charm couldn''t process except for the fact that Cruz ended up above the man''s head. The pose reminded Charm of when her father picked her up as a little kid. Though, he hadn''t done so any more since Charm''s mother died.


    Once Charm''s mind caught up with what was happening, Cruz¡¯s entourage of women was on the ground and the warrior was holding a catatonic Cruz ¨C sans a leg which still stood in its boot upright on the floor, previously severed by the warrior''s first attack.


    He had Cruz at the scruff of his neck and the belt, poised as if to throw him over the balustrade ¨C to feed him to the shroomheads.


    Given that the Quadruplets always displayed a thuggish demeanour and hadn¡¯t the best of reputations in the community, Charmaine couldn¡¯t care less. The girl was nonetheless frightened by the sudden explosion of unfiltered violence.


    Then time caught up with the other strangers and they ganged up on the warrior. He was just in the process of hauling off to dispose of Cruz in the most demeaning way possible when they stopped him in the nick of time. They desperately clung to his arms and legs to prevent the fatal ¡®coup de grace¡¯.


    Again, it wasn¡¯t like Charm particularly cared about Cruz, but being eaten by a horde of shroomheads was a sad way to go. Poor Lesner''s death came back vividly to Charm''s mind at the thought of Cruz being thrown down the balustrade.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± the warrior screamed.


    ¡°Stop!¡± the busty woman shouted.


    ¡°He hit Astra!¡± came the justification for homicide.


    ¡°I am fine! No damage done, see? It didn''t even hurt,¡± the warrior''s partner tried to reassure.


    ¡°It''s a matter of principle!¡± the warrior stated matter of factly, his utterly serious tone causing a shudder to run down Charm''s spine.


    ¡°You can''t just kill a villager when we are trying to get their leader''s help!¡± one of the men argued.


    ¡°I can! We just tell them it was a tragic accident!¡± the warrior argued back, which sounded flimsy even to Charm.


    ¡°How would we explain this!¡± the warrior''s partner asked, hanging from his arm with her full weight.


    ¡°I don''t know... he tripped and the zombies got him... or something.¡± The man hesitated, his mind slowly catching up with his actions.


    Charmaine Pinault couldn''t tell why, but seeing these powerful people bickering in this manner caused something inside the girl to die. Adults just weren''t supposed to behave... like this.


    ¡°If you don''t put him down right now, there will be repercussions!¡± the busty one threatened.


    ¡°He really didn''t hurt you?¡± the warrior''s sole concern was for his partner.


    ¡°He did not!¡± the woman reassured.


    The warrior took a few sweet moments to think, which felt entirely too long for Charm, given the situation. It wasn''t that much of a moral conundrum!


    ¡°Fine, fine, I promise I won''t kill him. I guess death is going a little too far if no true damage was done.¡±


    ¡°He has a reputation for throwing people,¡± one of the other men reminded the group.


    ¡°Promise you won''t throw him!¡± the warrior''s partner apparently saw the necessity to close some loophole in their argument.


    The warrior let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°I promise I won''t throw him.¡±


    The group slowly let go of the overeager warrior, who then brought Cruz down on his knee, folding him over sideways with a ''crunch'' before rolling him off and onto his belly.


    ¡°Whoops! Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Magnus!¡±


    ¡°He will survive a few broken ribs,¡± he justified himself. ¡°They will be a good reminder. The next few days he will think of his actions every time he draws breath.¡±


    ¡°You think cutting off a leg wasn''t enough?¡± one of the men asked in a deadpan voice.


    Charm began to consider whether it was safer with the shroomheads than with these people.


    Just when she thought about sneaking away, the busty woman remembered that she was there.


    ¡°Oh, dear. I am so sorry you had to see this. Do you know why they attacked us?¡±


    Charm looked at the woman, then at the Quadruplets, of which only Megan was left conscious. The guard was holding her knee and sobbing, while the rest were out cold. Or dead. Charm couldn''t tell.


    ¡°They are village guards?¡± the girl tried questioningly, feeling like this was some trick question. ¡°It''s their job to deal with trespassing monsters...¡±


    Then, after a moment of thought, Charm added, ¡°... and people.¡± These strangers weren''t monsters after all, though they behaved like ones.


    ¡°So it''s normal to attack strangers who visit the town?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°I can''t remember anyone visiting the village,¡± Charm admitted helplessly. ¡°Ever.¡± She supposed Cruz would have behaved with a little more restraint if they got regular visits from such powerful people.


    ¡°Right.¡± The woman bit her lower lips before she smiled at Charm. ¡°Ah, where are my manners? I am Thalia and these are Mark, Astra, Magnus, Ginevra, and Thiago. We need to speak with your town''s leader.¡±


    Charm winced while she tried to memorize all the names. Offending these people felt like a bad idea. At least as long as her father wasn''t around. ¡°Are you sure about that? I am Charmaine by the way. The major won''t be happy once she hears about... this.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing to be done about it, Charmaine. We have a job to do.¡±


    Charm still wasn''t convinced whether this was a good idea, but she led the strangers to the village square ¨C after they had done a quick and dirty job of first aid for the Quadruplets. Now, they were carrying them as best as possible considering their injuries.


    The village square was where the remaining villagers normally met for all sorts of reasons like trade, events, and announcements.


    It was also right in the middle of the settlement, so the group didn''t escape attention for long, but long enough to make it to the town hall. Soon, they were being followed by interested villagers and mere moments after their arrival at the square they were surrounded by more guards, experienced ones this time.


    The door to the town hall flew open and Iria Vencer, the village''s major stepped outside. ¡°What happened? Who are you people?¡±


    The woman who had been identified as Astra stepped forward, followed by Charm''s sparkling eyes who expected more exciting things to happen.


    Astra took off her helmet, revealing the most beautiful face Charm had ever seen. Astra''s glowing eyes were even more beautiful now that they weren''t hidden by the helmet. And there were also glowing lines flowing along the woman''s neck and up to her temples like tribal tattoos.


    ¡°We are very sorry for the inconvenience. We are messengers from Clan Aerie and had a small altercation with your guards. They are alive! But hurt.¡±


    ¡°They also killed shroomheads!¡± someone called from the crowd and others joined in.


    ¡°There are dozens at the wall!¡±


    ¡°They desecrated our dead!¡±


    ''That was quick'', Charm thought to herself, wondering whether a villager had watched the whole incident.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Astra asked.


    Vencer pressed her lips together and glared at the group with undisguised displeasure. ¡°Since you aren''t from here, you probably don''t know better, but we venerate our dead. The shroomheads are a living reminder of our sacrifices and they keep the other monsters away from the settlement. So killing them is a great taboo.¡±


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Astra cleared her throat. ¡°Look, we don''t seek trouble. The shroomheads were in our way and your guards attacked us first. All we are searching for is Ancient Balthasar Pinault. We have a message for him from Ancient Mary Frost.¡±


    Charm drew in a sharp breath at her father''s name. She didn''t know about this ''Ancient'' thing, but if these people were here to see her father, then Vencer would assuredly do everything in her power to prevent it.


    No attention was paid to Charm at this point, so there was nobody to stop her when she turned and ran to the staircase that led up to the next level. Taking two steps at a time she ran to a luxurious house next to the central stem, her family''s home. It couldn''t have taken more than a minute or two before she found her father in his herb garden, drinking tea with yet another stranger.


    Charm didn''t have time to wonder about unknown people showing up out of nowhere from one day to the other. She only stared at the woman for a second while gathering her breath and gesticulating wildly.


    ¡°Dad... come quick! They... are gonna... kill each other.¡±


    Balthasar Pinault frowned at his wayward daughter. ¡°Who is killing who?¡±


    ¡°Messengers... from... Aerie... trouble with... the villagers.¡±


    Balthasar''s expression turned stony and he put his tea down before addressing his visitor. ¡°If you''ll excuse me for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the woman replied.


    Charm wasn''t sure what to do as her father ran off quickly. She gave the woman a wary look and the stranger smiled at her, which looked a little bit too artificial for Charm''s tastes. In the end, she chose to follow her father and see what would happen on the square.


    When she arrived back at the scene, the square looked nothing like before. The earth was scorched with black marks and the village guards had taken a very respectful distance from the group of newcomers. The warrior who had shortened Cruz by a leg had taken a new hostage. He stood on top of the town hall, holding Vencer above his head threateningly, clearly intending to drop her if the guards did so much as twitch.


    Charm began to wonder whether that was his thing.


    Balthasar meanwhile was marching right in between the two fighting groups with suppressed anger in his steps. ¡°All of you idiots, stand down or I will spank you like the little children you are! Nobody uses violence in my place and gets away with it!¡±

 Ch 114 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Kill them!¡± someone among the crowd shouted while one of the guards thrust his spear at me.


    I redirected the tip with my armour, then caught the shaft behind the blade and pulled forward.


    The unfortunate guard lost his footing and stumbled with his face right into the sole of my boot which rearranged his face, hopefully for the better.


    ¡°Just what is wrong with these people!?¡± Thalia screamed with suppressed frustration, swiping her wings back and forth to keep the guards at bay while Mark fired arrow after arrow, taking non-lethal shots at limbs with uncanny precision. It was as if he could predict in which direction his target would try to dodge.


    Thiago and Ginevra were the only ones having real trouble with the guards, so I sent out another lightning bolt, singing the ground between my comrades and their attackers. I didn¡¯t want to kill or injure them, just force them to retreat and give my comrades some room.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Vencer screamed and gestured for more of her people to join the fray. ¡°Get them!¡±


    I tried to think of a way to defuse the devolving situation, but nothing came to mind. These people were insane and not listening to reason. It was true that beating up their guards and killing a few of their zombies hadn¡¯t helped, but there wasn¡¯t much we could have done differently without knowing their culture!


    Yes, maybe we could have avoided killing shrooms, but who in their right mind would venerate a monster, a parasite who animated dead bodies!?


    Yes, Magnus could have held back a little more, but the stupid guards attacked first.


    And what was wrong with their major? Vencer hadn¡¯t even tried to calm down her people. Instead, she had ordered her guards to attack soon after giving us the justification of us violating her people¡¯s customs.


    Disregarding injured pride and local traditions, what leader would have her people attack six paired warriors who had braved this world¡¯s wilderness!?


    They behaved like they were totally oblivious to the social relationships and power level between us! They were from some small, failing village while we were messengers from one of the big clans! Instead of treating us like the dignitaries we were, they were trying to take our gear and arrest us as if we were common vagabonds!


    ¡°For the last time,¡± I called out. ¡°Step down or we will stop holding back!¡±


    Jumping back, I dodged another spear and swiped my own to force the guard back.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this!¡± Magnus announced in a dangerous tone and flash stepped, appearing right in front of Vencer, and hitting her right on the chin with a perfect uppercut. Before the guards next to the major could do anything, he hefted the disoriented woman and flung her upwards, using his entire body in what looked like a weightlifter¡¯s final effort.


    He flash-stepped again and the guards¡¯ weapons swiped through empty air where Magnus had been just a moment before.


    Appearing on top of the town hall, Magnus caught Vencer¡¯s limp form and held her up for everyone to see.


    ¡°Stand down, or else!¡±


    Seeing their major in the hands of their opponents made the guards and townsfolk hesitate where my words were ignored.


    ¡°Everyone,¡± I tried once more for diplomacy. ¡°If you just lower your weapons and allow us to talk about this, I am sure there is a solution to our problem that doesn¡¯t involve more people getting hurt.¡±


    I looked around, searching the eyes of the people around us.


    For the moment, the fighting had stopped, but as the silent stand-off continued, another problem became blatantly clear. Nobody stepped forward as the authority person next in line. These people, it seemed inconceivable to me that they had no chain of command, but it looked like this was indeed their current problem.


    Thankfully, a new element inserted itself into the mix in the form of a man whose plant-like mutations had a strong resemblance to the girl we met at the wall.


    ¡°All of you idiots, stand down or I will spank you like the little children you are! Nobody uses violence in my place and gets away with it!¡±


    I gestured for the others to lower their weapons, which was received well by the newcomer because he gave us an approving nod.


    His eyes wandered consequently to the guards and to Magnus, who was still holding Vencer hostage. A few of the guards had climbed on top of the town hall by now and were threatening Magnus with their weapons, but they didn¡¯t dare to come too close since Magnus was holding their leader.


    ¡°Them first!¡± Magnus called out, throwing a venomous glare at the guards.


    I sighed inwardly, hoping Magnus wouldn¡¯t get carried away again. ¡°Magnus! Put her down.¡±


    Magnus looked between me and the guards, which was not fast enough decision-making for the newcomer. Out of nowhere, fibrous roots broke out of the ground as well as the town hall¡¯s roof, arresting the feet of every guard and townsfolk.


    ¡°What the heck!?¡±


    Magnus tethered dangerously, his own feet also caught up in the suddenly revealed plant material which was apparently undermining the structure of the entire village.


    More roots coalesced into two giant tentacles, one giving the rooted Magnus a lazy slap while the other caught the unconscious major.


    My partner was flung off the roof in a low trajectory, hitting the wall of a building next to us and breaking it. The wall collapsed, burying Magnus beneath a pile of debris.


    I winced, but I had seen that Magnus¡¯s armour was intact. He would have a bruise, but he survived worse when Ancient Zacharias gave us a beating.


    The newcomer turned to face me with a disgruntled expression. ¡°Now to you lot. Why are you causing a ruckus in my village?¡±


    I took off my helmet which I had put back on as soon as the fighting started. Then I bowed to the man, already having a suspicion about who we were facing.


    ¡°We are messengers from Clan Aerie, carrying an important message from Ancient Mary Frost for Ancient Balthasar Pinault. We are deeply sorry for the damage and injuries caused to your people, but the villagers wouldn¡¯t listen even after we offered to make reparations for perceived offence.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The girl from earlier, Charmaine, ran up to Balthasar and tucked at his sleeve. ¡°Listen to them, father. They could have killed the stupid Quintuplets after they hit the lady, but they didn¡¯t.¡±


    He looked down at his daughter and frowned. ¡°If you met them earlier, why did you bring them to Vencer instead of me?¡±


    Charmaine threw up her hands. ¡°How should I have known? They wanted to see the village leader. Not you.¡±


    Balthasar clicked his tongue and swiped a displeased gaze over the rooted townsfolk and guards, apparently searching for someone. Having found his target, the root network brought a plain-looking villager over to us, handing the man¡¯s feet from root to root as if the man was floating.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Balthasar asked.


    ¡°They killed shroomheads!¡± the villager accused.


    ¡°To get past them,¡± I clarified.


    ¡°And injured our guards!¡± the villager accused.


    ¡°After they attacked us,¡± I clarified.


    ¡°And then you took our major hostage!¡± the villager accused.


    ¡°After she ordered the guards to arrest us and take our gear!¡± I clarified, finally having enough and raising my voice. ¡°Thalia, what''s wrong with these people? Do they suffer from some slow-acting fungus infection reducing their brain function or what!?¡±


    The villager gasped at the accusation.


    Meanwhile, Thalia hummed while thoughtfully massaging her earlobe. ¡°I don''t believe an infection would work that slowly. However, they might suffer some massive vitamin D deficit because of all this fog. It''s proven that sun deprivation can impact cognitive capacities, causing stress which leads to heightened aggression and readiness to assume risk. From what little we have seen of them, it stands to reason that their isolated community might suffer some overconfidence. Judging by the man¡¯s emotional state, there might also be a political reason why they don¡¯t want strangers to be involved with Balthasar. Ah, hit the nail on the head, did I?¡±


    Thalia shot the villager a gleeful expression, reminding me of a firehorn having caught its prey.


    The villager glared at Thalia. ¡°Is that supposed to be an insult, mindreader?¡±


    ¡°Though, aside from the matter with Balthasar, I believe part of the problem is also an isolated community slowly going nuts,¡± Thalia gave her final verdict, ignoring the villager. ¡°This man gives me bad vibes. His feelings towards us are xenophobic and rigid because we are strangers. The same goes for more than half of the people here.¡±


    ¡°I don''t have to listen to these insults!¡± the villager blustered.


    Balthasar gave Thalia a judging look. ¡°You are a Tate.¡±


    Then his eyes wandered to me. ¡°And one of Mary¡¯s ilk.¡±


    He let out a long sigh before returning his attention to the villager. ¡°Tudeus, why did you and Vencer let it get this far.¡±


    Tudeus looked at the ground. ¡°People coming here and asking for you can have only one reason. They want something, and if that something causes you to leave the village, we are left without protection.¡±


    Balthasar frowned. ¡°So you decided if you could take care of the problem without involving me, all the better?¡±


    The villager nodded.


    Balthasar returned his attention to me. ¡°It seems like I have to apologize ¨C partly. Perhaps I should have held back a little more before hitting your partner.¡±


    I waved my hand. ¡°Oh, Magnus is fine. He has been hit harder.¡±


    ¡°Though, he will be mad once he regains consciousness,¡± Mark mumbled from behind me.


    As if prophesied, a mad cackling came from beneath the debris and discharges of lightning danced along the ground before one of the larger pieces of the wall moved, revealing Magnus¡¯s armoured form as he pushed up the debris lying on top of him.


    ¡°Ah, if you would allow me,¡± I talked quickly to stop Balthasar. ¡°Mutation, he¡¯s a little unhinged when there¡¯s fighting!¡±


    I dodged around the Ancient and ran up to Magnus, sending out a bunch of my filaments to wrap around him and prevent him from flash-stepping anywhere. ¡°Magnus stop!¡±


    He threw off the piece of wall hindering him, still chuckling, and I karate-chopped him when his glowing eyes locked on Balthasar. ¡°Magnus! The fighting is over!¡±


    We already talked about his battle mania in the past and Magnus always came up with some excuse as to why he was still in control of himself despite his crazy laughing. So far, it had worked out in our favour but after this incident, I was inclined to believe that Magnus was in denial.


    As long as it was a normal fight, his assertion to be in control seemed true enough. But somewhere along the line, he had started overreacting whenever something threatened me. So far, I was willing to overlook it, but this was the last straw. The next chance I got I would talk to Gaia and Thalia about the problem.


    Still on his knees, Magnus looked at me and gripped his spetum tightly to stay upright. Something within him seemingly warred between cold intellect and instinctual behaviour, but at least he stopped laughing. At last, he rose and swiped the dust off his armour. ¡°I see. That¡¯s good.¡±


    I sighed in relief and helped him to his feet before we returned together to our comrades.


    ¡°Do you see now?¡± Tudeus asked. ¡°They are dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is, but can I hit him?¡± Magnus asked, still a bit wobbly on his feet. ¡°My dad always said: Light hits to the back of the head improve the ability to think... though I believe it has more to do with motivation.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Balthasar replied quickly after having listened to his quip. ¡°I won''t suffer any more violence in this village! Tudeus, go away! The same goes for the rest of you!¡± He gestured at the villagers and the guards. ¡°I can''t believe Vencer and you ill-begotten bunch tried to arrest travellers who made it through the fog! None of you comes even close to partnered warriors from the clans!¡±


    He gestured with more shooing motions at the villagers, who followed his orders like scolded children. ¡°Take care of the wounded and keep Vencer in check once she wakes up. I don¡¯t want to hear anything from her until all the visitors are gone.¡±


    Once the crowd was dispersed, Balthasar turned to us.¡°As for you people, tell me your message and be gone before you cause any more trouble!¡±


    I searched a satchel at my hip and revealed the letter. ¡°Ancient Mary Frost sends her regards. She gave us this letter for you with the request to bring you to her so you can have a discussion. Your old comrades are causing a lot of destruction and she needs to know which side you are on.¡±


    Balthasar took the letter and read it, staying silent while his eyes flew over the text.


    Once he finished, he folded up the letter and put it into a pocket. ¡°You have risked much to bring this to me, but I have to deny Mary¡¯s request. I cannot leave this village no matter who asks or it might fall.¡±


    Thalia narrowed her eyes at the ancient. ¡°If we might know¡­ who else asked you to join their cause?¡±


    Balthasar looked at our psychic with a surprised expression. ¡°Miss Thalia, you are a little too good with that ability of yours.¡±


    I raised my chin. ¡°Mary made it clear in her instructions that she believes you would be at the very least a neutral party and that it won¡¯t do us any good to approach you with less than total honesty.¡±


    ¡°If you must know, Ancient Nisha Dawson from Clan Vier arrived just a few hours before you. She is currently at my abode. Like you, she sought my assistance in this newest conflict.¡± Balthasar shook his head. ¡°Just like her, I have to deny Mary. Aside from my responsibilities here, I just don¡¯t want to take part in another conflict. I and the people with me have come here to avoid human conflict. I am not a pacifist, but I don¡¯t see a reason to be drawn into your affairs.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing we can do to sway your mind?¡± I asked. ¡°I am sure the Aerie can absorb a few more displaced people. A few hundred more or less won¡¯t matter after taking in the Jeng.¡±


    Balthasar shook his head. ¡°We are doing fine enough for ourselves.¡±


    A disapproving snort from my partner made me want to turn around and cuff him.


    ¡°With the uppermost respect I can muster, Balthasar, but it doesn¡¯t look to me like your people are doing fine.¡± Magnus gestured at the village around us. ¡°It¡¯s plain to see that your village is slowly dying out. Your people are a xenophobic mess from what little I got to see. They have what looks like a little death cult going on with their ¡®veneration¡¯ of the parasites beyond the wall. And it looks like you can¡¯t even spare the manpower to look after a child who should have no business at the village wall.¡±


    I held my breath, feeling like Magnus had spoken a bit too candidly.


    Judging by his expression, Balthasar was not pleased with my partner¡¯s point of view, but after throwing a scolding glare at his daughter at the mention of her being on the wall, he let out a defeated sigh.


    ¡°At least you believe your own words,¡± the ancient admitted. ¡°Denying it would make me a liar.¡±


    Thalia raised a hand. ¡°So, why don¡¯t you allow us to at least talk to this Nisha you mentioned? We know so little about the Vier¡¯s motivation to join the Thich. From our point of view, we are the recipients of an unprovoked attack. If you want to take a neutral position in all this, the least you could do is to provide us with the same amenities granted to Nisha.¡±


    The Ancient looked taken aback at Thalia¡¯s accusation. But seen from our point of view, Thalia was right with her assessment. Balthasar had invited Nisha into his house while he tried to throw us out as soon as possible.


    His left eye began to twitch in what looked like an unhealthy quirk showing irritation.


    Finally, Balthasar came to a decision and gestured down the road towards a stairway. ¡°You are right of course. It was rude of me to try and send you off without so much as allowing you to rest while I invited others into my house. Just make sure that there will be no fighting. No matter whether you agree or disagree with Nisha.¡±

 Ch 115 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Magnus***


    I didn¡¯t know what to expect from this whole mission, but sitting at a table with one of our enemies and drinking tea wasn¡¯t it.


    Right after Thalia had leaned onto Balthasar¡¯s supposed neutrality, the ancient brought us to his herb garden at the Pinault homestead. Once here, he commanded his roots and vines to form a large table and enough chairs to accommodate everyone.


    Balthasar had nurtured a cute, little garden trimmed to perfection, reminding me of those English country gardens back on Earth. The various plants were left to grow wild, but everything was planted in neat little patches and kept pristine with no weeds in sight. If the chosen plants hadn¡¯t been from Tirnanog, there would have been nothing to be wary of, given the wholesome ambience of the surroundings.


    Our group was taking up most of the space at the table, but Balthasar had made it wide enough to give Ancient Nisha Dawson some space. The Vier representative had tried to hide a slightly sour expression when we had shown up, but she hadn¡¯t made any aggressive moves towards us or said anything.


    Astra and Thalia took care of introductions, for which I was glad because I was currently busy with some self-introspection.


    While the others were testing the waters and sharing idle chit-chat about Mary with the two ancients, I was trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.


    Astra had been pointing out my not-so-recent behaviour quirks during combat more and more often. Like the mad laughing and the risky fighting style. Or my tendency to opt for violent solutions and throw myself headfirst into the battle.


    So far, I have been able to justify all of my actions with one reason or the other. At least I told myself so.


    But at the end of the day, I was no longer able to ignore that I had a problem. I could have dismantled the idiot guards in a more reasonable manner. They weren¡¯t paired warriors and posed no significant threat. Beating them up would have been more than enough.


    An argument could be made that with their mutations and abilities unknown, a decisive blow which ended the fight without any possibility of retaliation was the best choice. But¡­ someone with such an ace up his sleeve wouldn¡¯t have punched Astra like some thug. Not that I had stayed my hand long enough to give it any thought.


    It wasn¡¯t like I was stupid all of a sudden.


    It all came back to acting before thinking.


    Later, I was also a little off-kilter when the villagers attacked us. And as much as I desired to deny it, I would have charged Balthasar like a barbarian if Astra hadn¡¯t stopped me.


    Frowning, I tried to figure out when my impaired risk assessment had started to become a problem. Was the current me still the Magnus who stepped foot on Tirnanog? Or had something changed since my arrival?


    To my horror, I had to admit I wasn¡¯t entirely sure.


    The old me was a man out for a vendetta. A vendetta he deep down knew could only end with his death. I hadn¡¯t been sure how far I would go on my mission, and each day I survived I only tried to maybe go one step further.


    Because each step I took would mean a little more pain for those who hurt my family.


    It had started with joining the organisation, and becoming one of their agents after they revealed the truth behind my parents¡¯ death and my sisters¡¯ disappearance. I had worked my way up the ranks from nothing more than an errand boy and spy to one of the key members leading one of the organisation¡¯s larger resistance cells. After all, there was no such thing as a single leader within the organisation.


    The old me wasn¡¯t in the best of physical conditions. I wasn¡¯t the special-ops guy who infiltrated a house to assassinate a target and steal important documents, then escape while being chased by several highly trained cops and bodyguards with combat augmentations.


    No, I was the friendly neighbour from two houses over who would sit in his car and overlook the stoplight, then run over the target, all the while professing his innocence and how everything had been a horrible accident.


    The old me was calculating and avoided physical conflict out of necessity. The organisation trained all of their operatives. In principle, I had received the same training that said special-ops guy had. But it would have never crossed my mind to take on one of those men in a direct confrontation. My body just wasn¡¯t as fit as it would have been required.


    This changed with my arrival in Tirnanog.


    My new body allowed me to choose a different path of action. To solve the problem by punching it instead of using a roundabout solution.


    Now that I was trying to confront my problems, I would be lying to myself if I had said I hadn¡¯t revelled in the ability and fitness of my new self.


    It would have been easy to attribute the problem to the hormonal issues of an altered body. But hunting monsters and killing my opponents with my own hands instead of by proxy, it was a new experience and I loved it! So I chose a more direct, physical solution whenever it seemed possible. Even if a social solution might have been better, or waiting for the fight to end safely hidden behind bodyguards.


    Okay, I probably never should admit that to a psychologist.


    At the same time, there was also the aspect of my body changing and mutating. Were the mutations messing with my head, or was I the one who was messed up?


    The mad laughing had begun right after my first mutation. Back then, I thought it to be an expression of my newfound fitness. A coping mechanism in the face of a deadly challenge. It wasn¡¯t like I had previous experience with being chased by a deadly predator.


    The laughing had started with my first mutation and had gotten worse with each additional mutation.


    The first time I could remember truly losing it was with the Caravaners after we added the mindflayer mutation. Slaughtering those bugs and the strange shapeshifter. It might not have been obvious, but I already enjoyed the fighting back then. And the thunder eel certainly didn¡¯t help. It seemed like it was especially hard to hold back when Astra was in the line of fire.


    I looked down at my tea and decided to use one of my sub-identities to keep thinking over the problem. Maybe hold me back if that was possible, though it felt like the sub-identities were a part of the problem. They made fighting a little too easy. The sub-identities had magnified my ability to act on what felt like pure instinct instead of holding back to consider a situation before charging in.


    Maybe I could make it a point to pause and consider the situation before acting in the future.


    The residue of some tea herbs at the bottom of my cup irked me and I used a spoon to fish them out when Thalia¡¯s raised voice drew my attention.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious about claiming us to be at fault here!¡± the psychic proclaimed with more than a little fervour in her voice.


    Nisha shrugged, seemingly unbothered by Thalia¡¯s outbreak. She was a lean woman with white hair. For an altered human she wasn¡¯t very big.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    She had only reached my chest when she stood earlier for Balthasar to introduce her.


    Except for her totally white eyes she looked human, giving no hint to what her abilities might be.


    Balthasar and his daughter had this whole dryad and druid theme going on, which at least allowed us to assume they had something ¡®planty¡¯ going on. Maybe poison too.


    If the other ancients were anything to go by, then we didn¡¯t want to fight Nisha.


    Felix and Mary had descended on a battlefield with thousands of participants and changed the course of the fight. I hadn¡¯t gotten the opportunity to witness their full abilities, but it would have been foolish to believe them to be anything but magnificent.


    Zacharias had given me a beating with nothing but physical prowess, sending me to the hospital for a few days of recovery. Which was no small feat given my starfish regeneration. And apparently, Zacharias had some cloning ability, meaning there were more of him, turning him into a small one-man army.


    He hadn¡¯t even used a tenth of his full strength and he had broken my body and my armour.


    And then there were Balthasar¡¯s mind-boggling powers. The guy was controlling some root system permeating the entirety of this village. Was the Balthasar sitting next to us even his real body? Or was he some facsimile, intended to ease and entertain us while his real body hid in some untouchable bunker? Or was he the roots? Some human-turned-plant monster the size of the village?


    I supposed it would have been too easy to just ask him and get a straight answer. There was no way he would just explain his abilities when asked.


    No, we certainly did not want to get into an altercation with Nisha. Especially not without knowing for sure that Balthasar would intervene on our behalf.


    Nisha played with her hair, pretending to study it with a disinterested expression as she thought of an answer. ¡°The Vier are on Thich¡¯s side for the same reasons as Hochberg ultimately sided with Aerie. I won¡¯t claim to know the entirety of the game Zach is playing, but I believe my people can benefit from the war no matter what his goals might be. I hoped Greta would decide differently and join our side, but we didn¡¯t need her anyway.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Nisha and Balthasar were apparently out of the loop regarding Greta¡¯s death. Was it wise to inform them that Vanya had taken over as Hochberg¡¯s Matriarch? Had Vanya somehow managed to keep the information from slipping out?


    And how was it possible for them to not know? The Thich delegation had a communication device and should have reported Greta¡¯s demise to Zacharias. There should have been plenty of time to do so.


    Was it stupid to give away such an incredible feat of counterintelligence? I hadn¡¯t expected it, but it looked like Vanya had managed to root out at least all Vier spies within Hochberg. And Thich was clearly not sharing everything they knew with Vier.


    It might be worth it to sow a tiny seed of doubt between Vier and Thich.


    I was still thinking while Nisha continued, ¡°Our two clans have a long history as allies. Our economies are intertwined by trade. I won¡¯t pretend we are fighting this war for anything else than economic reasons and power. And getting a good standing with Earth might be a nice side benefit. They have been trying for years to regain some power. I am sick of watching my people fight for survival without much of an improvement or hope for things to change.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Astra shot back. ¡°Hasn¡¯t the great Clan War been all about removing Earth¡¯s influence from Tirnanog? To stop them using us as a grand experiment?¡±


    Nisha wore an intrigued expression as she tilted her head as if looking down on a defiant child. ¡°It¡¯s not like they ever stopped using us as their experiment. All we achieved was to boot their physical presence off Tirnanog. They are still watching us and receiving their data all the same. Maybe letting them stay wouldn¡¯t have been so bad. Maybe they would have more of an incentive to build a proper civilisation on Tirnanog if they had a proper presence in this world.¡±


    I choked on the tea I was drinking, which naturally drew everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°May I ask what¡¯s so funny?¡± Nisha asked with a slightly irritated tone.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, lady.¡± I coughed. ¡°I know you haven¡¯t been to Earth recently, but if there¡¯s anything further from the government¡¯s goals, then it is setting up Tirnanog as future competition. Same reason as to why they aren¡¯t seriously working towards colonizing the solar system. Right now, they still have the excuse that space colonies would inevitably fail because the technology isn¡¯t there. Humans being unable to adapt to microgravity and radiation and all that shindig.¡±


    I waved a hand at our surroundings. ¡°But guess what? They had that technology all along! They just aren¡¯t giving it to the masses. Longevity, self-healing. They have all that and more. Given what I have seen here on Tirnanog, tweaking a few chromosomes to allow people to live in space can¡¯t be too hard! But they don¡¯t want that and keep all the nice gene editing restricted to their elites. They don¡¯t want to colonize space for the same reason they don¡¯t want to colonize Tirnanog, even though it would be way easier! Don¡¯t you see it?¡±


    Nisha frowned.


    ¡°They don¡¯t do it because they have figured out their system. They turned their world into a nice little bubble of conformity ever since it was created in 2834! Since then, they managed to stamp out the last bit of national individuality on Earth. Whatever names countries and societies had is nothing more than a geographic label nowadays. And they kept their system running for a thousand years without major hiccups. Some people might dislike the current order, but there is absolutely nothing they can do about it.¡±


    I gestured around us. ¡°A village like this one, the clans, you are their biggest nightmare, lady. Small, tightly knit groups with their own social structures and values different from what they established. You have proven they don¡¯t know how to stay in control while setting up their system elsewhere. And giving up control is not their thing. Nisha, if Earth ever decides to colonize Tirnanog in earnest, then you and your people have a problem. Because it means they found a surefire way to stamp out the clans and establish a second world government on this planet.¡±


    Nisha was about to reply, but Balthasar was faster. ¡°You seem very convinced of this. Care to share why you believe you know them so well?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Because I worked within the confines of their system for and against them. The world government¡¯s bureaucracy isn¡¯t something you can defeat once it is as firmly established as it is on Earth. It would take a mighty outside influence to cause them to stumble. They have perfected the technique of keeping their people just happy enough to keep most of them from revolting while suppressing those who might incite others to rebellion. Some with ambitions and the character traits to work with the system are elevated and used to keep the government running. And everyone who isn¡¯t convenient lands on Tirnanog sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°And you were someone who wasn¡¯t convenient, Tulkas?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Highly inconvenient.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may.¡± Nisha shook her head. ¡°You might be right on some level. But if Earth truly doesn¡¯t have any further goals for Tirnanog than continuing their research, then nothing truly changes for my people or this conflict. Our aspiration for resources and power remains. And with Jeng¡¯s inevitable collapse next winter, a lot of land will be up for grabs.¡±


    I looked towards the others who seemingly also realized the problem with these negotiations.


    Nisha was operating on an entirely different set of assumptions than us.


    From her point of view, the blow which had been dealt to Jeng¡¯s infrastructure was fatal. All Vier and Thich had to do was wait for next summer, by which Jeng¡¯s starving population would have either torn itself apart or succumbed to the forest¡¯s monsters.


    They didn¡¯t know about the wormgate and that Aerie had evacuated the non-combatants. Jeng still wasn¡¯t in a well-defensible position, but they certainly wouldn¡¯t collapse next winter.


    The question was, should we reveal this to Nisha?


    If the changed situation would deter Vier from giving the Thich further assistance, it might turn a battle of equals into a one-sided beat down. But if it didn¡¯t, we might give away tactical knowledge which might allow us to tilt the war massively in our favour. It would make a huge difference for Thich and Vier if they knew their opponents had a miniature wormhole to ferry around supplies and troops between their industrial base and the frontline.


    As much as I wanted to educate Nisha on the errors in her assumptions, doing so might make everything harder for us.


    ¡°So we can only agree to disagree then?¡± Astra asked. ¡°You are solely in the war to take out potential competition and grab Jeng¡¯s lands in the aftermath?¡±


    Nisha inclined her head. ¡°If that is the least outcome my people can get, then yes.¡±


    Astra nodded. ¡°Then it might be time for you to leave.¡±


    The displeasure at the casual dismissal was hard to mistake on Nisha¡¯s face. ¡°What gives you the right-¡±


    ¡°Balthasar¡¯s claimed neutrality gives us the right,¡± Astra interrupted. ¡°You had plenty of time to talk with him before we arrived. It¡¯s time for us to do the same.¡±


    Nisha¡¯s lips pressed together tightly.


    Balthasar only nodded at his fellow ancient. ¡°The youngsters have a point, Nisha. They are brazen in how they are leveraging my own words against me, but it is you and our other comrades who had to turn this into a political power play. If I want to stay out of it, then I can¡¯t give you any amenities.¡±


    Nisha stood abruptly and stepped away from the table. ¡°If that¡¯s your conviction, Balthasar. I know how stubborn you are. I only hope for your well-being should you change your mind. I will take my leave now. We will see each other again?¡±


    Balthasar nodded. ¡°In a few decades at least. Once Charmaine is grown up I might travel again. Or whenever you decide to pay me another visit. I am sure one or the other issue might give a reason. Till then, I certainly won¡¯t leave this place.¡±


    Nisha nodded and turned, then strolled out of the garden.


    I quickly reached over and took Astra¡¯s hand, using our special communication method to share a suggestion with her.


    Astra looked doubtful but nodded after a moment of contemplation. ¡°Nisha?¡±


    The ancient turned around and locked eyes with Astra.


    ¡°Make sure your friendship with Zacharias is mutual before you bet your people¡¯s welfare on his plans. From your comments today, we got the impression he might not be as forthcoming with his allies as he should be.¡±


    The ancient looked confused for a moment but gave off a dismissive snort before she stormed off.

 Ch 116 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Astra***


    It took a few minutes of contemplative silence among the group until Ginevra confidently announced, ¡°I can¡¯t sense Nisha¡¯s presence any more.¡±


    ¡°Is it safe to talk now?¡± I asked, addressing my question towards Balthasar.


    The ancient shrugged. ¡°Who knows? Among all the ancients, Nisha was always the one with the keenest senses. But I can confirm that she left the village ¨C which is as much information security as you will ever get with her around. Though I don¡¯t believe she would risk spying on me after I made clear I wanted nothing to do with this conflict.¡±


    I tilted my head, considering what I had learned of Gurney¡¯s ¡®ancients¡¯ so far. It looked like the bioengineer had been going for excellence in specialized fields with his personal guards. If Nisha was the ancient version of a sensor, then was it even possible to keep secrets while she was in the same general area?


    Balthasar rolled his eyes at our hesitation. ¡°You can talk. Nisha is good, but she isn¡¯t omniscient. As long as you keep your voices down, your secrets should be safe enough. Even she shouldn¡¯t be able to pick out our voices from among the village¡¯s background noise.¡±


    I nodded and began explaining how events played out from our point of view, and as per Mary¡¯s advice, I left nothing out. It looked like Balthasar already knew most of what we had to say, though there were a few things which were new to him.


    Having learned that there was a possibility of Nisha listening in, we didn¡¯t share that Aerie had a working wormhole. However, we assured Balthasar that Jeng¡¯s collapse was far from as inevitable as Nisha believed.


    ¡°¡­ which is why I think that even if you hide in this village, some party will come for you sooner or later. Whether it is Earth¡¯s government, Thich¡¯s slavers, or Vier¡¯s ambitions,¡± I ended my explanations with an inviting gesture after having revealed as much of the current political situation as I thought to be safe. ¡°If you ask me, after the attack on Jeng this conflict is already way past the point at which things can return to normal. No matter the outcome, it will affect all the Clans.¡±


    Balthasar seemed thoughtful, but not convinced he had indeed stakes in this conflict.


    ¡°I understand your plight, but it changes nothing for me. Mary was always a good friend and I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to talk with her. Sadly, I have my responsibilities here and can¡¯t leave.¡± Balthasar¡¯s eyes landed on his daughter who was playing with a ball, using the house wall to bounce it off and catch it. ¡°The villagers and my daughter need me.¡±


    ¡°Can you explain why you are still here?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°From what I have seen, I would have already packed my things and left. This is no place to live. The atmosphere among the villagers is toxic, to say the least. Your village is badly guarded aside from the protection your roots provide. Don¡¯t take me wrong, those roots are impressive, but you clearly aren¡¯t omniscient with their use or you would have stopped us upon entering the village.¡±


    Balthasar looked irked, but he nodded. ¡°I am actually very sensitive with them, but it¡¯s hard to discern one bug from another when there are hundreds of them crawling over your body.¡±


    He sighed and looked off into the distance. ¡°This place was better, once. We founded this settlement with our hopes and dreams, you know. We just wanted a place away from the other humans. Somewhere where we wouldn¡¯t be drawn into the conflicts of others. Just like this one. And even if the villagers wanted to leave, it¡¯s hard to let go, even if living here is no longer tenable. I see it as my duty to protect this place till the last of them is gone.¡±


    Thalia shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a morbid conviction.¡±


    ¡°And unfair towards the child,¡± Magnus added. ¡°Having a kid in a place like this is criminal. Are there even other kids around, or is she the last surviving one? Can¡¯t imagine the survival rate is very high if they are allowed to play at the wall.¡±


    I elbowed him trying to be inconspicuous while I messaged, ¡®What¡¯s wrong with you? Poke him some more and I won¡¯t care if he smacks you to kingdom come.¡¯


    ¡®Just trying to get him out of his comfort zone. Am I the only one who noticed that this stupid, old hermit has a serious mental problem? The villagers too, but he seems apathetic towards the world. If we don¡¯t get a rise out of him, he will just stay in his garden watching the herbs grow.¡¯


    ¡°What else do you expect me to do?¡± Balthasar gestured angrily at our surroundings. ¡°You have seen my power. It¡¯s not like I can uproot myself and transport everyone to safety or I would have done so. And without the root system, I am not strong enough to protect them. Charmaine doesn¡¯t have the power to make the journey out of the Mycelium. I have already lost her mother to this fog. I won¡¯t risk losing Charmaine too. And I forbade her playing at the wall several times. If she doesn¡¯t listen, there isn¡¯t much I can do aside from locking her up for her safety and I am not willing to go quite that far.¡±


    I bit my lower lip, remembering what Magnus had done to quell Isaac¡¯s rowdy behaviour. It was dark psychology, but I couldn¡¯t argue with the result. Isaac hadn¡¯t run off a single time since that day.


    Thalia whistled appreciatively. ¡°And there is the root of the problem.¡±


    I raised a hand. ¡°Balthasar, what if we could get your daughter to Mount Aerie for you? She would be safe there with a whole clan between her and any monsters.¡±


    Balthasar shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone else with my daughter.¡±


    Magnus leaned forward and grinned. ¡°But it would just take an instant, you know. No risky journey between here and there. Since we can teleport.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s some claim.¡± Balthasar scoffed. ¡°Next thing you tell me is you have a way back to Earth!¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡± Magnus gestured for me while he got out of his chair. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s set up a jaunt point and get Charmaine a playmate to prove our point.¡±


    I hesitated, wondering for a moment what he meant before I caught up. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s a good idea? What about the fog and the spores?¡±


    I looked towards Thalia.


    ¡°Isaac will be fine if you give him the fungicide and limit his visit, but are you sure this is a good idea?¡± Thalia replied.


    Charmaine instantly stopped playing with her ball and turned towards us. It was clear where her attention had been the entire time. Not with her game, but listening in on the adults. ¡°You can get another kid to come here?¡±


    I placed a hand on my partner¡¯s shoulder and switched to the chat system to keep this private, ¡®What¡¯s your angle with this? I don¡¯t want you to risk Isaac just to prove something to Balthasar. He might change his mind when he sees our jaunt ability, but he could just as likely decide to stay.¡¯


    ¡®I don¡¯t want to change Balthasar¡¯s decision at all. That old man¡¯s ways are as rigid as a rod of steel,¡¯ Magnus messaged back. ¡®I want to influence Charmaine into wanting to leave. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on between them, but that kid has serious attention issues. I don¡¯t know whether he is just a bad father or apathetic after his remote village experiment failed, but that they have a problem is undeniable. The old man doesn¡¯t even bother with organizing a babysitter for her, or she wouldn¡¯t risk her life at the wall.¡¯


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Magnus grinned in a way I had seen before ¨C and I didn¡¯t like it at all. It reminded me of a certain box of cards and a very angry elder.


    I wasn¡¯t pleased with ¡®Magnus the battle maniac¡¯, but I also disliked ¡®Magnus the social schemer¡¯.


    Why couldn¡¯t he be just the concerned avenger in search of his sisters whom I met so long ago at the Old Camp? I rubbed my temple, feeling a strange migraine coming on. Then again, there was no such thing as a person with a single personality trait. And the longer and more intimately you knew someone, the more you learned about them.


    Magnus didn¡¯t seem to notice my wariness at all as he went on. ¡®It might not take much to have Charmaine become a pestering voice in Balthasar¡¯s ear. I can already hear the: Let¡¯s go to Mount Aerie so that I can play with my new friend!¡¯


    He nodded to himself. ¡®Besides, the risk to Isaac is minimal. We already tested jaunting with people and they were fine aside from the physical strain on us. I will get Isaac for an hour or two and watch him like a hawk until it¡¯s time to take him back.¡¯


    I looked around the garden. The idea was sound ¨C if a little too manipulative for my tastes. Just like with Magnus¡¯s other social schemes, it sounded stupid enough for it to work. I just didn¡¯t like to risk Isaac.


    Then again, Balthasar¡¯s herb garden seemed like the safest place one could find outside Mount Aerie. I closed my eyes and surrendered to the idea. Balthasar was a hermit, but he never gave the impression of being a bad person.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe us, then the only choice is to give you proof.¡± I got up and stepped a few metres away from the table, followed by Magnus. Together, we set up the jaunt point which was a well-practised exercise by now. We touched our palms together and began manipulating the electromagnetic field between us, creating a resonance which would ultimately cause a tiny wrinkle in the planet¡¯s gravity field, a fixed point in space-time serving as a homing beacon.


    It looked like Balthasar wanted to protest since we were doing something suspicious right next to his house, but he was interrupted by his daughter.


    ¡°Are they really going to get another kid?¡± Charmaine stormed towards us and grasped her father¡¯s arm. She was practically bouncing on her feet and trampling all over Balthasar¡¯s parade. ¡°Can we play?¡±


    Balthasar shook his head. ¡°Whatever they think they can do, Charmaine, don¡¯t get your hopes up. I have never heard of a mutation allowing someone to ¡®teleport¡¯. Mutations can grant some truly fantastic abilities, but I have never heard-¡±


    With a small thunderclap between us, the jaunt point was created, rendering any objections Balthasar might have had moot.


    In reply to the ancient¡¯s wary gaze, Magnus threw off his gear, stacking the heavy armour on the ground before he waved with a big grin on his face before he jumped into the air and jaunted.


    It looked different from flash-step.


    When we flash-stepped, it seemed like our bodies blurred and sped up until we reached the target location. In reality, the electromagnetic field around us created something akin to a miniature Alcubierre drive, allowing us to pass through a certain amount of space as long as there wasn¡¯t too much mass in the form of gas molecules or something solid in the way. The theory behind it was complex and we understood it only thanks to Gaia¡¯s teachings, but the casual onlooker could mistake it easily for nothing more than a very quick movement.


    A jaunt was on an entirely different level. Magnus leapt into the air and everything around him warped. It looked like the distortion caused by a magnifying glass. Then, for a brief moment, a jagged ring of light formed, giving the impression of a portal, but that was just the light being bent around the spheric wormhole.


    It took only a moment and my partner was gone, the wormhole collapsing right behind him.


    ¡°He is going to get Isaac, our son,¡± I explained patiently while we waited.


    Balthasar had shot up from his chair when Magnus disappeared. ¡°Where did he go?¡±


    The ancient ran over and waved a hand through the space where Magnus had been.


    ¡°I told you. He went to Mount Aerie to prove to you that we can transport your daughter safely,¡± I explained patiently.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t Mary use this ability to come here herself if she is that pressed for time?¡±


    I forced myself to smile. Oh, boy. Showing him the jaunting ability had frazzled him.


    ¡°I already told you. Mary went on a mission to save Gurney from the Thich. We don¡¯t know where she is at the moment.¡± I spread my hands in a helpless gesture. ¡°And it¡¯s not like jaunting back and forth is easy. The needed power rises exponentially with the transported mass. I can jaunt four or five times a day without gear and without exhausting myself. With gear and with another person, a single jaunt wipes me out and such jaunts are not safe. That¡¯s why Magnus took off his armour. My partner has more raw power than me, but even he wouldn¡¯t transport another adult lightly. Isaac is small, so it¡¯s no issue. Charmaine is larger, but she doesn¡¯t look like she weighs more than our iobeetle armour.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ see.¡± Balthasar looked a little lost for words.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we sit down while we wait?¡± I suggested. ¡°What we just did created a homing beacon for our ability. It gives enough leeway if something already occupies the destination, but it adds unnecessary stress if someone is in the way.¡±


    It took a few minutes, but eventually, the air warped and Magnus reappeared with Isaac in his arms. Our boy immediately looked around the garden with great interest.


    While Balthasar had sat down at his table, his daughter had waited next to the jaunt point with obvious anticipation.


    When she saw Isaac, Charmaine deflated a little. ¡°He is just a toddler.¡±


    Magnus set Isaac down in front of the girl and our boy looked up to her, holding out his hand in greeting. ¡°Hi, I am Isaac. What is your name? I may be a toddler, but I am way smarter than you. Dad told me that he met you playing with monsters and that I shouldn¡¯t copy your bad behaviour. Playing with monsters isn¡¯t very smart. Hasn¡¯t anyone told you that monsters can be really, really dangerous? They eat people!¡±


    He looked around with wide eyes and towards the sky. ¡°Is this the surface? I thought I could see the sky, but it¡¯s all white.¡± The words spilled out of Isaac¡¯s mouth just as fast as most kids would have needed for a normal introduction.


    Charmaine and Balthasar stared at Isaac. The former lost for words with her mouth open and the latter with both eyebrows raised so high they almost touched his hairline.


    I coughed and glared at Magnus.


    Sensing my disapproval, he shrugged his shoulders and tried to look innocent. ¡°I just told him about the shroom-things and that he should stay in the garden, I swear. Be more polite when talking with girls, Isaac. You are going to be a big brother once your sisters hatch.¡±


    I groaned inwardly and couldn¡¯t help myself. ¡°Please, Magnus. Can we not use the term ¡®hatch¡¯?¡±


    ¡°How else do you want to call it? They are eggs.¡±


    Balthasar looked flustered, which was embarrassing.


    ¡°Kiera said they aren¡¯t truly eggs. It¡¯s more accurate to call them incubation pods,¡± I corrected somewhat sourly.


    Meanwhile, Isaac was shaking Charmaine¡¯s hand enthusiastically.


    Balthasar cleared his throat. ¡°While that¡¯s all very interesting, Isaac, did you really come from Mount Aerie?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the boy zipped over, looking at Balthasar with big, round eyes. ¡°Why are there roots coming out of your ears!?¡±


    I covered my face. We really should have thought this over a little more carefully before committing. ¡°Isaac! It¡¯s not polite to call out others on their mutations. It¡¯s the same as asking you why your skin has neon-coloured patterns. I am so sorry, Balthasar. We have been keeping him very sheltered within the family. Aside from Frosts and Tates, he hasn¡¯t met anyone else.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± the ancient waved a hand. ¡°They are a part of my mutation, Isaac. I am more plant than human at this point.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Does that mean you can live off water and dirt alone?¡±


    ¡°Isaac!¡± I admonished.


    Balthasar pursed his lips. ¡°I guess I could? Though, that wouldn¡¯t be very pleasant.¡±


    Isaac nodded sagely. ¡°I knew it!¡± Then he zipped back to Charmaine, pulling two decks with cards out of his pocket. ¡°Do you want to play a game?¡±


    Seeing the cards, Charmaine shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to play.¡±


    Isaac wasn¡¯t deterred in the slightest. ¡°Then I will teach you.¡±


    I turned back to Balthasar. ¡°So, how is it?¡±


    Balthasar blinked. ¡°I¡­ will have to think about this¡­ proposal. Why don¡¯t you stay for a day or two?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Thalia joined in. ¡°There is no need to make up your mind right now. Why don¡¯t we switch topics to something less controversial? On our way here, we were stalked by a creature. It looked like an albino night terror, but we came to call it the white stalker. Do you know anything about it? Humanoid with claws? Arms and legs have two joints instead of one. Elongated snout?¡±


    Balthasar nodded. ¡°We call them just ¡®whites¡¯. Very smart. Very dangerous. Aside from the stalkers, they are the apex predators around here. They cost us more than a few lives in the early days until they smartened up to my presence and stopped raiding the settlement. Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°I want to hunt one for its mutation,¡± Thalia announced.


    ¡°We do?¡± Mark asked, apparently unaware of the plan.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I cautioned, worried for my friend. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you aim for an easier target for your first hunt together?¡±


    ¡°We already have a night-terror mutation and it¡¯s not like we will go at this alone,¡± Thalia replied confidently. ¡°You are going to help us.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s against tradition,¡± I protested.


    ¡°You mean your family tradition,¡± Thalia corrected. ¡°I am a Tate and I see no reason to risk my life for an improvement if I can recruit the right hunters for the job. Having already seen how dangerous these creatures are, I am sure you wouldn¡¯t let Mark and me go out there alone. Especially not when my most potent ability can''t affect animals?¡±


    I wanted to reply¡­ something¡­ but couldn¡¯t come up with a fitting argument. Thalia was right. In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten that the ''joined hunt'' to celebrate a partnering was primarily practised by members of the twelfth strata.


    Thalia returned her attention to Balthasar. ¡°So, what else do you know about the ¡®whites¡¯?¡±

 Ch 117 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Balthasar***


    Balthasar was sitting in his herb garden, which should have been a relaxing experience now that Nisha was gone and the other visitors had left for their hunt. Whether they would return victorious and unscathed was another question, but they had looked capable enough.


    One of the youngsters alone would never stand up to a ''white'', but if all six ganged up on one of the predators Balthasar gave them a decent enough chance of surviving the encounter. As long as they worked together and didn''t allow the predator to pick them off one by one.


    He sighed, his eyes flicking sideways ever so slightly in the knowledge that he was being watched and scrutinized. Not as the benevolent benefactor of a community, but as a father who wasn''t doing his duty of making his daughter happy.


    The day should have been like any other day. He with his plants, the villagers leaving him in peace, the shrooms doing their job of keeping other wildlife away, and Charmaine playing somewhere out of sight and out of mind, preferably not at the wall.


    But it was not.


    Instead, his daughter sat at the other side of the table and stared at him with judgement and accusation written all over her face. She had the facial expression down pat.


    Balthasar couldn''t stand it any longer. Her behaviour reminded him too much of her mother and he was slowly but surely developing a bad conscience over it.


    ¡°I said no, Charmaine.¡± Balthasar tried to be strict, but he knew he was a failure of a father. Ever since Petra died, he had retreated into his misery. He had done his best to be a father figure for their daughter, but all he had truly done was to be present and provide a place to live.


    Which was more than most kids had in this world. But Balthasar had grown up on Earth and so he had expectations of how a childhood should be. His village just was no place for a kid to grow up. Being shown the boy, Isaac, had been an unwelcome reminder.


    He loved Charmaine, but he never had the heart to properly engage with his daughter as a parent. To give her proper guidance and point out her limits. Which was the main reason why she ran off all the time to be on her own.


    ¡°Please,¡± Charmaine begged.


    ¡°What about ¡®no¡¯ is so hard to understand?¡± He replied, but knew it sounded weak even to him. Having Charmaine grow up in this village was cruel. Especially when there was a seemingly perfect solution. With the Aerie, she would be safe. She could have playmates and friends. In Aerie, she could visit something akin to a school.


    But she would also inevitably become an Aerie. Whether Balthasar wanted it or not, she would be drawn into the politics of the clans.


    Balthasar did his best at home-tutoring his daughter, but despite all his efforts, he knew he was no teacher.


    ¡°Please,¡± she begged once more, apparently sensing his weakness. ¡°I just want to go and visit Isaac. They can take me back right afterwards.¡±


    If he allowed it once, it wouldn¡¯t stay limited to just one visit. Would it?


    It angered him, especially because he couldn''t give her any logical arguments for staying in this dying village other than the wish to remain where Balthasar and his wife, Petra, had tried to make a home for themselves. And to stay away from politics.


    Worse, Balthasar knew if Petra had still been alive she would skin him for keeping their daughter here.


    And none of his arguments held value to Charmaine. She was too young to understand the pitfalls of politics and had never truly cared for their home. The girl didn''t remember her mother and had no obligation to uphold her mother''s values. To Charmaine, this place was a trap. Especially since the only other child in the village had died years ago.


    ¡°Charmaine¡­¡±


    ¡°Then we are going to sit here for days.¡± The girl crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, her expression returning to one of silent judgment.


    It took Balthasar a few moments to realize what she was doing. Normally, the girl was a hyperactive whirlwind of activity. Her staying still for any mentionable amount of time was highly unusual. Plus, there was her lowered heart rate and her breathing was also slowing down.


    ¡°Charmaine, are you seriously using ''hibernation'' to get under my skin!?¡±


    His daughter didn¡¯t answer. Instead, she stared unblinkingly at him with a silent accusation in her eyes.


    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Mark***


    ¡°I still believe this is a tremendously bad idea,¡± I said while following Astra and Thalia.


    We had left the village two hours ago, presumably to allow Balthasar to ''stew'' according to a very satisfied Magnus.


    The group wasn''t quite running, but also not walking because we had to distance ourselves from the village. The ''whites'' had developed a slight aversion to the ancient''s presence, so our hunt was doomed to fail if we stayed close to Balthasar''s home.


    ¡°I only won my fight with the night terror because of dumb luck. No, not even luck. I won because the thing was toying with me!¡± I knew I was repeating myself, but I was convinced this had to be said repeatedly ¨C preferentially at every opportunity presenting itself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you picked up a bit of a whiner?¡± Astra asked her friend teasingly. ¡°Not to forget, you haven¡¯t mentioned at all how your parents reacted when you came home with a guy. When I brought Magnus it was like I had dragged a stray into the house.¡±


    ¡°Mark is a tad bit too vocal about his worries,¡± Thalia admitted. ¡°But it¡¯s not a bad thing. One can never be too careful in this world.¡±


    She looked back and grinned at me. ¡°It¡¯s better than being a battle-maniac like Magnus. And my parents are not responsible for my love life. Unlike yours, I made it clear early on that there would be no such thing as a political marriage for me. Plus, yours only got all huffy because you didn''t introduce Magnus before you sealed the deal. Just imagine how it must have felt for them. Like their daughter marrying outside the country to tell them after the fact. Though, they could have anticipated what would happen if you ever found someone on your recruitment trips.¡±


    I massaged the bridge of my nose, remembering the embarrassing scene of being questioned about my mutations while Thalia¡¯s parents tried to figure out whether I was an acceptable fit for their daughter. Unfortunately, Thalia had seemingly picked up her decisiveness and penchant for logic from them, because as soon as Thalia managed to convince Sienna and Richard of my ¡®suitability¡¯ I had not only Thalia pressuring me to do the deed, there were two elders trying to ¡®set up¡¯ favourable situations as well.


    Unfortunately, I had the feeling I would regret nailing that woman sooner or later. Either because she drove me crazy, or because her character rubbed off on me.


    There was also the question of love. The physical attraction was there, except for the wings. I still couldn¡¯t dig the wings! And they also felt so weird! But just like Magnus advised when I confided in him, love could come later and was something which had to be worked upon. At least in this, I agreed with him. His philosophy sounded right.


    And Thalia trying to teach me medicine and follow in the family''s footsteps was just the icing on the cake. Except for some first aid I was never interested in becoming a doctor!


    Just why had I listened to Magnus¡¯s relationship advice? Maybe I would feel better if I had given myself another month. After being Magnus¡¯s survival teacher for about a month, I should have known he wasn¡¯t exactly reliable when it came to the social aspect of life. For god¡¯s sake, he had killed a guy who pissed him off right in front of me as if it was no more than slaughtering cattle.


    Since I came to Tirnanog, I had become no stranger to violence. But I could honestly say I had never killed another human with my own hands before I came to this world and killing still didn¡¯t sit right with me. Back on Earth, I was a godforsaken accountant!


    Then again, it was my decision to take Thalia''s offer. So the only one to blame was me.


    Magnus cleared his throat, addressing the two gossiping women who were leading the group. ¡°We can hear you!¡±


    Then he clapped me on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Balthasar told us everything he knew about the ¡®whites¡¯. Our plan is as good as it will ever get if those things are as smart as the ancient says.¡±


    I nodded to myself and nervously double-checked the quiver with my poisoned arrows. It was still hanging at my side, giving me quick and easy access to ammunition. It was probably the wrong weapon of choice with my newly increased strength, but I had used the bow for so long that I couldn''t imagine working with any other weapon. ¡°You are right, but it¡¯s still a bad idea. And I would feel a lot better about this whole endeavour if you had listened in on Balthasar¡¯s explanations from the beginning to the end.¡±


    The previous day, Balthasar had told us everything he knew about the ¡®whites¡¯ behaviour.


    They tended to go only after easy prey and generally avoided direct combat if they weren¡¯t fairly certain they could win. They were very intelligent ambush predators and to catch one we had to find a way to lure it out of hiding. Either by trapping it in an area which forced a confrontation or by presenting it with a fight it thought it could win, provoking it into overextending.


    Of the two options, cornering a ¡®white¡¯ had the best chance of success. Normally, it would go against common sense to trap an enemy without leaving at least a chance of escape. After all, a cornered animal always fought the hardest and was the most dangerous. Even prey animals tended to fight back if they saw no chance of running away.


    Unfortunately, leaving a ¡®white¡¯ with an escape route meant it would take it given the chance. And they tended to do so as soon as the fight didn¡¯t go in their favour.


    ¡°Would it make you feel better if I had listened to Balthasar¡¯s speech?¡± Magnus scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. Astra updated me on everything later at night. I had my hands full watching out for Isaac and Charmaine. My little boy needed a wingman.¡±


    ¡°Astra,¡± Thalia whispered. ¡°Did Magnus seriously just imply that he ¡®managed¡¯ Isaac so he would woo the girl? Your boy isn¡¯t even one year old.¡±


    Astra coughed. ¡°I hope he just made sure that Isaac found a friend. Don¡¯t forget, it was his first time meeting another child. And Isaac is a lot more mature than he looks.¡±


    ¡°We can still hear you,¡± Magnus repeated himself. ¡°And if you knew Isaac a little better, Thalia, you would have known he needed the help. That boy doesn¡¯t have a single insincere bone in his entire body.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing,¡± Thalia protested. ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t teaching him to lie.¡±


    ¡°It is when it¡¯s about talking with girls. There is such a thing as being too honest,¡± Magnus stated. ¡°Men have to ¡®manage¡¯ their words very carefully if they want to have girls as friends. Or would you still have taken Mark as your partner if you had known that your extra magnificent milk guns took up seventy per cent of his decision-making ability?¡±


    Astra turned around to look at her partner while she walked, making me wonder whether I should get ready to dodge a ¡®spontaneously¡¯ manifested lightning bolt.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Of course, magnificence alone isn¡¯t everything!¡± Magnus course corrected quickly when his precognition warned of imminent danger. ¡°The bigger they are, the softer they get. And in my personal opinion, they are just perfect if there is something to hold and squeeze without your fingers sinking in. Isn¡¯t that right, Mark?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want any part in this discussion,¡± I replied quickly. ¡°You can dig your own grave.¡±


    However, I indeed liked it when there was something bountiful to massage and press against my chest. But I would never admit such a thing so brazenly in front of others.


    ¡°Not fair, dude!¡± Magnus pretended to be deeply wounded by grasping for his heart. ¡°I thought we were friends! Pals for life! You have to take my side and join the banter!¡±


    Thalia also threw us a glance. ¡°Though the discussion is childish, I wondered why Mark was so focused on them in the sheets.¡±


    I groaned. ¡°Please, Thalia, don¡¯t join them.¡±


    Magnus nodded sagely. ¡°Every man has his own ideal of perfection. Whether they are small or big, firm or wobbly. There is a woman for all of us idiots out there. Mark likes it if his fingers can sink into the goods. I like it when there is something to squeeze. Actually, I know a test to confirm my perfect level of squeezability. Do you know that you can bounce a coin off Astra¡¯s b-agh!¡±


    Something in my hindbrain tingled and I dodged to the side before I could get involved in the altercation. Simultaneously, Astra blurred and landed a perfect kick in Magnus¡¯s guts, causing him to stagger. It wasn¡¯t enough to injure or hurt him since he wore his armour, but the impact was plenty to startle him and cut him off mid-sentence.


    ¡°Nobody has to know that!¡± Astra blurted out quickly.


    ¡°Your ''bagh''?¡± Thalia asked with a grin on her face. ¡°Was he talking about your boobs or your butt?¡±


    ¡°But it bounces so well when you hit the right angle,¡± Magnus gasped back. ¡°Violent woman! It¡¯s something to be proud of!¡±


    ¡°Now you have to tell!¡± Thalia sounded intrigued. ¡°And how far does it have to bounce to count?¡±


    ¡°I declare this line of discussion as officially over!¡± Astra formed an ¡®X¡¯ with her arms and returned to walking. ¡°Magnus, if you want to sleep in the same bed tonight you have to behave from now on.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Magnus hung his head. ¡°That¡¯s blackmail.¡±


    ¡°Knowing you, it is,¡± Astra admitted freely.


    ¡°I am sorry, Thalia.¡± Magnus shook his head. ¡°I cannot solve this mystery. My wife holds all the cards and I am addicted to her attention.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and turned to Ginevra and Thiago who were following us, but both sensors shook their heads, indicating our noise hadn¡¯t attracted a ¡®white¡¯ yet.


    The best plan we could come up with was to cause as much of a ruckus as we dared to and attract a ''white'', then trap it somehow. And judging by our first encounter, voices should be enough to attract one. It wouldn''t be easy, but Balthasar informed us of some rock formations at the coast to the north. If we could lure it there, we might have a chance to set up a trap.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Astra continued. ¡°What do you think of Charmaine and Isaac, Thalia? I thought they were cute together. As friends! Not what your dirty mind is probably cooking up.¡±


    The psychic shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t pay extra close attention while we talked with Balthasar, but I guess they were having fun with their card game. Charmaine was certainly more relaxed than when we met her at the wall. Which shouldn''t be surprising after what happened there.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Astra pursed her lips. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s as good as can be expected.¡±


    Magnus wiggled his fingers like an evil mastermind and added a skip to his step. ¡°Isaac was clueless in the beginning, but I think by the end I got him to understand how to treat young girls properly. He will charm many ladies once he is grown!¡±


    Astra returned her attention to Magnus and he quickly added, ¡°Charm respectfully, of course! We don¡¯t want him to turn into a Casanova!¡±


    At that moment, I felt something tingle in the back of my neck and I checked our rear, barely a moment before Thiago let out a scream of warning. Following us, something moved within the fog, a blurred outline giving just a hint of a humanoid figure before it was gone again.


    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked, alarmed once I realized that Ginevra and Thiago had their attention in an entirely different direction. They were looking ahead.


    ¡°What was what?¡± Ginevra asked and pointed ahead. ¡°Where are you looking? The ''white'' is that way.¡±


    ¡°That''s because I saw something following us!¡± I urged. ¡°I saw it moving through the fog.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Thiago asked and turned around. ¡°Because I can hear it moving ahead of us right now. There is nothing behind us.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I am sure!¡± I cursed and readied my bow. ¡°Why do I have to repeat myself so often today?¡±


    ¡°Maybe there are two ¡®whites¡¯?¡± Thalia suggested questioningly.


    ¡°Balthasar insisted that they are solitary hunters,¡± Astra pointed out.


    We didn''t get any more time, because a white shot out of the fog ahead of us. It charged at Thalia, but Astra intercepted it with her spear and lightning danced between her and the creature.


    I readied my bow and let loose an arrow which was effortlessly dodged. The monster had moved out of the way the same moment I let go of the arrow!


    Magnus blurred and appeared beside the ''white'', grasping one of its clawed arms.


    For a moment, it looked like he was able to hold it, but the ''white'' twisted its arm out of his grip and took a swipe at him with its claws. The creature''s movements didn''t look effortless, but I had no hope of Magnus being able to restrain the thing.


    Magnus was hit in the chest and sent flying, but his armour held.


    Before the monster could follow up with a second attack it was forced to dodge backwards, avoiding Astra''s filaments.


    I was about to fire a second arrow when the creature flashed off into the mist, my arrow disappearing after it.


    ¡°Curses!¡± Magnus got back to his knees from where he had been laid flat. ¡°I thought maybe I could hold the skinny bugger, but it is way too strong!¡±


    ¡°Where is it?¡± I asked and looked to our sensors who were following something hidden within the fog.


    ¡°It is circling around to our back,¡± Ginevra said.


    ¡°What about the other one?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I still haven''t sensed...¡± Thiago narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. ¡°Well, that''s a problem.¡±


    ¡°Are there really two of them?¡± Astra asked and readied her spear.


    ¡°Oh, damn!¡± Thalia cursed, glaring at the fog. ¡°I think we might have an entirely different problem.¡±


    ¡°What problem?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Can''t you feel that tingle in the back of your brain?¡± Thalia asked. ¡°The one I told you to train listening to?¡±


    ¡°I can,¡± I said. ¡°But it is hard. My precognition is also going nuts, telling me we are in danger. I have trouble differentiating between the two.¡±


    Thalia had been trying to teach me how to feel the emotions of others, but it wasn''t an easy skill to master. She had years of experience with her psychic ability, while I had gotten it only recently. Worse, the night-terror mutation had granted me a fairly potent version of precognition. So I had two new and fairly esoteric psychic abilities to deal with.


    Most times, I was not sure whether my precognition was warning me of imminent danger, or someone was experiencing potent emotions driving my empathy nuts. And influencing the emotions of others was a whole other can of worms. One Thalia had years of training to master while I was barely scratching the surface of my newfound abilities.


    My partner sighed. ¡°I am sorry. This is entirely my fault. Does anyone here feel ''anticipation''?¡±


    Everyone answered with a unanimous ''no'' and I shook my head. Dread, yes. Anticipation, certainly not.


    ¡°Then there must be a seventh person within my range,¡± Thalia explained solemnly.


    ¡°Who-?¡± I asked but was interrupted by a body flying towards us.


    It was about four metres up in the air and came in on a flat trajectory, hitting the ground like a sack of rice before it bounced once and lay still.


    I stared at the ''white'' who had its neck broken. The head was turned the wrong way by 180 degrees and tilted at an unhealthy 90-degree angle. It looked like someone had tried to twist off the creature''s head and decided not to go through with it halfway through succeeding.


    Despite this, the ''white'' was still twitching as if it could rise at any moment. The claws on its paws were opening and closing as if its prey was just within reach.


    It was dead for sure, but if Tirnanog taught me one thing, then to always make certain.


    Raising my bow, I fired an arrow into the thing''s eye and nocked a second one, placing it in the creature''s chest before I turned my attention to the oncoming threat.


    Nisha strolled out of the fog and approached us with a smug expression, tilting her hips mockingly as she walked. She looked like a cat who caught a mouse and found more mice to play with.


    ¡°Look at who we have here,¡± the ancient said once she stood just a few metres away. ¡°We meet again earlier than expected.¡±


    ¡°Hey, thanks for the help!¡± Magnus replied with more cheer than was warranted. ¡°After our first meeting, I got the impression you might be a slightly challenged goon who allowed herself to be used by Zacharias, but it looks like you are trying to find out more about your situation. I didn''t expect you to help us with the ''white''.¡±


    ¡°Magnus!¡± Astra chided.


    ¡°What?¡± Magnus looked at his partner. ¡°She totally didn''t camp outside Balthasar''s village to catch us leaving, then kill us outside Balthasar''s so-called neutral zone.¡±


    Nisha narrowed her eyes. ¡°That big mouth of yours will cost you your head sooner or later.¡±


    Magnus waved his hand. ¡°Just being a realist.¡±


    I considered nocking another arrow, but I had been told how powerful the ancients were. Nisha must be very confident if she approached us so openly. And she had killed the ''white'' like it was nothing. Maybe staying on her good side was our best hope?


    Thalia stepped next to me and took my hand while sending a chat message. ''Mark, I need your help.''


    ''What?''


    ''I need you to concentrate on Nisha and push at her with your mind. Like we trained. Push as hard as you can. Everyone else, please buy me as much time as possible.''


    I wasn''t certain whether I could help, but I complied to the best of my ability.


    Nisha swept her gaze over our group. ¡°So, are you going to answer questions?¡±


    Magnus nodded and stepped forward to draw Nisha¡¯s attention. ¡°If you give us no other choice. The only question I have is this: How do you intend to make us talk?¡±


    The ancient frowned. ¡°Hitting people works well enough in my experience.¡±


    ¡°But not if they have reason to believe you will kill them afterwards anyway,¡± Magnus pointed out.


    Nisha sighed. ¡°You are overestimating yourselves a bit. After seeing you struggle with that thing,¡± she gestured at the ''white'' who had stopped twitching, ¡°I doubt you could have any significant impact on a large battlefield. Hence killing you is something I will only consider if you piss me off further.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Magnus nodded. ¡°So what are your questions?¡±


    ¡°First, what do you believe Zacharias hasn''t shared with me?¡± Nisha asked.


    ¡°Oh, boy. That''s a loaded question already.¡± Magnus looked at Astra. ¡°Do you want to do us the honour?¡±


    Astra looked between Magnus and Nisha. ¡°I guess the gist of it is that Zacharias had some of his agents at Hochberg and they had a communication device. We caught them, but they had weeks to relay the information we spoke of to Thich. When we talked with you, you mentioned the possibility of Hochberg joining your side against Aerie.¡±


    Nisha nodded.


    ¡°Well, that hasn''t been an option for quite some time. From what we learned Greta might have been on your side, but Greta has been dead for months and the new matriarch is firmly on our side. Zacharias should have known that. So either he hasn''t told you because he feared Vier would withdraw their assistance in the attack on Jeng, or there is something more sinister going on. I don''t know about you, but the only reason for withholding information from an ally I can think of is when I distrust them keeping that information to themselves. Or if I want to come out ahead of my ally and weaken them in preparation for a future conflict.¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°Pick your poison.¡±


    Nisha frowned deeply. ¡°Greta is dead?¡±


    Everyone nodded in reply.


    ¡°How did she die?¡± Nisha asked.


    ¡°Deathnut oil,¡± Magnus answered. ¡°We believe it was a hit orchestrated by the Forgotten. Probably because Aerie¡¯s political power dynamic made them twitchy. During the winter, the clan dithered between doing nothing in retaliation against Thich¡¯s attack on Aerie¡¯s recruitment team and mobilizing their forces. Earth tried to prevent further complications with Thich.¡±


    ¡°Why not you?¡± Nisha shot back. ¡°It sounds like you are the ones who benefited politically from Greta¡¯s death. Killing Greta makes absolutely no sense in this scenario!¡±


    ¡°The assassination happened during winter,¡± Astra replied. ¡°By that time, we didn''t even know you intended to turn this conflict into a full-blown war. Plus, the Forgotten launched an assassination at Mount Aerie at the same time. We believed it to be Earth''s reaction to our mobilization. And heck! Why do you think we can make sense of this? From our point of view, Thich¡¯s attack on Jeng is absolutely insane. You are insane for joining in on this war. And Earth is trying to influence things as best they can.¡±


    Astra threw up her hands. ¡°By the goddess, maybe they want as much chaos as possible so we tear ourselves apart! Why are we fighting if the world itself is doing a decent job of killing us? From our point of view Thich, Earth, and you are all just opportunists out to grab their piece of the cake in the hope of getting away with it! And then there are the strange alien tools and Earth¡¯s weaponry Thich suddenly got access to. Why are you asking us when you should be the one who can make sense of this?¡±


    The ancient narrowed her eyes at us, seemingly staring through us while she thought.


    ¡°Okay, I will bite,¡± she said after a few long seconds. ¡°And who exactly is this Isaac you were talking about? From the context, I inferred he is your child, but how did you get him here, and why? Did you hide him in the city while you visited Balthasar?¡±


    ¡°Because I have a mutation which doesn''t allow me to leave him alone for more than a few days,¡± Astra lied like a professional, seemingly not hesitating at all with her answer.


    Nisha tilted her head. ¡°And why would Aerie''s leadership send someone under such problematic mutational restrictions on such a mission?¡±


    ¡°Look, we are just grunts.¡± Magnus spread out his hands in a placating gesture. ¡°Ancient Mary told us to go on the mission, so we go on the mission. Do you intend us to reveal every logistical consideration which might have led to choosing us? Like the six of us belonging to the very few people who can withstand the mycelium? We really can''t tell you much beyond that, because the elders wouldn''t tell such a thing to mere messengers.¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± Nisha admitted. ¡°Still, risking a breeding pair for a message. Just how important is Balthasar''s involvement in this conflict?¡±


    The ancient stood there, staring at us while I imagined the gears inside her head turning. All the time, I was trying to ¡®push¡¯ my mind at her as hard as I could, not knowing whether I was achieving anything at all. She seemed utterly oblivious to my efforts.


    I didn''t quite dare to aim my bow at her, but I played nervously with the fletching of my arrow.


    Then Nisha abruptly turned around and walked away, disappearing within the fog.


    A whole minute passed while we stared, expecting her to return, but she didn''t.


    ¡°Did she really just¡­ go away?¡± Magnus asked, then added via UI chat. ''I was preparing to throw myself onto her and teleport us to Balthasar. I don¡¯t believe I could have taken her to a jaunt point further away, but Balthasar might have worked.''


    ¡°She did,¡± Astra nodded. ''And what the fuck!? She almost got us because of your stupid banter, mentioning Isaac!''


    ''It was banter and you joined in!'' Magnus protested through the UI. ''How could I have known that she was waiting for us? And for her to focus on me mentioning Isaac¡­ that woman is way too sharp.''


    Someone grasped my shoulder pauldron and I found Thalia looking at me with a pained expression. ¡°Thalia, are you alright!?¡±


    She swayed. ¡°No. My head hurts. A lot.¡±


    I quickly steadied her. ''What did you do?''


    ''I instilled a strong feeling in her that she just learned something critically important. And the urge to go home right now to share this information with her people. That woman''s mind is strong. If you hadn''t distracted her for so long, I couldn''t have done it without her noticing. We should go. I don¡¯t know whether she will realize what I did within the next minute and turn around, or whether she will run all the way back to Vier.''


    I didn¡¯t ask more questions and just took Thalia in a princess carry before I started running back to the village. An action which was wordlessly mirrored by the rest of the group, with Magnus shouldering the dead ¡®white¡¯.

 Ch 118 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°That was a close one!¡± I chuckled and allowed myself to relax just a little bit once we were back at Balthasar''s home.


    Right up until we entered his property, I wasn¡¯t sure whether the ancient would jump out from behind a corner, but Nisha hadn''t shown herself a second time. However, it had to be said that we ran like the devil himself was right behind us.


    ¡°We were so lucky,¡± Astra let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Seriously, we were stupid to leave the village in the first place. We strolled out the front gate without a second thought. Stupid! We could have at least tried to be sneaky about it.¡±


    ¡°I have to disagree. Partly at least,¡± I said. ¡°This is one of those ''hindsight'' problems. Afterwards, one can always claim it was obvious that Nisha would be waiting for us outside the village. Yes, it was a possibility, but seriously! Did we have any reason to assume that someone as important as an ancient would just camp outside the walls and wait for us? Wouldn''t someone of Nisha''s status be pressed for time? Have something better to do than staking out a few messengers far below her rank?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°But it''s not like waiting for a night and maybe getting lucky is much to ask for. She may have something similar to Mary going on, where she leaves the actual politicking to her version of elders. Just because she is powerful and has something to say among the Vier doesn''t mean she has to be there all the time.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you don''t know her circumstances, then how should we? How many days should we have waited before leaving the village?¡± I asked. ¡°Two nights? A week? How much time does someone like Nisha have to waste with waiting us out?¡±


    ¡°Well, you were rather rude to her,¡± Ginevra pointed out. ¡°She may have had a little more motivation than just gaining information.¡±


    I waved her off. Nisha hadn''t struck me as a person who liked being buttered up. Yes, I was rude to her, but also truthful, and I doubted licking her boots would have changed the events. ¡°I don''t think this argument is going anywhere.¡±


    ¡°This is all well and fine, but it''s not like we can do more than be especially vigilant in the future. I am going to lay Thalia to rest,¡± Mark informed us, clearly aware of his double innuendo, and carried his sleeping partner down the hallway to where Balthasar had assigned us some rooms to stay in.


    Thalia had passed out soon after performing her miracle, but Astra assured us her friend would be fine after resting for a few hours. Passing out from mental exhaustion was a real threat of overusing a powerful psychic ability.


    ¡°I am still surprised,¡± I mused while following Mark''s departure with my eyes. ¡°At the Old Camp, Thalia wiped a small army of soldiers by turning them batshit crazy. She didn''t seem exhausted afterwards, while the stunt with Nisha took her out. And she did nothing more than ''suggest'' Nisha should be somewhere else rather sooner than later.¡±


    ¡°Please remember,¡± Astra reminded me. ¡°We don''t know the reason, but prolonged exposure to psychic abilities causes people to gain strong resistance against said abilities. Psychics with mentionable power are rare since there is no known mutation to grant the ability. The only known one with reasonable chances of success is the mindflayer mutation. But not only are mindflayers a rare species, the mutations they give are also rather random. Aerie''s entire population has a few dozen psychics at most. And the only other person on Thalia''s level I know of is Hochberg''s matriarch, Vanya.¡±


    Astra gathered her thoughts for a moment before continuing her explanation. ¡°Mark shares Thalia''s mutations and may become a power on his own in the future, but right now he still struggles with controlling the ability. So it¡¯s not only a question of having the mutation, but skill and training as well. The soldiers who Thalia sent into a riot at the Old Camp were grunts who likely never got hit with a psychic power their entire lives. They had zero defences. Nisha is not only old but also an important leader of the Vier. She had decades and undoubtedly countless encounters with psychic influence to build up her resistance. Honestly, I am surprised Thalia managed to mess with her mind at all. When Thalia announced over the chat she would try, I half expected Nisha to notice her meddling and start breaking necks.¡±


    I pondered over Astra¡¯s rather detailed explanation. A few months ago Astra had Thalia train my resistances regularly, but the resistance training became largely irrelevant after we got our sub-personalities. Having multiple-personality disorder seemed to mess with telepathic and empathic abilities, so Thalia cut back on trying to train me. Though, her being able to mind-bend someone of Nisha''s calibre indicated she could mess with us if she really wanted to.


    ¡°Let''s be glad she''s on our side then,¡± I concluded, deciding not to judge Thalia or Mark for what they could do, but for what they were. Friends.


    Mind-bending was frightening, but so was my ability to call on Thor''s power.


    ¡°I will take care of that!¡± Thiago pointed at the white''s body which I still had in a fireman''s carry on my shoulders. ¡°We have to preserve the meat if Thalia and Mark don''t want to test their stomachs the next morning.¡±


    I nodded thankfully and handed the dead ''white'' to Thiago who carried the corpse to the kitchen. The body was useless to everyone except for Thalia and Mark. I had been taught how to dress game, but the ¡®white¡¯ was a little too humanoid for me to feel comfortable about doing so.


    Hopefully, ¡®whites¡¯ hadn¡¯t been spawned into the world by a failed human mutation. I shuddered at the thought. Was eating a ¡®white¡¯ cannibalism if that was the case? Did eating other humans give the cannibal one of their mutations at random?


    I shook my head, deciding to abandon this train of thought.


    ¡°I only said the truth with Nisha. If she takes offence, then I believe she would have found another reason to trouble us,¡± I pointed out, deciding to return to our original argument to distract myself. ¡°I am not one to mince words for an enemy¡¯s sake. And you have all heard her point of view. Why try to play nice when our diametric opposition in this conflict is so obvious? Why pretend she would have any other reason to stalk us than to try and force information out of us? Or kill us. I may not have been ''diplomatic'' about it, but this conflict is already beyond diplomacy anyway.¡±


    ¡°At least she wasn''t entirely successful with gaining information,¡± Astra said after a moment of considering my words. ¡°Though she might be able to put things together if she gets creative.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right. Because the simple answer will be harder to believe than the fantastic one. Altogether, I think we got away with a light scratch.¡± I wasn''t too bummed out about the encounter. ¡°It isn''t all bad. Thalia saved our asses and sent Nisha packing before she got to ask any of the really important questions. Her knowing about Isaac''s presence is the only thing which could create trouble down the road, but I never expected our abilities would stay a secret forever. Everything else she would have likely found out by asking Zacharias a few inconvenient questions.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    I shook my head. ¡°And seriously, the way she learned of these things might be better for us in the long run. If Zacharias and his people are forced to confirm what we already told her, it might cause discord between Thich and Vier. Though, I doubt Nisha would outright swap sides and leave the Thich to fend on their own.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°It''s just the impression I got of Nisha.¡± I shrugged. ¡°The way she said she was just out for Vier''s gain struck me as completely truthful. That''s one cold, opportunistic bitch. If she finds out Zacharias played her like a fiddle, it will be just as she thinks things to be. People like her expect those around her to behave just as egotistical as herself. As long as Zach does not pull her completely over the table and tries to bend her over ¨C excuse the vivid comparison ¨C she will continue their cooperation for as long as she sees a possibility to gain something in the end. Though, she may be more careful about lending Thich her assistance in the future.¡±


    Astra thought about this for a moment before she nodded reluctantly. ¡°We will have to talk with the others. I am afraid Nisha''s personal visit to Balthasar might indicate you are right. I doubt Mary would have sent us on this mission if she had known. Nisha''s and Zacharias'' cooperation must be rooted deep if she decides to run an errand herself instead of sending a letter like Mary.¡±


    I massaged my chin, thinking, ¡°I believe we should do a round-trip through all of our jaunt points and share information with everyone before we proceed.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Hey you!¡±


    The feet of a girl trampling down the hallway drew our attention before Charmaine came to a stop in front of us.


    ¡°Dad wants to talk with you,¡± Charmaine said with a big grin on her face.


    I shared a glance with Astra and shrugged. ¡°I suppose he is brooding in his herb garden?¡±


    The girl nodded and ran off to lead us there.


    Astra and I followed, but Ginevra excused herself. ¡°I will help Thiago. We are just here to assist you anyway. Not to play diplomat.¡±


    With everyone else out of the equation, that left only Astra and me to deal with the ancient. After our first encounter with the old man, we weren¡¯t too concerned about meeting him with just the two of us.


    ¡°I see you were successful,¡± Balthasar greeted us as soon as we arrived. ¡°May I ask why you returned in all haste? It¡¯s not even noon. I expected you to be out the entire day at least and maybe even the night before you either succeeded or gave up.¡±


    ¡°Because Nisha was waiting for us outside the village,¡± Astra replied bluntly. ¡°And getting away without a scratch involved a hefty dose of luck.¡±


    Balthasar looked surprised. ¡°Is that so? I don''t remember Nisha being petty when it comes to people she thinks of as below her station. Did she have any specific questions for you which would explain her waiting you out?¡±


    Since Balthasar already knew about our ability, we explained what happened.


    ¡°Hm...¡± He shook his head after listening to the whole story. ¡°I highly doubt that from this single event, she will assume you two can teleport huge distances. I still find it hard to swallow, and you have shown me as much proof as possible. This doesn''t mean that Nisha won''t arrive at the right conclusion at some point as incidents and evidence stack up around you. I have seen a lot of crazy mutations and abilities in my life, but your teleportation is definitely on the far end of the fantastical spectrum. I have seen a speedster or two who are fast enough to make their movements look like teleportation, but they definitely couldn''t go from here to Mount Aerie and back within an instant.¡±


    I nodded, glad to hear Balthasar¡¯s perspective. ¡°So, what was your reason for calling us?¡±


    The ancient shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable for the first time since we met him. ¡°I want to talk about your offer to take Charmaine to Mount Aerie. I don¡¯t want to give up my neutrality or my village, but you were right when you admonished me for her sake. This is no place for a child. And while I wish organizing a caretaker for Charmaine would be solely my failing, the simple truth is that our community is dying. There is nobody who has the time to look twenty-four hours a day after a dependent. And while it may look like I am just sitting around all day, you have seen my ability. There are large periods during which my attention is¡­ elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°So you want the Aerie to look after your daughter without paying us back?¡± I asked.


    He sighed. ¡°The payment is what¡¯s up to negotiation. I already said I don¡¯t want to abandon our independence.¡±


    I massaged my chin in thought and Astra placed a hand on my arm. ¡°I am sure Mary would ensure your daughter is safe no matter the outcome, Balthasar. I don¡¯t know the details of your relationship, but I got the impression you were at least a friend of hers.¡±


    That¡¯s when I had an idea. ¡°Balthasar, let me ask you one question. What is this place to you?¡± I gestured, indicating the village as a whole.


    He frowned, not quite understanding. ¡°This place?¡±


    I pointed at the ground beneath my feet. ¡°This house and this village? You always say you want your independence and stay out of politics, which is why you retreated to this horrid environment. But is this ruined village really what you want to keep, or is it the people?¡±


    Balthasar sighed. ¡°It¡¯s kind of both. If I had to choose I would honour my responsibilities to the people above all else. Not many are left and I have neglected my duties as their leader, but they are the ones who followed me here ¨C ill-advised as it was.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you pack your things and move to the Old Camp?¡± I asked, only to be met with a blank stare, so I elaborated, ¡°After the Thich levelled it, the Old Camp is a ruin which has to be rebuilt. Our goal in coming here was to gain your assistance in this conflict and you have shown your ability to pretty much lock down a place by turning it into a fortress. You wouldn¡¯t take an active role anyway, so if your people take over the Old Camp and keep insisting on your neutrality, it would help us at least somewhat.¡±


    Astra nodded slowly. ¡°The Old Camp is a focal point of this conflict. I don¡¯t know how the other ancients would react if you moved there, but if you could lock it down till the war is over, that might serve our interests more than it would the Thich or Vier.¡±


    Balthasar snorted. ¡°Politics. What you want me to do is claim neutrality while fortifying a highly contended strategic position. I suppose I should let your people come and go while laying heavy restrictions on everyone else.¡±


    Astra raised a finger. ¡°That might be true if the Old Camp wasn¡¯t already under our military control. And I expect the frontline to be pushed back even further in the coming months. You would be¡­ an assurance in case things go wrong. A stabilizing force which allows us to move our troops elsewhere. You would only help if someone sends assassins and raiding parties after our people who reside there.¡±


    The ancient tilted his head. ¡°I will have to think about it. Even in the best-case scenario, moving all my people won¡¯t be easy. There will be losses. And taking the Old Camp will come with problems without a doubt.¡±


    I raised a hand. ¡°It was just a suggestion! Don¡¯t start planning the exodus just yet. Before Charmaine came to get us, I mentioned to Astra that we should make a round trip and get information updates on everything. We will have to share the idea with our leadership. Maybe they are even willing to send a few airships to get you and your people.¡±


    Balthasar nodded after a moment of thinking it over. ¡°It might be the best solution, though I doubt Aerie can spare the airships during a war. Their entire doctrine relies on mobility. They will have to move 293 people if they decide to give us a lift.¡±


    I clapped my hands together. ¡°Then let¡¯s leave it at that for the moment. Astra and I will go on a small trip to inform the elders and return with an answer. I suppose it will be no problem if the other four stay with you for the time being? Despite the incident with Nisha we managed to catch a ¡®white¡¯. So Thalia and Mark might need a day or two to get used to their new mutation.¡±


    Balthasar nodded. ¡°It will be no problem. If I want to move the entire community, I will have my hands full. I must admit my neglected role as their leader might cause some resentment if I try. So some time to test out the waters before committing is appreciated.¡±


    With nothing more to discuss, we excused ourselves and went to search for the others. Thalia was sleeping, so we gathered Mark, Ginevra and Thiago for a short meeting and informed them of our intentions.


    Then it was time to leave and I mused out loud, ¡°The only question is where to go first.¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously asking this?¡± Astra tilted her head and looked up at me.


    ¡°The Old Camp,¡± I suggested. ¡°See whether they have news and whether the drakes decided to return.¡±


    The coloured patch which was Astra¡¯s left second eye twitched and narrowed. ¡°We go to Mount Aerie to have a look at Isaac, Constella and Aurora. Afterwards, we take the wormgate to wherever the flagship is right now to make a report. Then we decide where to go from there.¡±


    ~Right. The kids come always first!~


    I nodded to myself as I thought this - then stopped.


    Wait¡­


    ¡°When did we decide on names for the girls?¡±

 Ch 119 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    I didn''t deign to give Magnus an answer to his ¨C as I thought ¨C very stupid question and instead jaunted back to Mount Aerie, appearing in our quarters.


    Magnus followed a moment later. ¡°Seriously! When did we decide? We have been arguing over their names for weeks!¡±


    ¡®Yes! And don''t believe for a moment I haven''t noticed that you were trying to shift the responsibility of naming the girls to me,¡¯ I thought to myself. But every time I gave a suggestion, he found something to complain about.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°And that''s exactly the problem. If we keep arguing, the girls will be born-¡±


    ¡°Hatch!¡± he corrected.


    ¡°B-¡± No! I didn¡¯t want to argue about this again. ¡°Before we made up our minds! And this time Mary isn''t around to give them names. So I left Kiera with instructions before we went on our mission since she is essentially babysitting them for now. If you want to name them then say so and make a better suggestion.¡±


    ¡°Okay. That''s fair,¡± Magnus admitted hesitatingly after of moment of consideration. ¡°Unless we decide not to name them something like Ketchup and Mayonnaise, we could argue this case forever. But why Constella and Aurora?¡±


    ¡°It''s according to the theme,¡± I explained. ¡°Mary thought of you when she chose Isaac. Magnus and Isaac both have famous historical backgrounds. I decided that our boys get the historical names from now on, while the girls get something connected to the sky and astrology. A star has an aurora and several stars are a constellation. So, Aurora and Constella.¡±


    Magnus raised a finger and looked thoughtful. ¡°I doubt Constella has something to do with constellations, but I could be wrong. I have to look this up.¡±


    I glared at him. ¡°I like the name.¡±


    ¡°Which is reason enough.¡± He made an appeasing gesture.


    That''s when I had a wondrous idea. ¡°You get to name the next batch if you keep complaining!¡±


    Magnus almost choked. ¡°Is that a threat?¡±


    ¡°Take it as you will,¡± I replied smugly. ¡°Just pointing out that if you keep going at it as you are right now, the responsibility will fall onto you sooner rather than later.¡±


    I turned and went to search for Isaac before Magnus could start another argument.


    ¡°I take it all back! Both are good names!¡± he called after me. ¡°Just take some contraceptives when the time comes, please.¡±


    How should I know when the time came? Gaia didn¡¯t exactly give us a manual for our changed bodies and I was under the impression that the strange entity was operating under the principle: the more offspring, the better.


    I briefly wondered whether I should bonk him over the head since he could also try to pull out for once, but then I decided I was stuck with how Magnus was and simply had to accept it.


    We found our boy in the living room where he was playing with his toys. Isaac somehow had gotten himself three caretakers today, including Ivona, Hector, and my doctor, Kiera.


    ¡°Where''s my boy!?¡± I bent down quickly, this time catching the charging Isaac with my arms and my filaments before he could wrap himself around my leg.


    I squeezed my boy and kissed him before I returned my attention to a frowning Magnus, already fearing the worst because Iv and Hector looked rather different from when we had last seen them. Iv''s skin colour was much less violet than I was used to and Hector''s had darkened a bit to match Iv. Which could only mean one thing.


    To my surprise, Magnus didn''t seem to notice them at all and instead ruffled Isaac''s hair. ¡°How are you, Isaac?¡±


    ¡°Great! Can we go and visit Charmaine?¡± Isaac asked.


    ¡°Not right now,¡± I replied. ¡°But Charmaine might come and visit you in a few days. Then you can play together more often.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Isaac''s eyes gleamed. ¡°Then I can show her my pet!¡±


    ¡°Pet?¡± Magnus'' frown deepened.


    Isaac pointed at a box filled with cloth and a single egg resting atop it as if on a nest. ¡°Yes, Charmaine talked about having pets, so I thought about having one of my own. But I don''t want any monsters, so I looked for the most harmless pet I could find and Aunty Kiera suggested hatching one of the zipper eggs and trying to tame it.¡±


    Magnus'' expression fell.


    And he had done so well, even ignoring the fact that Hector was boning his sister since they had paired up without a doubt.


    ¡°Those eggs are for eating,¡± Magnus said in a deadpan tone. ¡°And zippers are monsters. They are small, but they are monsters nonetheless.¡±


    Isaac shook his head, very certain of his decision. ¡°I have read all the books about them! In large groups, they can be dangerous, but a single zipper couldn''t harm even me.¡±


    ¡°I forbid it! Zipper eggs are for eating.¡± Magnus declared with a tone of fatherly authority I hadn¡¯t seen him use before.


    ¡°Please!¡± Isaac begged, his eyes already tearing up in response to being denied. ¡°Aunty Kiera already made sure that it''s alive! D- d- do you want to eat my pet, Dad?¡±


    In the heat of the moment, I wasn¡¯t certain whether Isaac was using a ploy, but it came out so honestly that I didn¡¯t believe it.


    Magnus pressed his lips together and looked at me with an expression similar to his son''s.


    Okay... right now... I really hoped Isaac wouldn''t turn out too much like his father.


    I knew Magnus had a vendetta with a particular zipper, but Isaac had already made up his mind about the ''pet''. So with some effort, I overcame the urge to intervene in this conflict of interests. I shrugged, indicating this was Magnus¡¯ problem.


    ¡°Pleeeaaase?¡± Isaac sniffed.


    Magnus deflated. ¡°If the thing shits on the carpet, you are going to clean it. And I will play overseer!¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡± Isaac raised his hands and cheered loudly.


    I had to suppress a laugh.


    Magnus turned his attention to his sister and Hector. Both had stood up when we entered the room.


    Iv nodded awkwardly at Magnus. ¡°We have spent most of our time here since you went on your mission. Isaac is a charm.¡±


    Magnus grinned. ¡°Are you already used to being an aunty?¡±


    Iv frowned, slightly perplexed at his teasing. ¡°Okay. This isn''t normal.¡±


    She turned to address me. ¡°What''s wrong with him?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± I answered questioningly, not quite sure where she was going with this.


    Iv threw up her hands. ¡°Neither of you mentioned anything about Hector and me pairing up! I thought Magnus would be up in arms the moment he saw us.¡±


    I coughed. ¡°I am sorry. I thought it was a given it would happen sooner or later.¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°I even gave him permission the last time we saw each other.¡±


    Iv choked, then turned on Hector. ¡°That''s what you talked about when you had your chat between men?¡±


    Hector stared off into the distance, wishing to be anywhere else right now. ¡°Well...¡±


    I covered Isaac''s ears with my filaments, expecting this to go in an unsavoury direction.


    ¡°All the embarrassing things I did,¡± Iv complained. ¡°And you listen to my brother instead of me!? I practically threw myself at you. It was humiliating! At some point, I suspected you might be gay!¡±


    Hector raised his hands, palms out to ward off Iv''s ire. ¡°He broke my arm the first time we met ¨C which was admittedly kind of justified. The second time he tried to strangle me. Sorry if I am a little wary when it comes to your brother.¡±


    ¡°He is a psychopath who joined a terrorist organisation to take revenge on those who killed his family! He killed who knows how many people and then he got himself exiled to this hellhole of a world just because there was a slim possibility of finding me and my sister!¡± Iv ranted but threw Magnus an apologizing glance. ¡°Thanks for that by the way.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Magnus answered.


    Iv whirled back on Hector. ¡°Anyway! Magnus is a psychopath, a stalker, and¡­ I don''t know whatever mental illness makes him behave the way he does. All that taken into account, my brother should be the last person in this world you should listen to!¡±


    Okay, she was getting a little harsh now. What did that say about me for hooking up with her brother?


    Hector nodded to himself. ¡°If you put it like this, I am now more convinced than ever not to get on his bad side. Following his recommendation was the right move. And he has the Frosts behind him, which makes him even more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Urrgh!¡± Iv balled her fists and swung them at Hector''s chest who endured the battering stoically. All Iv achieved was to crack a thin layer of frosty secretion beneath his clothes. It had quickly formed on Hector''s skin to create a natural armour.


    The Mora family wasn''t known for a specific mutation.


    Instead, they relied on whatever powerful combination they had access to at the moment, which had almost become Hector''s downfall when his parents decided to take a risk with an only sparsely known mutation and add a new combination to it.


    The ice-lurkers lived deep down in the furthest and coldest caves the mountain had to offer. They were nasty creatures who seemed driven by an unstoppable rage at anything alive other than them. Their tendency to throw themselves with abandon at any foe they encountered was only compensated by their ability to create a very strong bio-armour by secreting a substance from their pores. Upon contact with air, this substance produced a strong endothermic reaction, causing the temperature to drop rapidly below freezing and resulting in the quick polymerisation of said substance. It wasn''t quite as good as iobeetle armour, but close. In particular, because damaged sections could easily mend themselves or be replaced.


    It looked like partnering up with Iv had stabilized Hector¡¯s behaviour. But Iv was still warring with the emotional side effects. Though, she was kind of a hothead beforehand. I found it hard to tell whether her current outburst was caused by the partnering or whether it was simply how she had always been.


    After a few seconds, Iv finally exhausted herself and stopped.


    ¡°Better?¡± Hector asked once Iv had vented her ire on him.


    ¡°Much better.¡± She turned back to us. ¡°I am sorry. I am kind of frustrated at the moment. What I wanted to ask was for an opportunity to help rescue my sister.¡±


    Magnus smiled. ¡°If there is something you can do, I will tell you right away. I am afraid there isn''t much that can be done right now. Astra and I have been doing nothing but running errands for the last month which has me frustrated to no end just the same. It feels like I am standing still, but the truth of the matter is that nothing can be done until everything is in place.¡±


    Iv narrowed her eyes. ¡°You are just trying to placate me! Look, this thing between us is strange enough. I know that you are my brother, but neither Evanne nor I have seen a hair of you for years. We are trying to reconnect and you are trying to behave like a big brother ¨C though I believe you shot way past the finish line. I appreciate the effort you put into finding us. I don¡¯t want to diminish what kept you going for years, but I just have to make sure that everything humanly possible is being done. I need to be involved.¡±


    ¡°I am not trying to protect you by holding you back. You are a young adult, Iv, and I can¡¯t tell you what to do. Though, I might put a few shackles on you and throw you into a cell if I thought you were about to commit suicide.¡± Magnus shook his head. ¡°We haven¡¯t gotten to know each other as well as I would like, but at times you are giving me the impression of being a suicidal hothead. Which is the only reason why I am saying this.¡±


    He took a deep breath and held up a hand to stop Iv who was winding up for an argument. ¡°Look, if you can call me a psychopath, then allowing me to call you a hothead should be the least.¡±


    Iv huffed. ¡°Fine.¡±


    Magnus nodded and continued, ¡°If I thought it to be feasible, I would put together a team with the strongest people I know and take them right to Thich and extract Evanne. She might think she is being abducted by the enemy, but I would do it if I thought it was possible. Heck, I might have gone alone and jaunted her out. But the truth of the matter is that I have no clue what the Thich are capable of. I have seen their ancients fight and ended up hospitalized for it. Unless they are heavily distracted and us having more knowledge about their fortress city than even you do, I see no chance of getting her out. It''s more likely to end up getting us and her killed, provided we reach her in the first place.¡±


    ¡°We don''t have to get into their city,¡± Iv objected. ¡°I told you that the training compound is at the outer wall. I can lead you there and I know the place like my own pocket.¡±


    Magnus smiled sadly. ¡°Do you believe that after starting a war with three of the major powers in this region, the Thich would have left anything of strategic importance vulnerable? The people in that training compound were either drafted into the Thich military, meaning we are more likely to meet Evanne on the battlefield than anywhere else. Or she was chosen to be ''paired'' with one of Thich''s higher-ups.¡±


    ¡°That...¡± Iv''s expression fell. It was clearly something she hadn''t thought about, or at least didn''t want to consider.


    ¡°If you can tell me how to get into one of Thich''s command centres where they might have documents on her whereabouts, then we can go right now. Or do you know at least someone who might reliably know what happened to her?¡±


    ¡°One of the teachers perhaps?¡± Iv suggested, but she didn''t sound so sure. ¡°I don''t know whether any of them would have paid close enough attention to the recruits.¡±


    ¡°And would those teachers still be at the compound if their trainees were drafted for the war?¡± Magnus asked. ¡°Or would they be drafted too?¡±


    Iv only hung her head as an answer and Hector wrapped an arm around her shoulder to give her comfort. ¡°Hey, Iv, I told you my family would help. It might not feel like we are doing a whole lot, but if we help the elders in the same way as Magnus and Astra are doing, then we are working towards a possible solution while we are waiting for news about her. Evanne¡¯s rescue was one of the conditions Magnus proposed to the elders for his help. You can be sure they will honour the agreement.¡±


    It took a few more minutes to convince Iv that nothing more could be done at the moment.


    The newly partnered pair eventually excused themselves, with Iv firmly resolved to follow Hector¡¯s suggestion of asking his parents for anything they could do to help.


    Once they left, Magnus¡¯ expression turned somewhat downcast, worrying me just a little bit. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I thought this conversation went well.¡±


    ¡°Nothing that wasn¡¯t wrong before,¡± Magnus admitted. ¡°I just believe getting Iv back was an incredible stroke of luck. One which might have gotten a little aid from Gaia. Meeting her just like that and then not killing her during the fight was¡­¡±


    I took his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t give up hope. You didn¡¯t do so for years. What¡¯s different from back then?¡±


    Magnus looked at the floor and closed his eyes. ¡°Zacharias knew who I was and that I had sisters who were with the Thich. Which is bad enough, but they also have someone who can twist minds. If I were in Zacharias'' shoes, let¡¯s just say it might not be possible to save Evanne at this point. Finding one of them might be the best outcome I could have hoped for.¡±


    I said nothing and just hugged Magnus with my arms and my filaments, squishing a squirming Isaac between us.


    We spent some more time with Isaac until the boy¡¯s interest drifted towards other things than his parents as was typical for an easily distractable child.


    Afterwards, we took the wormgate to Aerie¡¯s flagship where we bumbled in on an impromptu meeting of what looked like the highest brass from among the three allied clans.


    From Aerie, my mother and Juliana Rumen from the fifteenth were present together with Mary who had returned successfully from her rescue mission. A rather diminished-looking Gurney was sitting in on the meeting, looking like a ghost of his former self, but alive.


    Savannah and Ahmad Gentry represented Clan Jeng, their imposing armoured figures seemingly filling almost a fourth of the room.


    Matriarch Vanya and her right hand Tianna together with the matriarch¡¯s bodyguard were representing Clan Hochberg. The last time we saw them, they had a bone to pick with each other after Vanya revealed she had killed Hochberg¡¯s former matriarch, Greta. From Tianna¡¯s presence, I could only assume they had somehow worked things out.


    ¡°Gurney!¡± Magnus exclaimed upon entering the room. ¡°I am glad to see you again, but you look like shit, to be honest.¡±


    The scientist grinned, revealing a few missing front teeth. ¡°That¡¯s what a few weeks of starvation followed by radiation poisoning do to you. I still can¡¯t work up my old appetite for good stew, but I will get there sooner or later.¡±


    Vanya raised a hand. ¡°As much as I don¡¯t want to interrupt the reunion, but we are a little pressed for time. Magnus, Astra, we will give you a very quick update about the current overall tactical situation and then we will have to send you off to the Old Camp where we have a small problem. Magnus, your people arrived in numbers and our soldiers stationed there aren¡¯t quite able to deal with the flood of people. Conla Leece, who is in charge of our troops, also has some beef with the organisation¡¯s leaders who are demanding to see you before they cooperate with the clans.¡±

 Ch 120 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Vanya***


    I leaned back in my chair and allowed the others to inform Magnus and Astra about the current situation. Since I was the one urging for speed, I should have done so myself, but I was tired and the other members of this council were aware of the all-nighters I pulled.


    My attention returned to the map on the table as my mind spun, running through scenarios and possibilities. The map showed all known positions of allied and enemy forces ¨C with the latter information being more than a little unreliable.


    At a glance, the current tactical and strategic situation might have looked like a stalemate between the clans, but I saw it was anything but.


    The more Clan Jeng had revealed about their state of affairs, the direr things looked and I was still reluctant to inform the others of how dire I judged the situation to be. It wasn''t like I looked down on the other leaders, but not everyone was as calculating as me. There was no need to jump to conclusions without the full picture, as there were still some undecided factors.


    For example, the organisation had yet to reveal the full scale of support it could offer and a few of the ancients had yet to reveal on which side they stood.


    Nonetheless, the massive losses among Jeng''s civilian population were a heavy blow to the clan¡¯s overall economic strength. During the initial stage of their attack, Thich targeted several of their housing trees which Clan Jeng used as self-sufficient skyscrapers. Jeng¡¯s entire living style relied on burrowing into these gigantic trees like termites with the largest, the mother tree, at the centre of their settlement. Even so, the collapse of several of their surrounding housing trees had claimed a devastating amount of lives.


    Clan Jeng was still counting their losses.


    The arrival of Aerie¡¯s and my forces had prevented the absolute worst outcome and forced Vier and Thich into a temporary retreat. Back then, I wondered why our enemies hadn''t fought harder to deal the finishing blow to Jeng. What should have been a decisive battle turned into a mere skirmish in the grand scheme of things.


    Oh, thousands had died and airships went down with entire crews lost, but at the end of the day, neither side had truly committed their forces. Except for Jeng, nobody suffered irreplaceable losses. Thich would have had Jeng against a wall if the elders of Aerie hadn¡¯t revealed their wormgate. Without it, we might have lost the entire clan.


    The complete eradication of a clan¡­ such a thing hadn¡¯t happened since the great clan war.


    I sighed inwardly at the senseless loss of life, cursing my fellow humans for their inability to work together when survival alone was already hard enough in this world. But those were only my feelings. Rationally, I knew my species'' drive for competition and adversity was the reason why we had won the game of evolution and came out as Earth¡¯s top predator. As much as my fellow humans were suppressing the animal within to play the game of civilisation, that which caused us to rise to the top always shone through to drag us back down.


    And in a way, I had no right to complain after deciding to kill my predecessor to take things into my own hands. It almost cost me Tianna¡¯s support, but thankfully the woman was too calculating to throw the clan into disarray at such a critical moment by causing a power struggle. Though, things were not well and I would have to face our issues sooner or later.


    Suddenly, I realized my thoughts had drifted off again and I forced myself back to our reason for being here.


    By now, we knew why the enemy retreated, seemingly bestowing us the gift of victory by abandoning the field of combat. Following old wisdom, countries could win a battle and still lose the war.


    Jeng¡¯s Paladins and their ancient, Felix, had revealed the full scale of their failure only reluctantly, but they had no choice given the aid their people were receiving from us. To hold back vital information would have been the height of folly.


    Their reluctance nonetheless caused me to be wary of them and I still considered several scenarios of possible betrayal by Jeng. It was unlikely their civilians would rebel against us after Aerie took in most of them. But Jeng¡¯s leadership? Enemy operatives within their ranks?


    Possible, even very likely.


    It looked like Thich hadn¡¯t only known how to hit Jeng in the worst way possible, crippling their entire infrastructure. Thich also managed to steal all of Jeng¡¯s stores of iobeetle armour ¨C a supply Jeng had hoarded for several years as they restricted access to the material.


    Highly suspicious circumstances, given the precision of the attack. Meaning Thich must have had spies and informants among Jeng¡¯s population.


    The fact that Thich had managed to acquire large amounts of such an important resource as iobeetle armour put us on the back foot. Iobeetle armour was not indestructible, but it surpassed steel in mechanical resistance while being far lighter.


    Modern warfare on Earth had gravitated away from heavy armour, but only because modern firearms had become so powerful that armouring infantry with sufficient protection would be impractical. It was possible to protect vital areas to some extent, but using the equivalent of modern plate armour capable of withstanding bullets would have caused any normal soldier to collapse beneath the weight.


    Not so on Tirnanog.


    The average Tirnanogian was larger and stronger than any human from Earth, even without specialized mutations. Thanks to the iobeetle shells it was possible to create a modern knight capable of withstanding everything except for the heaviest of modern firearms. All while still allowing for more than enough mobility.


    Aside from Jeng¡¯s paladins, Aerie¡¯s hunters were the best example with their armour-weaving techniques.


    Iobeetle armour was tough enough so it was beyond the point where it mattered whether it was penetrated or not. The necessary forces to break the shell were large enough to kill most humans from the transferred kinetic force alone, even if the armour stayed intact.


    The only real downside was the expense due to its rarity.


    Besides, the main point of equipping our elite warriors this well was not to have them fight other humans but to protect their lives against the teeth and claws of Tirnanog¡¯s wildlife. A stealthy predator going for a vital artery was always a threat, no matter the power of the individual.


    On the positive side, it would take quite some time before the Thich would be able to field enough armoured warriors to tip the balance truly. Iobeetle shells were hard to process, but it was only a question of time. We had a few months, maybe a year until the supply of better armour would tip the scales.


    It all depended on Thich¡¯s ability to process the raw shells ¨C which was hard to judge since we got barely any information about their infrastructure.


    I had my spies out in the world, but the clans had always been very secretive about their military capabilities. Our insular lifestyle didn''t help. Getting information in and out was hard and Hochberg¡¯s information network in Thich¡¯s fortress city had withered away under my predecessor.


    Something which I highly suspected had happened intentionally, maybe as a part of some bargain.


    The Caravaners would be able to provide some more accurate intelligence if the families decided to take a side, but so far the vast majority of them tried to stay out of the conflict. Only those who had intimate ties with Aerie and Hochberg had pledged their support. I only wished they would be faster with their summit where the Caravaner¡¯s overall stance would be decided.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Yet another piece to the puzzle.


    At the very least, I thought Thich¡¯s economic capabilities to be equal to the other great clans.


    Even if it was unlikely for Thich to suddenly field whole battlegroups fully equipped with superior armour, I foresaw our supplies slowly dwindling as existing armour was destroyed and had to be replaced. According to Jeng, the annual harvest of naturally deceased iobeetles was far below what we needed.


    Meaning we would be forced to hunt the creatures, which we would have to pay for with the lives of important warriors. If we did not, at some point, our best would be forced to face their Thich counterparts with inferior protection and our losses would skyrocket.


    Wars on Tirnanog weren¡¯t won with numbers but by powerful warriors. Which wasn¡¯t to say that the small soldier didn¡¯t have to play their role.


    Still, any combat group needed their juggernauts to fight off Tirnanog¡¯s wildlife. A party of 200 warriors was capable of surviving in the wilds decently well, but their numbers were expected to dwindle without someone decently powerful to fight off the more dangerous monsters during the night.


    In Earth¡¯s ancient past most soldiers didn¡¯t die because they caught a bullet, but a disease. Nanotech eliminated this problem on Tirnanog, but we had the beasts to contend with. If Hochberg¡¯s records were to be believed, six of ten soldiers didn¡¯t die in combat with the actual enemy during the clan war.


    If a force of equivalent strength managed to wipe out the other¡¯s powerhouses, the established doctrine was to retreat and let the monsters take care of the rest.


    Felix clearing his throat drew my attention back to the discussion. ¡°We all know that you are tired, Vanya, but you could at least pretend to listen.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at the ancient but refused to allow myself to be dragged down to his level. Felix had harboured a grudge against me since he learned of Greta¡¯s demise. Mary persuaded him to drop the issue for obvious reasons, but he was still slightly antagonistic towards me whenever he found an excuse.


    ¡°I¡¯ve listened,¡± I answered half-heartedly while mentally reviewing the discussion I had listened to, but not consciously followed. Having perfect memories was my boon and curse from early childhood on, elevating me far above my fellow humans while separating me from them at the same time.


    To at least give the others the impression of paying more attention, I stopped playing with my puzzle cube.


    ¡°Maybe we could now send those additional airships which I requested two days ago to reinforce the Old Camp,¡± I tried my best to not sound too peeved. ¡°If you had followed my advice, they would already be there, providing additional lift capacity to move Magnus¡¯s people. And I am all for allowing Balthasar and his people access to the Old Camp. Again, with additional ships further north we would have had no problem giving them a lift.¡±


    ¡°Back then, it wasn¡¯t certain whether they wouldn¡¯t be needed elsewhere,¡± Felix countered.


    ¡°Not to you,¡± I clarified.


    Elder Juliana raised a hand. ¡°Please, we all agreed to keep the fleet together while moving the bulk of our forces. Aerie''s airships are the fastest means of moving troops we have, so we should avoid splitting our forces until we learn of a serious commitment of our enemies¡¯ forces.¡± She looked around. ¡°So, all are in favour of giving the Old Camp to Balthasar?¡±


    I nodded, seeing it only as a way to free up our troops for other tasks. Even if this ancient only sat down on a strategically important position and did nothing else, it was more than enough. Given that Earth¡¯s wormhole exit was close. Whether or not the Tibet facility was truly destroyed was something I was still dubious about.


    Confirmation! It was all about confirmation!


    Heeding old advice, I tried not to sound too bossy when I addressed our two best messengers, ¡°Astra, Magnus, if you don¡¯t have any further questions I would appreciate it if you make haste to contact the organisation. We received claims of the destruction of Earth¡¯s gateway facility and I need it confirmed as soon as possible. If this region has permanently, or at least for a longer timeframe, lost contact with Earth, then we need to adjust our plans accordingly.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Astra***


    We jaunted to our next destination as soon as the higher-ups threw us out of their council of war.


    ¡°Whoho!¡± Magnus shook himself once we arrived. ¡°Glad to be out of there. They were all a little too tense, don''t you think?¡±


    ¡°I think it is justified to be a little stressed out when you are in charge of a world war,¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°It''s not a real world war,¡± Magnus replied.


    ¡°To us, it may as well be,¡± I countered while we walked around the bunker. We had chosen our jaunt point at the Old Camp to be placed in an overgrown niche at the former training field behind the bunker.


    As soon as we came around the corner and got a good view of the remains of the Old Camp, we stopped. The former, burned-down log village had turned into a tent city and very busy-looking people were buzzing around like ants. Judging by the armour, there were some of Aerie¡¯s hunters among them, but the bulk of the mass looked like fresh exiles from Earth. At the very most they had a starfish mutation but that was it.


    ¡°Woow,¡± Magnus exclaimed upon seeing the scene.


    ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought you arranged this.¡±


    ¡°Well, I knew the general plan of what would happen if I managed to confirm safe passage and sent a message back, but I didn''t expect them to pull it off to this extent. At the most, I hoped for a few dozen people to storm the facility and get through.¡± Magnus spread out his hands. ¡°Those maniacs! How did they get a small army together? Did they march up to the gateway facility and blast their way in?¡±


    ¡°Why don''t we ask?¡± I marched up to a nearby guard and introduced myself, waving a few filaments at the same time. Our armour and treemonae mutation alone were enough to get us waved through the bunker''s entrance where we expected to find Conla Leece who was in charge of this mess.


    An additional security check later, we found ourselves in Gurney''s former office where Conla was sitting behind a desk and heatedly arguing with three people.


    Upon seeing me, Conla raised her hands towards the ceiling. ¡°Astra! Magnus! Praise Gaia! You are here! Finally!¡±


    The three who had been arguing with Conla turned to us and one of the men whistled in a rather offensive way.


    ¡°You are the girl who Magnus ''partnered'' with!?¡± he exclaimed and mimed an hourglass figure with his hands. ¡°No wonder the lad finally abandoned his ascetic ways. You are a looker!¡±


    I blinked. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, where are my manners!¡± He offered me a hand. ¡°Gunnar Elrod is the name! Call me uncle! I have been managing Earth''s side of this operation for too long, so finally going on vacation was overdue if you ask me.¡±


    I wasn''t sure how to respond and just stared stupidly while Magnus stepped into the room from behind me, growling rather menacingly while he looked down at Gunnar, ¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡±


    ¡°Gunnar!¡± Gunnar replied while looking up at my partner. ¡°Don''t you remember me? What have they been feeding you? You are at least a head or two taller than when I last saw you.¡±


    ¡°I only know one Gunnar Elrod and he is dead,¡± Magnus stated in a rather deadpan voice before looking at the other two. ¡°Chloe, Jakob, who is this clown?¡±


    Gunnar raised a finger. ¡°Right! Never used this face with you.¡± He placed the other hand on his wrist as if he intended to measure his pulse and twisted. With it, the man¡¯s face shifted, turning leaner and more angled. ¡°Remember your instructor, Agent Crowford?¡± Gunnar did it again and got some more wrinkles while his chin turned more pronounced. The hair on his head receded some more, giving him an even older appearance.


    I was taken aback. It wasn¡¯t like old people weren¡¯t a thing in Tirnanog. To pursue power, a few chose to use a more combat-oriented mutation instead of starfish. Still, seeing an old person get even older while I was watching was somewhat disturbing.


    Gunnar grinned once the transformation finished, revealing a set of crooked teeth. ¡°Or maybe this one? Remember your old neighbour who always snuck you and your sisters some sweets?¡±


    Magnus stared at Gunnar, his mien revealing nothing of his emotions.


    Gunnar grinned at Magnus and spread his arms, intending a hug.


    Magnus struck Gunnar with his palm, hitting the man right in the chest. The force of the blow sent Gunnar flying backwards until he hit Conla''s office table and did a backwards somersault over it. He only managed to let out a very strange noise as the air was forcefully pushed out of his lungs.


    Conla was also forced to jump out of her chair to dodge the body. ¡°Watch it!¡±


    ¡°Magnus!¡± I exclaimed.


    Magnus raised both hands to show that he was done. ¡°Before you carp over this, I thought long and hard about a proper response!¡±


    ¡°Two seconds! Tops!¡± I complained. ¡°That''s not long and hard!¡±


    ¡°I used thirty sub-personalities simultaneously! So all added up I gave it at least thirty seconds of consideration!¡± Magnus tried to justify himself. ¡°And I haven''t really hit him! That was only a light shove! And if he is really who he claims to be, then I should have lightning bolted him to kingdom come until it smelled well done in here.¡±


    ¡°That''s not the same and you know it!¡± I said.


    ¡°Ihht hurtsss¡­¡± a certain someone wheezed from beneath Conla¡¯s table.


    ¡°Don''t worry, miss. Gunnar has a few combat mods which are normally restricted to military personnel,¡± the older woman who was apparently a part of Gunnar''s party assured me with a smile on her lips. ¡°We kind of expected this to go way worse.¡±


    ¡°Chloe!¡± Magnus exclaimed, throwing out his arms in an urging gesture. ¡°Stop the small talk and start explaining! What¡¯s this supposed to be?¡± Magnus pointed at Gunnar who was using the table to get back to his feet, which I found surprising. I expected someone so frail to be hurt more.


    ¡°Ih hink he hot haaa rip¡­¡± Gunnar wheezed while holding a palm to his chest.


    ¡°Of course! Everything will be explained, though that will take time! Maybe we should sit down, but first.¡± Chloe paid the shapeshifter no mind as her gaze roamed to the third member of Gunnar''s group and she held out a hand. ¡°Pay up!¡±


    The man Magnus addressed as Jakob grumbled, but pulled out a colourful plastic bag and handed it over. ¡°Fine, you won. Though, I would contest that we would have to wait till Magnus learns the whole story before he decides to freak out on Gunnar.¡±

 Ch 121 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    Chloe was crunching away on a pack of salty snacks, looking as happy as she could be after having won her bet with Jakob. ''Gunnar'' sat next to the two, holding a hand against his chest while allowing the others to do the talking.


    Him staying quiet was for the best, because I didn''t trust myself not to deck him a second time. There had to be a certain amount of audacity involved to reveal himself to be an uncle who died while I was still a teenager, and then claim the identities of various friends my family and I had been close to.


    ¡°Before we begin, what''s your mission identification?¡± Jakob asked. ¡°I am sorry, but I have to ask and you look quite a bit different from when we last saw each other. Going all in on the mutations I see.¡±


    I looked down at myself, only belatedly realizing the difference between the old me and the changes I had undergone after coming to this world. It was only thanks to my former familiarity with the three people in front of me that they recognized me at all.


    Also, the others still had a lot to learn. Back on Earth, psychic abilities weren¡¯t a thing ¨C at least to my knowledge. The organisation had to change their ways if they wished to remain independent. However, I still had to see what their plan was. The scale of their exodus was certainly a surprise even to me.


    ¡°Sisyphus,¡± I answered, remembering all too well why I had chosen this codeword for my exile. After all, I had expected to take the risk of coming here in vain.


    Jakob nodded and cleared his throat. ¡°I will try to make this as short as possible, Magnus, since Gunnar currently has ¡®breathing¡¯ problems. Or would you rather explain this yourself, Gunnar?¡±


    He looked towards the shapeshifter who shook his head and let out a clipped, ¡°Tried.¡±


    Nodding, Jakob began his story, ¡°I am sure Gunnar could give you some deeper insight into his reasoning for hiding his identity from you for so long, but here is the gist of it. Your family, the Elrods, were deeply tied to the organisation. Your parents, your uncle, and before them, your grandparents have been working with us.¡±


    Jakob gestured at Gunnar. ¡°Gunnar here has been one of our best agents for decades. Your parents were using their jobs to influence the government in a more public manner. Whenever they ran into a wall put up by bureaucracy, they handed the matter over to someone like Gunnar who could dig deeper and blow the whistle if he found something.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°So you are trying to tell me there is more to my parents'' death than you told me?¡±


    Jakob shook his head. ¡°Everything is just as you know. The only thing we kept under wraps was their ties to us. It was Gunnar''s wish to keep everyone in the dark about them and himself after their assassination. The same reason why you went undercover after joining us and learning your sisters might be still alive.¡±


    I wanted to protest, but purely from a logical point of view, their reasoning was sound. Gunnar had cut ties with the family to protect his brother. Although, remaining silent after I joined the organisation went a little too far in my eyes.


    Gunnar pushed against his side and something popped, allowing him to draw in a deep breath. ¡°Oh, that''s so much better! Ribs being misaligned is the worst, I tell ya.¡±


    Jakob ignored him and continued, ¡°Gunnar is one of the very few agents we got whose modifications are on par with what the government has. It is next to impossible to get someone with such extensive combat and spy modifications without leaving a paper trail reaching the moon. So our first thought upon your parents'' death was that Gunnar''s identity had been revealed. That they attacked his brother¡¯s family to get to him.¡±


    Gunnar gave us a short nod. ¡°I was afraid they would try to use the girls and you against me. But even months after their ¡®accident¡¯ there was never a threat. For a time I told myself it might have been a genuine accident. Knowing the dangers of the job, I nonetheless dug into the matter. Just to make sure. I had to know. Finding out was easier than I thought. Your parents were true bureaucrats. They should have never caught the eye of the government. Sadly, this didn¡¯t protect them from misfortune. They got killed because they stumbled on something big enough to trigger a response and the rest is history, so to speak. The system is pretty good at pretending to be just by prosecuting one or the other politician now and then, but step on the foot of a truly big fish and¡­¡±


    He snapped his fingers and shook his head. ¡°I decided it to be best to stay quiet nonetheless. The authorities hadn''t aimed for me, but learning of my connection to you and your sisters would have surely ended in them trying to use you or them. There is nothing the World Government hates more than people with shapeshifting mods walking through their sacrosanct offices and rummaging through their dirty toilet paper and waste bins.¡±


    Chloe rolled her eyes. ¡°Gunnar, please.¡±


    ¡°You would be surprised at how much you can find by studying-¡±


    ¡°Gunnar!¡±


    ¡°Why do you think the government monitors sewer water?¡± Gunnar asked insistently.


    I raised a hand and, ignoring Gunnar, asked the other two, ¡°And you knew about this?¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Please understand,¡± Jakob responded. ¡°It was dangerous and more importantly, not our place to tell.¡± He looked at Gunnar.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I gestured for them to move on. ¡°This isn¡¯t over, but not important right now. What caused this¡­ colonization effort I might call it?¡±


    Jakob massaged his chin. ¡°Well, that was a rather surprising change of plans owed to the circumstances. While you were scouting out Tirnanog we were running interference on Earth¡¯s side. Of course, we couldn¡¯t get to the truly big fish, but after Gunnar made sure you got the good nanites at the Tibet facility, he dug a little bit deeper into the research there.¡±


    I frowned at the revelation of Gunnar being involved in this too. Was he the operative who gave me the injection?


    ¡°We managed to get a pretty good view into the inner workings of the research division and their supervision. Gunnar managed to liquidate some key figures who would have been tasked with putting some roadblocks in your way.¡±


    I raised a hand to stop him. ¡°Wait, wait. You are saying that Earth doesn¡¯t have any particular interest in Tirnanog? How does that make sense? We had some assassination attempts on our side which we attribute to leftover Earth assets.¡±


    Gunnar rubbed the back of his head and looked sheepish. ¡°Well, that was pretty much the doing of one low-level research official who thought a little too much of himself. I had him dealt with as soon as I found out he was sending assets after you and sharing information with those Thich people. From there things went a little out of hand as I had to silence a few researchers left and right to delay the information from spreading too quickly. But with such big organisations, there is always some email you don''t catch or an employee who checks the wrong statistic.¡±


    Chloe sucked in a deep, judgemental breath and crossed her arms while glaring at Gunnar who was unwilling to meet her eyes. ¡°Okay, things got a lot out of hand.¡±


    Jakob nodded. ¡°Suffice it to say, what you have seen from Earth was everything but a coordinated effort at interfering with Tirnanog. More like their little finger going out of line. We shouldn¡¯t rely on a repeat performance.¡±


    ¡°Still not explaining why you are here,¡± I urged.


    This time, Chloe answered, ¡°While Gunnar¡¯s efforts at blindsighting the real big bosses on Earth by throwing bricks into their information chain worked out¡±¡ªGunnar smiled at that¡ª¡°his actions were the equivalent of getting into a truck and running it through the local glasshouse. It will take the government time to pick up the pieces and put them back together so they can figure out what happened. But they will do so without fail and once they are done we would have had big trouble on our end.¡±


    And Gunnar stopped smiling.


    ¡°There was no way they wouldn¡¯t have found out at some point that someone with heavy spy mods was running amok in their midst. From there it would have been just a matter of time before they connect Gunnar¡¯s actions to you and back to us. The organisation is surviving by staying quiet so the government doesn¡¯t know where their people should look.¡±


    Jakob nodded. ¡°With the level of ¡®noise¡¯ Gunnar made we judged it to be only a question of time until a host of government agents with Gunnar¡¯s modifications went after us. A scenario our resistance cell certainly wouldn¡¯t have survived. So we decided to cut and run.¡±


    ¡°Gunnar knew the Tibet facility like the back of his hand,¡± Chloe continued. ¡°It made us fairly confident that a large raid would succeed, so we had a quick chat with the other resistance cells and had them take in everyone who didn¡¯t want to leave Earth. Meanwhile, they sent everyone who got a little too much attention from the authorities our way.¡±


    Gunnar nodded. ¡°And then we stormed the Tibet facility with everything we could carry, threw everyone who worked there through the gate to have a sip of their own medicine, and then we nuked the shit out of the hellhole. Rest assured, we won¡¯t hear anything from Earth any time soon.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ nuked the entire facility?¡± I asked, finding it still hard to believe.


    Gunnar nodded. ¡°If they want to follow us they will have to build an entirely new one.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they use any of their other facilities?¡± Astra spoke up for the first time. ¡°They have others, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Tibet was responsible for the Asian regions,¡± Chloe explained. ¡°There are other facilities in Europe, Africa, North and South America. And I believe they were building another one exclusively for Australia.¡±


    ¡°There is no need to worry about them using another gateway to get here,¡± Jakob said in a somewhat relaxed manner. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have started this operation if this was the case.¡±


    ¡°The gateway facilities all work under the same umbrella,¡± Gunnar continued. ¡°But during my time there I found out that besides technical difficulties, opening one-way wormholes isn¡¯t that easy. I am no scientist, but the way I understand it is that the facilities home in on certain focal points here on Tirnanog. This explains why the exiles are always dropped at the same spots. Each of the Earth Gateway Facilities sends their exiles to another more or less centralized location in this world. The most they manage is an offset of a few kilometres.¡±


    Conla leaned forward, for the first time interested in the conversation. ¡°Does that mean there are other colonies out there besides the clans?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I am fairly certain there is one for each gateway facility. But they would be on other continents. Nothing to worry about right now. Travelling between them is next to impossible as far as I understand. And from what I have seen the clans are settled on a single continent roughly comparable to Australia.¡±


    That got my attention. ¡°You have a world map of Tirnanog!?¡±


    ¡°A rough one,¡± Jakob moderated my expectations. ¡°The various gateway facilities are about as cooperative among each other as rival organisations. The remnants of the Tibet facility may ask for assistance from the others, but there will be board meetings to discuss the economic value of hunting us down. And whether diverting resources from the other projects makes sense, now that the others will have to take over the exiles Tibet can no longer take care of. We should be relatively safe at least till they rebuild the Tibet Gateway. Which might take a few years.¡±


    ¡°Still, other colonies.¡± I massaged my earlobe in thought. ¡°This is the first time I truly thought about it, but there are far too few exiles in the Old Camp to account for Earth¡¯s combined exiles. Even if they aren¡¯t as old and established as the clans, a few decades of sending people to various places might have amounted to some permanent settlements.¡±


    ¡°So we are good?¡± Gunnar asked


    I wrinkled my nose. ¡°That remains to be seen. I am not a hundred per cent sold we are relatives at all.¡±


    Astra sighed. ¡°Dear, I am afraid he is far too similar to you to deny kinship. Must run in the family. I only hope Isaac doesn¡¯t turn out like you two.¡±


    ¡°Isaac?¡± Gunnar asked.


    ¡°Our son,¡± Astra said.


    ¡°I am a great uncle?¡± Gunnar asked, grasping his heart while his thoughts spilt forth. ¡°Wait, but it''s been only a few months- but who cares! You have no idea how happy I am. When Magnus joined the organisation I was afraid our line would end with us.¡±


    ¡°We will still talk about that! In private!¡± I shot back.


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Conla massaged her temple. ¡°We will talk about everything. There is so much to talk about, why don¡¯t we start with a mind map to get our thoughts sorted out instead of drifting from one topic to another.¡±


    As much as I desired to get my answers sooner rather than later, I had to admit the current situation required some minimal effort at organisation.

 Ch 122 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    There were a lot of things to talk about. From the Old Camp¡¯s immediate problems like the coming night to more distant issues.


    With their comparably low numbers, Conla and her people had trouble protecting all the newly arrived exiles.


    It wasn¡¯t like my people hadn¡¯t brought weapons to protect themselves, but guns helped only to a certain point without the right mutations to back up the firepower. You couldn¡¯t shoot what you didn¡¯t see coming and couldn¡¯t hit what was faster than you could adjust your aim. Not to mention, certain denizens of the night would take a few bullets just as easily as they impaled themselves on a spear just to get to the fleshy human.


    So our first countermeasure was for Astra and me to be drafted as an emergency response team. Having two additional juggernauts assist in repelling monsters would be a great help. Especially since the forest¡¯s creatures seemed to think of the newly repopulated Old Camp as an inviting buffet.


    A second issue was the scarce supply of frequently used ¡®mutation materials¡¯ like starfish, upon which I pointedly ignored Conla¡¯s and Astra¡¯s glares. It wasn¡¯t like I could have done anything about having poisoned the lake at this point. The poison itself had already decayed, but the marine life was slow to repopulate the biome. Besides, it was a good tactical decision at the time.


    The problem would be solved soon enough once Aerie¡¯s relief forces arrived with additional supplies.


    More interesting was the news of Earth being only semi-involved in this conflict. There was no question they would become trouble for us sooner or later, but if my people were to be believed, then Thich couldn¡¯t count on getting more support.


    This didn¡¯t mean the old weapon and supply stashes which had already been revealed to our enemies weren¡¯t still a massive problem for us.


    Sadly, nobody could tell us exactly what type of weapons and how many of them the Thich had retrieved from those sites. If Gunnar was to be believed, then the rogue scientist named Everhart had revealed roughly fifty locations filled to the brim with old and new war material in addition to activating the sleeper force which tried to assassinate me. Coincidentally, this was supposedly the very same man who held my departing speech when I was exiled.


    The more Gunnar revealed about the whole mess, the more I wondered what had gone wrong to get a man like Everhart into a position with so much potential for power abuse. Then again, Tirnanog wasn¡¯t exactly on Earth¡¯s list of priorities. The whole mess had only blown up in Everhart¡¯s face because I meddled with the supercomputers at Mount Aerie and Hochberg, shutting out the scientists and getting other departments like IT involved.


    Who knew how far things would have gone if Gunnar hadn¡¯t used the opportunity to kick a warning up the chain of command? And in the end, complete loss of communication wasn¡¯t something the professor could sweep under the rug without getting the higher-ups involved.


    I guessed the good news about all of this was that the Thich were unlikely to receive additional manpower from Earth.


    Jakob Lang, the leader of my resistance cell back on Earth, revealed an impressive list of supplies and devices the organisation brought with them. Among these was all the necessary equipment for a gene laboratory. So in my imagination, I already saw Gurney salivating and indecently touching the boxes with chemicals and gene sequencers while whispering sweet nothings to them.


    Anyway!


    One of the organisation¡¯s main concerns was what would happen after their clean breakaway from Earth. All of us were dependent on our nanotech for the foreseeable future. It was a vital part of survival in this world, so gaining complete control of the UI was important.


    What Chloe and the others were afraid of was some kind of hidden ¡®kill switch¡¯ that Earth could activate if they thought they lost control of the situation.


    I didn¡¯t want to dismiss the possibility of such a function completely, but I had my doubts about the nanotech being capable of just flipping a switch and having all of clan Aerie drop dead.


    First, I was sure Earth would have had no scruple using this feature during the Clan War if they could. The fact they hadn¡¯t done so was a strong argument against the possibility.


    Secondly, I happened to have met the father of this miracle technology and learned some of the history behind its inception.


    This was a part of history which had been completely unknown to me until it was revealed by Mary and Gurney. Even if he had lost in the end, I found it highly unlikely that someone like Gurney would have used the nanotech on himself if he even remotely believed it could be used against him. Given the UI¡¯s web functionality, it would have been all too easy for Earth to break their promise once he handed over the secret.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Thirdly, Gurney hadn''t invented the nanotechnology with the intention to use it for genetic mass experimentation on people. Deploying it on Tirnanog was an abuse Earth''s leadership had come up with.


    This didn¡¯t completely exclude the possibility of Earth coming up with something new. To put it bluntly, it had been a few years since those events, but there was the little fact that Earth¡¯s scientists had not managed to significantly change the original function of Gurney¡¯s blueprints. All they achieved were minor alterations.


    Even I could see that Everhart was only a buffoon who barely understood the tool he was messing with. Like a kid mashing together different play doughs to see what the result would be.


    I wasn¡¯t a bioengineer, but in my mind, this meant Gurney¡¯s nanotech was based on some fundamental principle which was hard to mess with. And I happened to know a perfectly reasonable explanation for how a single human happened to invent a miracle technology which still went over his peers'' heads decades later.


    The next time I went to sleep, Gaia would have to answer a few pointed questions.


    My thoughts drifted to the rough world map of Tirnanog that Chloe had shown me.


    Like Earth, Tirnanog was mostly covered by water, but it had eight continents. Altogether, it had significantly more landmass than Earth.


    The clans were living on the northernmost part of a roughly Australia-sized continent whose northern mountain range directly transitioned into the ice-covered north pole.


    The largest continent was on the planet¡¯s equator, with the others more or less evenly distributed over the planet. One was admittedly not so much a real continent, but an extensive archipelago of islands spanning the world''s southern latitudes. Supposedly, each of Earth¡¯s Gateway facilities was aimed at another one of these continents.


    My interest in the other colonies aside, what astounded me was the convenience of it all. Without any self-adulation, thanks to Gaia¡¯s teachings Astra and I had probably turned into the foremost experts for wormhole theory among all of humanity. With emphasis on the word ¡®theory¡¯, because I wouldn¡¯t be able to whip up a miniature wormhole like Gilbert Kline¡¯s wormgate if my life depended on it.


    What I could do, however, was to assess the likelihood of a planet having enough jaunt points for a wormhole to target the right coordinates. Of course, it was possible to create a jaunt point artificially like Astra and I were doing. But if not in use, it would slowly degrade and disappear again.


    Given a planet¡¯s gravity well and electromagnetic field, each world needed to have at least one natural jaunt point at each of its electromagnetic poles. Two altogether. If I put my sub-personalities to the task and was very creative, I could imagine it was possible to come up with scenarios to raise the number of natural jaunt points on a planet to four, maybe five, taking moons with an electromagnetic field and a very electromagnetically active star into account.


    However, those additional jaunt points were very unlikely to be anywhere close to an ideal position like the one allowing the Tibet Gateway to drop people directly into Starfish Lake or the pool at the Old Camp.


    In other words, a planet having as many convenient natural jaunt points for Tibet, Europe, North- and South America, Africa, and Australia, each running their own Gateway Station dropping exiles on another continent¡­ This was outright impossible!


    It meant Tirnanog had at least eight natural jaunt points! And given the fact that a wormhole bridging light-years needed a damn powerful jaunt point to be stable enough for use like it was only possible from a planet¡¯s gravity well and magnetic field, this meant what?


    I frowned and thought about Tirnanog¡¯s sun, which was admittedly a white dwarf which probably had a damn powerful magnetic field. But there was only one moon, limiting the possibilities for complexity within the system.


    The only solution I could come up with was that all of the jaunt points which allowed Earth to drop their exiles so conveniently on different continents were artificial. It was the only scenario that made sense.


    But the technology necessary to create those jaunt points was magnitudes beyond the little street lights Astra and I were setting up. The only way I could see to make this possible was the ability to shape the entire planet¡¯s magnetic field to one¡¯s desire.


    Two delicate fingers pinching my cheek brought me back from my musings.


    ¡°Hey! Stop zoning out. We just got word that there is work to do. Something huge rampaged through the organisation¡¯s sensor array monitoring the outer perimeter and Conla wants us to get rid of it sooner rather than later.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I picked up my weapons and followed Astra out of the bunker, still deep in thought. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t do much more than to stash away this train of thought for later.


    We flash-stepped to our destination but still arrived a little bit late to the party.


    Three of Conla¡¯s warriors were already playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a firehorn when we reached a line of improvised barricades where the former wooden palisade had been. Some of the organisation¡¯s men were shooting the creature with rifles, but the reptile¡¯s scaly hide withstood the projectiles, allowing it to ignore the pesky insect bites.


    Mind you, the firehorn wasn¡¯t impervious to the guns, but it took two or three bullets to shatter a scale and for consecutive shots to get through. The triceratops-like predator was already bleeding from a handful of wounds, but so far none had deterred the creature.


    When we arrived on the scene, the monster stopped suddenly and raised its nostrils, sniffing the air.


    Then it turned in our direction, its eyes locking onto me like a bloodhound having found its mark.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I said a moment before the creature charged.


    ¡°I think I remember a certain event involving you and a firehorn,¡± Astra commented. ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect it to remember your scent among the dozens of exiles. Looks like their infamy for remembering the scent of their foes forever isn¡¯t just an old wive¡¯s tale.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s the same one?¡± I asked. ¡°Why would it remember my scent? I didn¡¯t do anything to it while it ate most of my fellow exiles!¡±


    ¡°Well, your scent was within the vicinity of a certain egg-thief,¡± Astra reasoned.


    The firehorn opened its maw, revealing several rows of shark-like teeth and a deep-red glow coming from deep within its throat.


    I flash-stepped, dodging the burning glob of napalm-like fire which shot out and impacted at the position where Astra and I had been just a moment ago. And when it hit, it burst apart, splashing all over the barricades like a liquid.


    The creature didn¡¯t stop its charge as it readjusted in my direction, readying another burning projectile.


    I sighed and pulled a javelin from my back, wondering what would happen if the fireball was hit while it was still within the creature¡¯s maw.

 Ch 123 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Vanya***


    I watched with dead eyes as Tianna slammed another pile of reports onto the table in front of me. It just kept getting more and more, but it wasn¡¯t enough. There wasn¡¯t enough detail to predict the enemy¡¯s movements. If I had just a little more accurate information, I could do so much more. Oh, what would I do for a single satellite image instead of these handwritten reports?


    ¡°Have we heard anything from the scouts who were headed in Vier¡¯s direction?¡± I asked, sounding just as tired as I felt.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Tianna shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t expect there to be any news before next week. If we expect the scouts to bring back any worthwhile information, we have to give them time to sneak past the enemy lines and return without being noticed.¡±


    ¡°Is there any news of the Caravaners?¡± I continued, hoping the Northroute family got their act together. The Northroutes were accommodating enough when I spoke with them at Hochberg, but they persistently refused to make any promises regarding the other Caravaner families.


    Tianna studied me with a conflicted expression before she answered, ¡°You are well aware that the Caravaners will have to coordinate their families before they can give us any meaningful answer. And even if all of them come together tomorrow, I doubt the Easttrail family would support us. They are deeply tied to the Thich.¡±


    ¡°Traitorous, heartless bastards altogether!¡± I cursed. I knew this would happen beforehand, but it felt good to vent at least a little. ¡°Can¡¯t they see the situation the clans are in? As if two of the main clans going rogue wasn¡¯t bad enough already. Now the rest of us can¡¯t even make up our minds to join forces. We should present a united front or our ancestors will have paid their blood for nothing during the clan war. It wasn¡¯t just about independence from Earth, but also about our way of living. If Thich takes over, all of that will be in jeopardy. Can¡¯t they see that?¡±


    ¡°They are merchants¡­¡± Tianna stated as if this explained everything.


    From her limited point of view, it certainly did, but I knew for certain there was more to it.


    She sighed after a moment of silence between us. ¡°Look, Vanya, why don¡¯t you go to sleep for now? It¡¯s not like you can predict every little thing that¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    I balled up the report I already read and threw the paper on the floor. ¡°But that¡¯s the problem! Isn¡¯t it Tianna? If I had access to all the information I need, I could end this war before it truly begins! I could save so many lives!¡±


    ¡°Then maybe you shouldn¡¯t have killed Greta!¡± Tianna spat back.


    There it was again. The reason for why our relationship had soured.


    ¡°Then we would be fighting the Aerie right now while the Vier and the Thich worked out a deal on who got which part of the cake! Greta was a fool for not seeing that. No, she saw it, but she didn¡¯t care about her people!¡± I balled my fists.


    Tianna straightened and took a step towards me, but she stopped herself before going too far. ¡°You are lucky I believe you. Otherwise¡­ it would be so easy to just kill you for what you did.¡±


    I looked at her. ¡°I did what was best for the clan. With Greta, there was no path forward which wouldn¡¯t have ended with our home on the line.¡±


    Tianna snorted. ¡°How boring and bland must the world be to you? I am never quite certain whether you are just an over-confident idiot, but then you go and predict the exact route the Thich took with Gurney as if it were nothing more than pointing out a direction.¡±


    ¡°As long as I have all the pieces to the puzzle¡­¡± I mumbled but didn¡¯t finish the sentence.


    She stepped forward and stacked the reports to take them away from me. ¡°Sleep now. There is no point in trying to predict every little movement the enemy makes. There is no such thing as omniscience and therefore you can make mistakes, no matter how smart you are. And if you keep going like this you will inevitably make a mistake you will regret at some point.¡±


    ¡°I am already regretting it,¡± I said.


    Tianna stopped and looked at me and I knew I had to clarify my thoughts. ¡°I am regretting it, but I am not sorry for doing my best for our people.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± my friend asked. ¡°Why do all this? You are just a child, Vanya. Greta was like our mother and you killed her.¡±


    I glared at the table. ¡°I am doing what Greta was supposed to do! I am doing what she taught us to do, but was too weak to do herself! Do you think I hadn¡¯t tried talking to her? I tried my best, but she lost her way. There was no time to change her mind. No time to correct our people¡¯s course without¡­¡±


    My voice trailed off as I thought of alternative scenarios. ¡°Nobody would have listened to me as long as Greta was still alive. Maybe I could have done something if I realised earlier. But back then when I still had time to change things I was too young to see or understand her. Greta already went down a dark path long before I could have changed her, Tianna.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Looking up, I made eye contact with her. ¡°Greta killed my parents, you know?¡±


    Tianna shook her head. ¡°Your parents died because-¡±


    ¡°Because they were too weak!¡± I spat. ¡°Who in their right mind would take a partner with purely psychic abilities? Greta manufactured their liaison because she wanted someone like me. A tool to protect and rule Hochberg. I understood that much early on, but it wasn¡¯t why I killed her. The reason why I killed her, is because despite Greta¡¯s teachings, despite her being my mother in everything but blood, she forgot one simple thing.¡±


    I sullenly pressed my lips together. ¡°Because if I am with a person for long enough, I can¡¯t help but get to know them better than they know themselves.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, The Facility***


    ***The Designer***


    Translated transcript: 06-05-3998 065


    Designer¡¯s Report_Log 34530-2350:


    538 cycles since allowing intentional contamination of environment testing site 35-F-33.


    Summary of findings and personal observations.


    Please refer to the linked research results for details.


    Specimen W254-Asassination-Type was an utter failure in its first iteration. The ability to adapt the genetics of other species was wasted without the intellectual capacity to utilize the full potential of this ability. We decided to initiate a full redesign of W254.


    To stay in line with our creator¡¯s guidelines, full self-awareness will be avoided at all costs, but we can¡¯t help that a high level of intelligence and adaptability is necessary to deal with the plague¡¯s preferred hosts. It will be an interesting challenge to design a genome which allows the resulting creature to compete without violating intergalactic treaties.


    Acquiring a suitable genome to build upon is already taken care of and the new specimen is expected to hatch soon. The creature¡¯s abilities will be interesting to observe since the genetic donor had a high grade of psychic ability, and as is often the case with such mutations, the results are highly unpredictable.


    Since some of the plague¡¯s hosts are also developing worrisome mental powers, learning to fight them on this special battlefield sooner rather than later can only be welcomed. Since there is no need to change the objective, I decided to have the specimen keep its primary goal of eliminating the plague¡¯s focal points in this world.


    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Curse this!¡± I screamed and dodged another fireball while Astra did her best to charge up another electromagnetically launched javelin.


    I was down to two javelins after the stupid lizard-thing caught and ate the first three like some dog catching treats. Two more were simply deflected by the creature¡¯s protective crest. There was little I could do as long as the firehorn was locked onto me like some homing missile.


    ¡°What¡¯s taking so long?¡± I called out while running circles to lead the beast on a wild goose chase, which was easier said than done. I couldn¡¯t lead the monster deeper into the Old Camp or some weak exiles would be caught up in the fighting. And for some reason, the creature refused to follow me out of the camp and into the woods. It was as if it knew it could force me to get closer to it if it threatened to charge deeper into the camp.


    ¡°Just a moment!¡± Astra replied while taking her sweet time to aim.


    If I had known a half-heartedly thrown javelin wouldn¡¯t end the fight, I would have thrown it with my full power. But doing so took time and effort, and I had underestimated the firehorn, naively not believing such a big creature would be fast enough to do anything about being harpooned.


    And then it hadn¡¯t given me another chance.


    With a little more space, I would have been able to create more distance and give myself the time I needed, but this would also allow the firehorn to rampage deeper into the camp.


    Flash-stepping one more time, I guided the firehorn once more into Astra¡¯s field of fire and my partner unleashed a second javelin into the creature¡¯s side.


    The first shot she had taken a minute ago was blocked by one of the firehorn¡¯s unexpectedly sturdy ribs, explaining why the bullets shot by the other defenders of the camp were little more than an annoyance to the creature.


    Astra''s second unleashed javelin hit the creature¡¯s torso and this time it went through all the way, punching entirely through the firehorn and coming out the other side to continue on a path away from the Old Camp. In its trail, the projectile drew a path of burning flames, having penetrated whatever organ allowed the firehorn to launch napalm-like fireballs.


    Instead of blood, a thick fluid quelled forth from the wound, igniting upon contact with the air.


    The firehorn went on chasing me for a few more seconds as if nothing happened. I was forced to flash-step once more before the creature finally slowed down and stopped.


    I watched warily as the firehorn glared its hatred at me before it coughed up a spurt of blood.


    At last, it fell over, legs still kicking in a last, defiant reflex before it stilled.


    ¡°That took too long!¡± I complained once I was certain it was over.


    Astra flash-stepped to my side. ¡°Excuse me, but I am not the muscle powerhouse between the two of us.¡±


    ¡°It still was quite the fight!¡± Gunnar ran up to us, carrying a heavy rifle which was on the verge of being mistaken for a cannon. ¡°No wonder Earth wants no part of Tirnanog. If everyone on the planet had the same abilities as you two, staying in control would be much harder for those who support the system.¡±


    I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, not quite ready to face my supposed ¡®uncle¡¯ / ¡®instructor¡¯ / ¡®fellow resistance member¡¯ quite so soon.


    Once I felt ready, I took off my helmet and tried not to glare at Gunnar. ¡°Not everyone in this world is quite as powerful as us. There are quite few. The Aerie call people on our level juggernauts, and elders and ancients are supposed to be even above that. I have been very lucky to find a partner like Astra. Not only for political power but also for physical abilities.¡±


    Astra cleared her throat and I received a prompt in our private UI chat.


    ¡°¡­ and of course, I love her,¡± I added.


    She smiled. ¡°Which shouldn¡¯t have been necessary to clarify, given that we already have three children!¡±


    ¡°I thought as much shouldn¡¯t have been necessary to state explicitly!¡± I countered.


    Gunnar almost tripped when he processed what Astra said. ¡°Wait. Three? You only mentioned one so far!¡± He scanned Astra¡¯s figure from top to bottom. ¡°How are you doing that, woman? Can you make them on an assembly line?¡±


    Astra linked arms with me and used the other to hook in with Gunnar. ¡°Not quite, but close. Mutations make it possible. Why don¡¯t we go back to the bunker till the next crisis arises? There is a lot you two have to talk about.¡±


    I grunted, not quite convinced, but I allowed myself to be dragged forward.


    Gunnar nodded. ¡°Yes, yes. I still didn¡¯t get the chance to make proper amends. Forgive me if I say this in advance, but in my unworthy opinion, Astra is a keeper, Magnus. If you ever let her run off I will be quite cross with you.¡±

 Ch 124 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***


    ***Magnus***


    What a night!


    I was glad that one of our mutations allowed us to stave off tiredness to a certain degree. We would inevitably have to sleep at some point, but we could keep going for a night or two with only minor drawbacks to our mental capabilities.


    Slowly, I stretched out my leg to test the knee. The fourth time we had been called upon for assistance, a night-terror had given me a good kick to make me lose my footing, but thanks to my armour the ploy hadn''t succeeded. Nonetheless, I still felt the pain of what would certainly turn into an impressive bruise.


    Unlike the firehorn, the night-terror had ripped through the mostly unenhanced exiles, causing twenty-four deaths while forcing us to play tag with the creature. There was a sinister intelligence to its behaviour as it used our weaker comrades as shields.


    In the end, we managed to chase the creature away, but the whole incident still left a sour taste in my mouth because it managed to escape with the corpse of a guard. The monster had grinned at me like a fox departing the hen-house with its prize as if it was just leaving the rest of us for later.


    This didn¡¯t sit right with me. Humans were truly foolish. To fight among ourselves when things like the night-terror were out there just waiting for their chance.


    Then again, it was probably better this way. Woe to anyone or anything giving humans a reason to truly unite. I was a humanist, so to speak, but I had no illusions about humanity being a scourge upon the earth if left unchecked. Nonetheless, if wolves and bears had gone down the path of extinction on Earth while being relatively harmless predators, then I certainly shouldn''t worry about exterminating things like the night-terror.


    ¡°I am glad the flagship is scheduled to arrive soon,¡± I said, more so to myself than to Astra. ¡°Once they take over we can go and inform Balthasar of the situation. And I can get away from Gunnar. I wish he would put back on the personality he displayed while he called himself Crowford.¡±


    Astra scoffed.


    She was lazily dangling her feet from the bunker¡¯s roof while we were watching the rising sun together. And it couldn¡¯t rise fast enough in my opinion. No wonder people avoided the night when large settlements attracted so many monsters hungry for human flesh.


    While the camp had suffered a few deaths despite our help, I wouldn''t have liked to imagine the number of casualties without our help. With the arrival of more warriors and supplies, the exiles could be protected more easily and taught to fend for themselves.


    ¡°I think Gunnar is fine,¡± Astra said. ¡°Yes, he is far from being a responsible person, but he isn¡¯t too bad. You are overdoing it with your attitude towards him. Who knows, maybe you can warm up to him?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Astra. As Crowford, he was my instructor. He taught me most of what I had to learn to work in espionage ¨C if his story is to be believed and no real Crowford is running around back on Earth. Seeing the guy just messes with my brain. I kind of understand his reasoning for staying silent while I was still just some random civilian, but he had plenty of chances to set things right once I became deeply involved with the organisation and he never said a word! Not a single one.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°And now I am suddenly supposed to be all ¡®family¡¯ with him after he told me his old persona was just an act? He is essentially a stranger. I am sorry, Astra, but I simply can¡¯t overlook it just like that.¡±


    Astra played with her filaments, seemingly listening only half-heartedly to my plight. ¡°You have to do things fast or not at all in this world. At least that¡¯s how I see it. If you want to keep him at arm''s length, then that¡¯s your decision. I am just saying he sounded like he intended to turn over a new leaf with you. May I remind you that the two of us also got going relatively quickly without really knowing each other?¡±


    I cleared my throat. ¡°That¡¯s different!¡±


    ¡°Because we essentially started our relationship with sex?¡± Astra asked with a smirk on her lips.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the reason and you know it,¡± I replied vehemently before I pointed at the sky, hoping to change the topic. ¡°Look, drake riders. They should be here soon.¡±


    ¡°Probably scouts from the fleet.¡± Astra didn¡¯t look up. She was more interested in weaving her filaments together before separating them, a training exercise I had also been taught by Etan. It was supposed to increase your skill and speed with the armour-weaving techniques.


    ¡°I think Gunnar deserves a chance,¡± she said after a moment of deliberation. ¡°He is a high-ranking member of your organisation. The other two listen to him, even if they don¡¯t seem too impressed with his antics. I believe you won¡¯t be able to avoid him anyway. Not if he is going to take a position of power on par with the other leaders of the organisation. And I don¡¯t see him doing anything else. There isn¡¯t much he can do as a spy at the moment since he doesn¡¯t know his way around clan society, so if there is no avoiding him it would be beneficial to be at least on a good footing.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so,¡± I sighed. ¡°I nonetheless reserve the right to keep him at an arm¡¯s length for as long as I want to. And you should too. No matter how I look at it, Gunnar feels like trouble.¡±


    The drake riders interrupted our conversation when they landed in front of the bunker, bringing us a few surprise guests.


    Astra¡¯s mother, elder Teresa, as well as ancient Mary, rode together on one drake. It was a sky-blue female who settled lazily on the field in front of the bunker.


    Thalia¡¯s parents, the Tates had their own mounts.


    Finally, elder Skye Rumen of all people dismounted the biggest drake I had ever seen. For a moment, I wondered why one of the highest-ranking elders of Aerie would bother with a personal visit, but then I reminded myself that Aerie liked to do things differently. Both in war and in politics the clan¡¯s leaders were expected to take a personal hand in things.


    With Skye, Gurney also slid down from the large drake¡¯s back while studying the camp with an expression of distaste. I couldn¡¯t tell whether the reason was seeing his home in such a desolate state, or whether he despised returning to the place of his exile.


    Their arrival had also drawn the attention of the organisation, causing my people to emerge from the bunker together with Conla Leece.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Astra raised a hand to wave at her mother and we jumped down to land next to the two groups.


    ¡°What brings you out here?¡± I asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys a little bit too high profile to be running errands?¡±


    ¡°Vanya is currently handling the troops together with Juliana and the other elders. There are more than enough skilled people taking care of things,¡± Skye answered. ¡°And I have to admit the girl is doing a fine job of it, so we thought it would be prudent to accelerate things on this side. Also, I heard there are a lot of new exiles here who are in dire need of some guidance regarding their mutations and we happen to have three specialists at hand. So, why don¡¯t you introduce us?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I turned to my people. ¡°Jakob Lang, leader of the resistance cell I was working with. Chloe Pastell, also a high-ranking member and she is in charge of logistics. And Gunnar Elrod, spy in charge of this operation.¡±


    Astra poked me in the side when Gunnar put on a hurt expression. ¡°¡­ and as I recently learned, a ¡®distant¡¯ relative of mine I didn''t know existed.¡±


    I turned to the others and introduced them one by one while the two sides began shaking hands and exchanging niceties.


    When it was Gunnar¡¯s turn to shake hands with Mary, instead of letting go, he went down on one knee and kissed the back of the ancient¡¯s hand, shocking everyone.


    ¡°My old ocular implants never laid eyes on a beauty such as yourself and I can only call it attraction at first sight. Allow me to be at your service¡­ and please tell me you are still available for courtship, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Mary said nothing and raised both eyebrows before giving us a pointed look.


    ¡°Gunnar, what are you doing!?¡± Astra hissed.


    ¡°I am only doing what we talked about yesterday, Astra,¡± Gunnar replied, sounding like he had done no wrong. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who said the local culture was all about going for it quickly and not looking back because each day could be our last one? I was also told it was important to find someone to hook up with.¡±


    ¡°You can''t just walk up to an ancient and propose!¡± my partner protested.


    Gunnar turned to Mary and waggled his eyebrows. ¡°Oh, ye young people and their little experience. If you are searching for love, there is no time to wait and see whether she is the right one. You have to walk up to her and tell her your intentions so you can find out whether you fit together, or you will end up old and grey. And it so happens Lady Mary just ticks all my boxes. Please ignore the complaints of the young and allow me to present myself in the best light. I am sure bad rumours about me are aplenty, but you have to get to know the man behind the spy''s persona before you judge.¡±


    ¡°I just wonder where you got the idea I would be available?¡± Mary asked.


    Gunnar pulled at his earlobe. ¡°Ultrasonic receivers and a data uplink! I can listen to everything within a five hundred metre radius and record it, then review it at my leisure.¡±


    Astra turned to me. ¡°Magnus, he is your uncle! Stop him!¡±


    I raised both hands. ¡°I wash myself in innocence here! Weren¡¯t you the one who told me to make up with him just a minute ago?¡±


    The spy touched his heart and smiled at my partner. ¡°You tried to smooth things out between Magnus and the worthless me? I am truly thankful.¡±


    Skye cleared his throat. ¡°Gunnar, was it? I am sorry, but you should probably know that Mary is an ancient. It¡¯s a title of great honour, not just in status but also literally. She was already around when your great-grandparents were little kids.¡±


    Gunnar wasn¡¯t impressed. ¡°I can control my attraction to a woman just as badly as the next man. And what is age in a society with a potentially limitless lifespan? I am also way past my prime, so I find not going after the young lasses only to be prudent. But shouldn¡¯t Lady Mary be capable of speaking for herself in this matter?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± Mary looked¡­ flustered. ¡°Can I have my hand back?¡±


    ¡°Of course, my lady!¡± Gunnar let go immediately and got back to his feet. ¡°It was never mine to begin with! But I must insist you join us for tea inside the bunker! We brought some blends from Earth and they are a limited commodity, given we can no longer call for resupplies!¡±


    He ushered Mary towards the bunker who allowed him to lead the way after giving us a look questioning what was wrong with this man.


    With Gunnar''s scene finally over, the group moved their discussions into the bunker. For a moment, I thought about stopping Gurney to have a chat with the man, but it looked like he was occupied for now and likely would be in the near future.


    Well, it wasn''t like we had something important to talk about. I was sure there would be time to catch up at some point.


    As he was about to enter the bunker, Jakob turned on his heels to address me, ¡°Before I forget again, I deposited the package with your request with the bunker''s quartermaster. Big fella, you find him right around the corner in the warehouse management.¡±


    Having said his piece, he turned and hurried to follow the others.


    ¡°Package?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°Aah, just something I requested them to look into back on Earth,¡± I said and clarified after a moment of thought. ¡°Back when I sent the message to Earth I added a small extra wish. I am not sure whether it''s the right time for it.¡±


    ¡°Is there ever a right time with our current schedule?¡± She asked, then looked after the others. ¡°I still can''t believe Gunnar did that. So embarrassing...¡±


    ¡°Just imagine Mary saying yes. I mean, is that even possible? She has a full set of mutations and Gunnar is... some kind of cyborg.¡± I let out a non-committal grunt and went into the bunker, looking for this so-called quartermaster. Getting involved with Gunnar''s antics was the last thing on my list.


    As far as I knew, Mary was perfectly capable of punting him through a wall if he got annoying, so I wasn¡¯t concerned with playing watchdog.


    ¡°Theoretically, yes,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°Practically, probably not.¡±


    What she was forgetting was that, if she wanted to, Mary had the political resources and the connections to make it happen, but I didn''t want to argue.


    The quartermaster was quickly found. He was an impressive, pure-bred Hochberg warrior towering above us. The man was at least 2.5m, with the top of his head threatening to scratch the ceiling.


    Upon inquiring about my package, I got a large metal shipping container which looked a little banged up and an envelope. The service was a little surreal, reminding me of the good, old times of ordering items back on Earth and having to get them at the post office.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± Astra asked while touching the container. She unhooked the clasps and took a peek inside, only to be greeted by lots of packaging material.


    Yep, just like the good old times.


    ¡°That''s the newest and sturdiest surround sound system my people got their hands on. Including everything to maintain it,¡± I explained while opening the envelope.


    ¡°Surround sound?¡± Astra repeated, sounding perplexed, which was when I realized the society she grew up in never had a reason to connect certain terms to specific functionalities. An exile who grew up on Earth would know what I was talking about, but Astra had been abducted while she was still a child and probably forgot.


    ¡°It''s a music player,¡± I clarified, which got me a gasp of excitement.


    ¡°For real?¡± Astra was instantly all over the box as if she would love nothing more than to unpack it right away. ¡°When? How?¡±


    ¡°When I used the supercomputer back at Aerie to send my people a message,¡± I explained. ¡°I was abusing your family''s political weight, so I thought levering my connections to give something back was the least I could do.¡±


    Asking for the delivery hadn''t cost me anything, even if having the request actually fulfilled wasn''t certain. I wondered what Jakob thought when he read the little attachment to my report.


    I took a look at the documents and sighed, folding them back together.


    Unfortunately, Astra noticed me doing so despite the distraction the present provided. ¡°And what''s the envelope for?¡±


    ¡°It would spoil the mood,¡± I answered, wondering whether I should burn the paper and forget about it ever existing.


    Astra thought for a moment and shook her head when she came to a conclusion. ¡°No, I can imagine what else you asked for. Show me.¡±


    I handed her the documents and she had a good, long look, going through them slowly one by one before blinking at the last file. ¡°They aren''t dead.¡±


    ¡°They might as well be dead,¡± I clarified. ¡°They got deported through the Europe gateway station. Which means they aren''t here. I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Astra folded the papers and stored them with her filaments before hugging me. ¡°I got to terms with losing them a long time ago and I got a new family. But thanks for trying. I didn''t even realize I told you my original name.¡±


    After hearing about Astra¡¯s exile and those of many other children, I sent the organisation all the names I could gather and asked them to investigate. Sadly, it seemed like standard practice to either dispose of or deport the parents of the abduction victims through a different gate.


    ¡°You didn''t!¡± I answered, proud of myself. ¡°I asked Teresa and she told me when I explained why I needed it.¡±


    Astra used her filaments to raise her lips to my ear and purred, ¡°Tonight you are getting luckier than ever.¡±


    Being a guy, I couldn''t hold back the stupid grin on my face. ¡°I always like to hear that.¡±

 Ch 125 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Forest***


    ***Henrik***


    ¡°I tell you, Brook, as soon as I get the chance I will apply for a different job. Even if I end up doing menial labour or get sent on a suicide mission far, far away. Everything is better than dredging through this cursed forest! You can¡¯t see ten metres through the foliage and there are critters everywhere. Have you heard about the leech thing which chewed off the calf of a guy from the second scouting unit? With my luck, I will suffer the same fate if I stay here for long enough.¡± I shook myself at the thought. ¡°Just get me a ticket out of this forest.¡±


    ¡°One might think a task as easy as searching for some shedded iobeetle carapaces should be the preferred work for a sensor like you,¡± Brook replied distractedly while his attention was on something hidden in his bag. ¡°This job is as easy and safe as it gets out here.¡±


    ¡°Just saying,¡± I replied weakly, knowing Brook avoided socializing with the rest of the unit. It stood to question how someone like him had ended up in this position.


    I would have loved to know what Brook was trying to hide in his bag, but sadly I was one of the lesser specialized sensors and Brook was above me in rank. It wouldn¡¯t have done me any good to openly root around in a superior¡¯s business.


    Sadly, my only ability of true renown was my sense of smell ¨C which only told me Brook was playing around with some electronic device, judging by the slight smell of ozone and plastics in the air. Probably some old tech from Earth, though there was a note of something biological in there which reminded me of creature cores. It was faded and old, but it was definitely there.


    While I would have liked to theorize further on the nature of Brook¡¯s secret, there was no certainty that the two smells were connected. While odd, it wasn¡¯t exactly uncommon for hunters to carry around trophies of besting especially powerful monsters.


    If I hadn¡¯t wasted most of my early mutations on combat abilities while dreaming of power and fame, I would have probably been able to make out what took so much of Brook¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you concentrate on your job and lead us to that carapace?¡± Brook suggested while closing his bag.


    He narrowed his eyes at me and I hurried my steps onwards, pretending to be eagerly doing my job. I inhaled deeply through my nose and mouth, allowing the different aromas of the forest to flow through me to make full use of my olfactory sense while I turned my head slightly to narrow down the direction.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming from this way,¡± I pointed, glad that the forest wasn¡¯t very windy thanks to the thick foliage. Frustratingly, it was the perfect environment for my ability, even though I despised it so much. ¡°Smells like it died recently too.¡±


    We had to cut our way through a section with dense bushes. I wasn¡¯t doing so well with my short sword, but Brook¡¯s halberd made quick work of the thicket until we arrived at a small clearing.


    One of the forest¡¯s enormous trees had fallen, taking down a bunch of the smaller ones with it. This allowed sunlight to filter through the forest¡¯s canopy which normally absorbed almost every ray of light before it could reach the ground.


    Next to the trunk of the fallen tree giant was the hollowed-out carapace of a truck-sized iobeetle, its outer shell shimmering beautifully in various shades of green.


    A flock of zippers rushed away from the corpse as we approached. Some flew up to the tree branches while others disappeared in the underbrush, though they doubtlessly stayed close to the flock. Zippers were highly social animals.


    It looked like the little monsters didn¡¯t fight for the body because they had finished their work already. If there had been meat left, they wouldn¡¯t have given up so easily on the remains.


    I eyed the ones on the branches warily, knowing very well they were perfectly capable of taking us down if they wanted to. But for some reason, they were among the few species who weren¡¯t unforgivingly hostile towards humans. At least as long as they weren¡¯t unduly provoked or their nests weren''t nearby.


    The former was easy enough to avoid and the latter was unlikely. As far as I knew zippers preferred high and rocky cliffs for their nesting grounds, so we should be safe enough even if this flock looked larger than usual.


    All the deaths around Jeng¡¯s mother tree must have attracted a lot of the little critters.


    I approached the iobeetle, wondering what happened to it. It didn¡¯t look like one of the old sample specimens we had been shown by the Jeng. Because of the shortage of iobeetle shells, the Jeng had temporarily given up on their monopoly and allowed hunting teams from Hochberg and Aerie to help with the harvesting.


    The uncommon cooperation between the clans was surprising, but what did I know about the political machinations of our leaders?


    If the Jeng were to be believed, iobeetle shells could only be harvested from beetles who died of old age. The beetles had no natural predators in this forest. To find a young one like this seemed unusual.


    I took another step, just to assure myself of the shell¡¯s scintillating brightness. The beetle certainly hadn¡¯t died of old age, but I also knew of nothing which could take down an iobeetle in its prime.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this, Brook,¡± I said warily while I studied the remains and the zippers who were watching us from the branches. Normally, the little scavengers would be gone as soon as they were done with a corpse.


    The few instances when they stuck around people were when they expected there to be more leftovers to be had. Either because the person in question was about to kill something... or was about to be killed.


    ¡°Brook, I think we have to book it and get one of the other search parties for support. Something isn¡¯t right here.¡±


    I turned, only to find Brook nowhere to be seen.


    My guard¡¯s sudden absence sent a surge of fear down my spine and I turned, scanning the clearing for where he could have gone while my precognition sense tingled alarmingly.


    When I saw no sign of him, I ran back from where we came, following Brook¡¯s scent trail. I had no idea whether the scent was the one he left when we came to the clearing or whether he had taken another route.


    But I hoped he had just fled back the way we came the same as I was doing right now. If so, I would catch up to him sooner or later since he wasn¡¯t the fastest guy around.


    Had the bastard left me behind intentionally? Seeing the scene before us, he must have been quicker to come to the same conclusion as me and left me to delay whatever had killed the iobeetle! What a bastard! Once I got back to command I would make sure he spent the rest of his days cleaning the latrines!


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    If I got that far.


    Whatever caused my precognition to flare up seemed to be getting closer because the sensation didn¡¯t ease up! Either it was catching up to me or I was¡­


    I burst out of the thicket before I could finish the thought, only to come across a grizzly scene. There had been another searching party on our heels: Carina and Shamil.


    They were...


    They were...


    Shamil was lying on the ground with half his face chewed off and a dark, empty hole where his left eye should be. And Carina was in the grasp of... a thing.


    It was vaguely humanoid, but its flesh was warping and bubbling as if a thousand maggots were moving beneath. And the creature¡¯s mouth was attached to Carina¡¯s face, seemingly sucking something out of her.


    The creature dropped the dead woman when it noticed me, pulling a long, barbed and sinewy tongue out of her head as she fell. Turning my way, it was still morphing as it approached.


    I wanted to scream. To run. Draw my weapon. Do anything! Do something damn it!


    But I couldn¡¯t.


    I was rooted in place.


    ~~Fear.~~


    ~~That''s right.~~


    ~~Fear me.~~


    I blinked at the thoughts which weren¡¯t my own. They were wrong, but I could do nothing against it. My whole being was paralysed with fear.


    The monster raised its arms, its three-fingered hands morphing to five as it laid its cold, leathery digits upon me.


    And above us, the zippers watched in anticipation from their branches.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    I dodged the first blow and tried to block the second one, but Magnus overpowered me! Relentlessly driving his strike past my defending arms, he slapped his open palm against my breastplate, causing me to stumble backwards and pushing the air out of my lungs.


    The power behind it stunned me for a moment. This kind of training was not in my favour because of the difference in our physique.


    With my slimmer build, I was faster than him, but I couldn¡¯t compete in pure physical power. Ever since I had gotten his strength mutation, I had become a little bit sloppy regarding other people who couldn¡¯t compete in speed and power.


    Sparring with someone who could keep up with my speed and power forced me to adapt my techniques. It wasn¡¯t wrong to remind myself that there were people out there who could overpower even Magnus in pure physical strength. So not getting caught at all was definitely to be preferred in my position.


    I allowed my mind to wander a little as I retreated to recover from the blow. According to my wishes, Magnus wasn¡¯t holding back too much when we were sparring. His hand-to-hand combat abilities had certainly skyrocketed to impressive levels since he arrived in Tirnanog. First through his mutations and then even further thanks to the training regime he was imposing on himself.


    He had received precious training on Earth, but according to his estimation, he was no more than a knowledgeable amateur back then. The mutations only allowed Magnus to put the theoretical knowledge about combat techniques to good use.


    Magnus approached and I took a step sideways and away from him to give myself more time. I hoped a delaying tactic would make him impatient and create an opening.


    Last night we had finally gotten an opportunity to sleep and have a little chat with Gaia. Sadly, the entity had once again professed her inability to help Magnus with his slightly worrying attitude towards combat. However, she admitted the instinct to madly throw himself against anything threatening a mate was something he got from his zipper mutation. It was nonetheless something he had to learn to control on his own.


    Seeing I wasn¡¯t ready to engage, Magnus returned to his neutral stance, a new technique he was working on. With his legs a shoulder-width apart, one a step before the other, he didn¡¯t look particularly threatening with his palms held in a prayer position.


    I had already witnessed its deceptiveness first-hand, half-blinded and surprised by the sparking lightning arc he had generated between his palms upon separating them to strike at his opponent.


    Thankfully, I was much more resistant to electricity than the average person. Using our electric powers against each other was like dousing each other with water. Though, if we got serious it could get unpleasant.


    I circled around him as I mentally went through the events of the last few days.


    After helping out at the Old Camp, we returned to Balthasar and brought him news of our elders approving of the agreement. On the occasion, we also had to bring Isaac for another play session with Charmaine.


    Thalia and Mark were in good health when we arrived and were slightly high on trying out their newly improved evolution. In terms of pure physical strength, Thalia was now definitely my superior, though she was nowhere close to my speed and had to compensate with her precognition. The new mutation had also improved the pair¡¯s senses across the board ¨C not to the level of a dedicated sensor, but it was nothing to be ignored either.


    I still doubted either of the two could take us on in hand-to-hand combat, but that wasn¡¯t necessary. Thalia¡¯s greatest weakness had been her physical ineptitude. If she could hold out for long enough to entangle her opponent in her mental ability, she would have as good as won the fight.


    Also, Balthasar had spoken with his people. According to him, some malcontents didn¡¯t want to move, but he assured us the problem would be sorted out in time and we could inform our elder that his people would take over the Old Camp.


    On the elder¡¯s side, we had organized a few airships with skeleton crews to pick up Balthasar¡¯s Mycelists.


    Magnus ended my introspection when he suddenly moved in to attack, no longer willing to give me more time.


    It was what I had been waiting for.


    Instead of foolishly countering his strike head-on, I dodged this time, enduring the lightning as I grappled with his outstretched arm. Kicking off the ground, I brought my legs up, intending to take him down with a flying armbar.


    But Magnus saw the move coming and stepped into me, not allowing me to bring the move to a textbook finish. Instead of managing to wrap both my thighs around his arm, I only awkwardly managed to clasp onto him with my pelvis beneath his armpit and my legs wrapped around the opposite side of his neck.


    I tried to correct the mistake by bringing my filaments to bear, sending out dozens of them from between my armour plates to wrap him up.


    Magnus countered with his filaments which was followed by a few intense moments of struggle during which he managed to grab a bunch of filaments emerging from a gap in my neck armour. He used this leverage to pull my torso closer to his side so I couldn¡¯t apply enough force with my armbar for it to have any impact.


    The further entanglement caused him to fall over and after a few seconds of silent struggle between our filaments, we both were at an impasse.


    ¡°Why do our spars always end like this?¡± Magnus asked with a small undertone of frustration in his voice.


    ¡°Because we aren¡¯t truly going all out?¡± I suggested. ¡°Technically, I won this one because I am on top!¡±


    ¡°I could have decided to fall forward and knee your neck if I wanted to hurt you,¡± he pointed out.


    I gave it a moment of thought, considering how we had ended up in our current position. ¡°Technically, but it would have only hurt-¡±


    A gasp from the garden¡¯s entrance drew our attention where we found Kiera Tate, eyeing us with a mischievous expression. ¡°If you two are busy making more of those interesting little ones, then I won¡¯t bother you further. Are you by chance studying the Kama Sutra?¡±


    ¡°We are not!¡± I shot back, whatever this sutra thing was. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that this is combat training? Or why else would we be in full armour!? And what¡¯s the Kama Sutra?¡±


    ¡°A perverted old book about living well, finding a partner, and the art of sex,¡± Magnus explained. ¡°Though, I think what Kiera was referring to was the part about different sex positions and practices.¡±


    I thought about it for a moment. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you mentioned such a thing exists? I have found our love life quite stale recently. Bondage isn¡¯t all it¡¯s jacked up to be. Maybe we should try out this Kama Sutra.¡±


    ¡°Hell, no! I am still angry at Thalia for suggesting bondage to you. What is it with the Tates and their interest in sex practices!?¡± Magnus began to struggle once more. ¡°I¡¯ve only taken a look at that book once and most of the described positions looked damned painful!¡±


    ¡°Only if you are the average human,¡± Kiera pointed out. ¡°I found the prescribed arts quite enlightening. The fifth strata has a copy in their museum if you are interested.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± I said, reminding myself to take Magnus on a tour. He had been with the clan for almost a year, but he had barely seen anything of our culture and traditions. What a shame.


    ¡°Arrr! Damn it! Why are you even here, Kiera?¡± Magnus asked.


    The gynaecologist hit her open palm with her fist. ¡°I knew you two distracted me from something important with that display of yours. But I thought you should know that the two little ones are about to come out!¡±


    ¡°They will hatch now!?¡± Magnus asked, sounding a little terrified.


    ¡°Born!¡± I corrected and struggled to get up. ¡°Let me up!¡±


    ¡°I am not as fast as you with untying those knots!¡± he complained while giving his best to untangle his filaments from mine.


    ¡°Hogwash! Free my legs at the very least!¡± I ordered.


    He managed it and I swung my legs up, turning us around and once I had both feet firmly on the ground I stood up, shouldering Magnus like an awkward backpack.


    Then I ran back to our quarters.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! What the fuck are you doing!?¡± Magnus complained.


    ¡°Not missing their birth!¡± I replied. ¡°You have time till we get there or they might be confused about seeing a strange Siamese monster once they''re out.¡±

 Interlude - 04

    ***Tirnanog, Thich***


    ***Evanne***


    The priest stood on a podium, surrounded by several strong-looking warriors in full ceremonial armour. I was sure just a single one of them could have easily beaten all of the assembled congregation. Our former teachers stood to the side of the great hall, lined up like soldiers as they watched the ceremony with dead eyes.


    ¡°All humans are not created equal!¡± the priest announced with utter conviction in his voice, hushing the few whispers coming from the people around me.


    His icy gaze wandered over the crowd, sending a chill down my spine and forcing me to lower my eyes in fear, afraid he would send his guards after me if he sensed so much as a shred of defiance. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time for a hapless recruit to be punished for daringly holding eye contact with a superior.


    ¡°The weak have deceived you!¡± the priest continued after his ominous pause. ¡°In the olden days, the settlers would say that the meek shall inherit the world. That the strong should protect those who cannot defend themselves. To stand together and face Tirnanog¡¯s dangers united.¡±


    A murmur ran through the crowd and someone screamed in pain when a guard at the edge of the congregation took measures to silence the unrest.


    ¡°And it is all a lie!¡± The priest thundered over the masses, hammering his staff into the pedestal beneath him and silencing each and every one of us.


    ¡°It was all a cancer of the mind, poisoning our ancestors!¡± He spread his arms and raised his ornamental staff, indicating everyone in the hall. ¡°If those who had been left behind by Earth hadn¡¯t fought for their survival, none of us would be here right now! If they hadn¡¯t stamped out the weakness within themselves, the monsters beyond the walls would roam this place! Our forerunners managed to rid themselves of societal weakness formed over centuries of growing soft as those who deserved so much more dragged the rest of humanity¡¯s undeserving scum with them out of the dark ages into a new era. We, the Thich, are the new pinnacle of evolution! Strength, speed, our minds and our abilities, are far beyond those beneath us! We learned that the strong must look out for themselves! Only then can we survive! And you, you are the inheritors of this legacy which our ancestors left behind.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    He paused once more, his single, remaining eye wandering over the congregation. The other was overgrown by a scar so deep that even a starfish mutation apparently couldn¡¯t fix the damage completely. It made his slightly crazed gaze all the more imposing.


    ¡°Those who are too weak to live must perish for the sake of the strong so those who are deserving can become even stronger and flourish! Power must be exercised and claimed. Wealth is taken from those who cannot keep it! Your position in society is purchased with your sweat and blood! And that is why you unblooded children deserve nothing!¡±


    His eyes narrowed as if in contemplation. ¡°Not yet at least.¡±


    The priest once more scanned the crowd before he continued, ¡°You have no clue what your ancestors had to sacrifice to allow you to stand in this place here and now, but soon you will get at least a taste of it.¡±


    He looked around, smiling dangerously. ¡°Only those capable of claiming power and rising above the rest will survive! To slay those who yet cling to the feebleness of a society too weak to survive this world. For the weak must serve the strong who rule.¡±


    The priest gestured at the sandy fighting pit in front of his podium. ¡°So come forth if you think yourselves worthy of being more than a mere servant! Demonstrate your right to command your lessers, or stay silent forever more and accept your rightful place.¡±


    I clenched my fists and eyed the fearful expressions of those around me. If I wanted to survive in this world, I had to become stronger. Especially after Ivonne had disappeared, I was now the only person I could rely on.


    Seeing this as the only way, I took a step forward.

 Ch 126 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Aw! You two are the cutest things in existence!¡± Astra mollycoddled the two newest additions to the family in their little beds while Isaac tugged at two of his mother''s filaments from below, but he was completely forgotten. If not to say ignored.


    When he failed to get his mother¡¯s attention, Isaac looked at me with begging eyes.


    I sighed absent-mindedly, unable to summon the same emotional investment in the babes as Astra. ¡°That''s how it is, little man. The youngest always gets the most attention from their mother. Trust me. Your father has been through all of this himself with two little sisters.¡±


    Yes, the children were cute, but I couldn''t help but worry about all the drama involved in having three of them. Hopefully, I wouldn''t have to play the devil''s advocate with the sisters like I was forced to with Isaac just to reign in his unruliness. Belatedly, I wondered whether the tendency to have twins ran within my family, but fortunately, I had a mysterious entity named Gaia to blame for this one.


    Now that I thought about it, strictly spoken, Isaac and the girls were triplets.


    On the other hand, since Isaac hatched so much earlier and developed so quickly, he had a large headstart on them. Wasn''t he more like an older brother now?


    My idle lamentations were forgotten when I noticed the horror Isaac showed at recognizing the truth of my words. His expression was epic and I could no longer bring myself to tease him any further, so I spread my arms and offered him a hug. ¡°Come here. If the women abandon us, we men have to hold together.¡±


    Isaac threw himself into my arms and I lifted him so he could take a closer look at his freshly hatched sisters in their cribs. They were sleeping like two little rocks.


    It looked like whatever had allowed Isaac''s rapid mental development had not been passed down to the girls. At least they hadn¡¯t shown to possess the same abnormal level of intelligence as Isaac. Not yet at least.


    If Mary and Kiera were to be believed, Isaac began talking in almost full sentences within no time at all. He had also been a lot more active after hatching than these two.


    Nonetheless, my daughters came out of their eggs much more developed than with the normal birthing process, and they had access to a limited vocabulary from the start. A condition Kiera thought to be connected to a genetic memory of some sort.


    I harboured the suspicion Gaia''s meddling was to blame. When Isaac slept, he also gained access to the entity''s dream space and Gaia was very engaged when it came to ''teaching'' Isaac everything he ought to know in her opinion.


    The doctor attributed Isaac''s rapid mental growth to him inheriting the split personality trait Astra and I had gotten from the mindflayer mutation. It allowed him to learn at an unprecedented rate, but I was a little worried about what the ability would do to a child¡¯s development.


    Kiera believed the girls would also develop far faster than normal, but they would be relatively slow compared to Isaac if they could not compartmentalize their minds. The appearance of the genetic memory trait was still a mystery since it hadn''t been documented previously, so it was reasonable to assume I was the one responsible ¨C or at least my zipper mutation.


    When my attention finally returned to the girls, I had to admit that Constella and Aurora were cute. Hopefully, they would get their female beauty from their mother¡¯s side.


    ¡°Very sweet,¡± Isaac commented and quickly turned his attention from his boring sisters to his pet. He pointed at a cage with a miniature zipper inside it. ¡°But Klein hatched too and we have to feed him.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± I said while sighing inwardly. Why did Isaac need to have one of those nasty things as a pet? I wasn''t against pets per se, but couldn¡¯t he have gotten something sweet and cuddly? Something with fur? Preferably something non-poisonous which wouldn''t bite or have any other potentially lethal abilities.


    I squinted at the idea, realizing belatedly that such a thing was probably hard to find on Tirnanog. A single zipper was probably the safest ''pet'' a kid could have. Always assuming it was kept in a cage.


    Carrying Isaac, I gave in to fate and turned to take some oversized wooden tweezers. Then I used them to feed Isaac¡¯s pet with some pre-cut pieces of meat. ¡°Please explain to me why I am the one who has to feed it when it is your pet? Common sense in parenting tells me I should make you take care of the thing instead of allowing you to abandon the responsibility you wanted.¡±


    ¡°Because my hands are still too small and chubby to use the tweezers and Klein bites,¡± Isaac explained, sounding very patient and reasonable. ¡°I will feed him as soon as I can or it''s safe to do so without getting bitten.¡±


    Right, he had also named the damned thing ¡®Klein¡¯, which was German for ¡®small¡¯.


    ¡°If something tries to bite you, you should eat it,¡± I suggested, trying to impart some common wisdom to my son. ¡°Or at the very least kill it. It''s the way of nature.¡±


    Isaac gasped. ¡°We can¡¯t do that! I am sure it is just a phase Klein will grow out of.¡±


    We were interrupted when Kiera entered the room. The doctor looked first at Astra and the kids and then at me.


    ¡°Ah, it''s good that you are still here,¡± she began, ¡°I was afraid you were already on your next errand for the elders. Lately, you have spent very little time with your children.¡±


    Was that an accusation? It wasn''t like we had much choice. Furthermore, we used most of our dream time for Isaac when Gaia wasn''t teaching us, but it wasn''t like we could share this information without sounding like lunatics.


    ¡°Talk about the obvious,¡± I answered bluntly, causing the doctor to blink in surprise. It looked like she had expected me to be at the very least a little repentant, but why should I have a bad conscience when I had next to no choice in the matter?


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Kiera continued once she recollected her thoughts. ¡°Under normal circumstances, it would be much too early for me to suggest this, but Isaac''s rapid development warrants a change of plans. I would like to put him in the crib and for that, I need his parents'' approval.¡±


    ¡°The crib?¡± I asked, unfamiliar with the term.


    ¡°Something like a kindergarten and school mixed together,¡± Kiera explained. ¡°The clan doesn''t have enough children to warrant splitting them up into different institutions. I believe the opportunity to socialize with other youngsters would be good for Isaac.¡±


    ¡°But I have to take care of Klein!¡± Isaac objected.


    ¡°Of course, he will visit the crib!¡± I replied, elated at the opportunity to delegate educational responsibility to other people. Admittedly, Astra and I hadn''t been around a lot in person, but back on Earth, there were enough parents who had full-time jobs. Therefore it was all the more important to see to Isaac''s social education when the two of us weren''t around.


    However, there was his physical speed. ¡°Always assuming there are people who can keep him under control.¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± the boy in my arms complained and I used a few filaments to wrap him up, tugging him beneath one arm while I kept feeding the pest in its cage. The little monster was already capable of munching down more than its body weight in meat. Just like the adults.


    ¡°Isaac has grown a lot since his birth,¡± Kiera pointed out. ¡°I am sure he can be reasoned with if everything is explained properly.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure...¡± I nodded to myself and put the tweezers away once Klein had taken on a worryingly round shape. It seemed like zipper hatchlings didn''t know how to stop eating when food was offered in abundance.


    I glanced worriedly back and forth between it and Kiera, wondering whether I had overdone it and the hatchling would pop. Maybe killing the thing by overfeeding was a possibility? Either way, I didn''t exactly have to test this theory in front of Isaac. One traumatizing life lesson per year was enough as long as he behaved.


    ¡°Speaking of kids, we have to pay Loopsfast a visit and get the drakes!¡± I exclaimed as the thought hit me. ¡°Can''t believe I forgot about it.¡±


    Astra looked up from our daughters, managing to divert her attention for the first time since they hatched. ¡°Loops will be fine. The eggs have been laid not too long ago and I have sent word to get the female drakes.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°Oh, and before I forget, Thalia, Mark, and the others will return with Balthasar and his people once our airships give them a lift. Juliana said it would take between one and two weeks to gather the spore-resistant crews for the ships. It wouldn''t make sense for us to accompany them on a dangerous journey when they can get picked up by airship within a few days.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I answered, having already known about the plan, but not the exact timetable.


    Kiera brought out a piece of paper from a folder in her hand. ¡°If both of you agree, then please sign this document.¡±


    We were just done signing when the next issue arose in the form of an urgent message via the UI, informing us we should present ourselves at the headquarters as soon as possible.


    An hour later, after personally dropping Isaac off at the crib with a few stern words to listen to the caretakers, we met with Teresa and Eaton on Aerie''s flagship.


    The two were currently in charge of overseeing the war efforts, taking shifts with the other elders and representatives from Hochberg and Jeng.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    For some reason Gunnar was also there, fumbling his way through a pile of reports, quite obviously frustrated at not having all the information easily accessible and searchable in electronic form.


    ¡°We admittedly kept you two away from the fighting for as much as possible,¡± Eaton began the conversation after we greeted each other. ¡°After the first confrontation at Jeng''s mother tree, both sides have been trying to figure out the other''s strength and commitment to the war. Using you two as messengers was the best choice, but it looks like we have a real job now. Two, in fact, meaning you will have to pick your poison.¡±


    True to her character, Astra immediately brightened up at the possibility of proving her worth to the clan. ¡°What can we do to help?¡±


    Teresa shook her head. ¡°Dear, you shouldn''t be too enthusiastic about being given a dangerous task. If I could, I would keep using you to run errands and make contact with more ancients and smaller clans to figure out who is on our side and who might work against us.¡±


    I coughed. ¡°If it means we keep running into people like Nisha Dawson or Balthasar Pinault, then no thanks. I am quite certain Nisha could have done us in if things went just a little differently. And what if the next ancient we visit isn''t a neutral party and decides to shoot the messenger?¡±


    Teresa winced. ¡°You are right. I just wanted to keep Astra safe and Mary¡¯s suggestion sounded like it was as safe as it gets. Mary promised me she was certain Balthasar would be neutral at the very least. Nobody could have anticipated Vier''s ancient would be paying him a personal visit right when you arrived.¡±


    There was an awkward moment of silence before Eaton decided to simply keep going. ¡°About the two jobs you might be suited for. One is a deployment at the front. A straightforward counter mission to a Thich scouting party. They are giving our people headaches.¡±


    He brought out a few reports and handed them to us. ¡°They have two speedsters who so far managed to dodge pretty much everything we put up against them. Their hit-and-run tactics are impossible to deal with for the average soldier. We already lost two scouting units of our own. Good people to boot, unfortunately. So we need a way to pin the Thich down.¡±


    Eaton gestured at the map displaying our current troop positions. ¡°It''s not at the point where I would think these Thich warrant sending an elder after them, so we need someone who can keep up with their speed. Your job would be to delay them till our people can take care of the rest of their scouting party. Even if you don''t manage to kill them, I doubt they would continue operations on their own. Killing their comrades would force them to retreat till they can gather another team with sufficient teamwork. What they did so far wasn''t the work of just any people being thrown together, so I believe messing up their team would seriously impact their performance.¡±


    I nodded in understanding.


    During the winter I had been taught quite a lot about battle tactics with superhumans involved. What had gone down at Jeng was a large-scale escalation which had very few precedents in the history of interclan-warfare.


    Two forces clashing with thousands of combatants involved had only happened because the Thich had been confident in their chances of victory, causing them to overextend to a certain degree. Additionally, the appearance of Aerie¡¯s and Hochberg¡¯s combined forces to repel them had been totally unexpected.


    Once they realized there was no quick victory to be had, the Thich quickly reverted to traditional tactics.


    Which meant guerilla warfare with groups of a hundred combatants at most. Most of the fighting was done by small scouting units whose main goal was to gather information on the enemy¡¯s juggernauts and other heavy hitters and abilities on the other side.


    Preferably, the abilities of each scouting team were carefully selected to support each other, filling out different roles like straightforward warriors, scouts, and support.


    Once the opponent¡¯s skills and abilities were known, your forces would be selected so they could optimally counter the enemy before the commanders committed to a battle. Ideally, leaving the enemy no chance to fight back.


    For example, if the enemy group was relying on a juggernaut who had incredible defensive abilities, but wasn¡¯t very mobile, someone with ranged abilities or poison would be deployed against them. The wide range of mutations rarely allowed for a true game of rock-paper-scissors, but such outcomes were the desired intent behind the strategy. And from what I had been told, it was not like there were no prime examples of such things happening.


    Eaton once showed me a battle report about one of Aerie''s elders, one of their best warriors at the time, being brought low after his combat unit lost all their scouts. The enemy had played tag with them till they managed to steer the entire unit into a field of poisonous plants. Weakened from the poison and bereft of his allies, the elder had been easily killed by warriors far beneath him in the end.


    If the Thich had speedsters who could rival Astra and me, it would be a huge problem.


    Given our particular skill set, Eaton had done some theory crafting with me. A speedster didn¡¯t necessarily need the ability to fight an enemy juggernaut head-on. Being able to distract and then escape would be a huge boon if it allowed your allies to use their abilities with impunity.


    That the choice fell on us to counter opponents of this type didn¡¯t surprise me. To counter speed with speed was a brute force method, but like Eaton said: It may be enough to cause a delay.


    Eaton interrupted my ruminations when he continued, ¡°The other job is a little more difficult. We believe we have a mole within our ranks and we need someone who can investigate. So far, a few of our people have been found dead. Nobody in a major military role, but the trail of bodies points at someone trying to investigate secrets relevant to the war.¡±


    The elder looked towards Gunnar who was fighting with stacks of paper just a few metres away from us. ¡°Your people offered their expertise with espionage warfare, but it looks like they will first have to adapt to certain¡­ limitations.¡±


    ¡°I heard that!¡± Gunnar proclaimed, not looking up from his notes. ¡°Just wait till I catch the guy. Mary promised me a date if I manage the feat.¡±


    He waved at us and returned his attention to his research.


    Astra raised her hand to get our attention. ¡°I get why you would want us to take care of the first case, but what exactly could we do to help with this spy? It isn¡¯t like we are skilled investigators. I am not at least. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to set some psychics loose?¡±


    I glanced at Astra, slightly surprised at how easily she had suggested to have mindreaders root randomly through people''s minds. Worse, nobody had shown any qualms at the suggestion.


    Was I the only one who thought messing with another person''s mind was abhorrent?


    I mean, I wasn''t squeamish about a lot of things. I had done stuff for which other people would likely want me taken to the backyard and shot, no questions asked.


    But allowing psychics to use their powers with impunity was a line I was wary of.


    Teresa nodded. ¡°It''s the very first thing we tried. Unfortunately, it looks like the person in question has a way to hide themselves from psychic influences. They either received extensive training or they are a powerful psychic. If Thalia had been available, we would have given the job to her. But alas, she isn''t here at the moment.¡±


    Eaton hummed and smacked his lips. ¡°Since we''ve already sent three psychics to deal with the matter and gotten no results, I doubt Thalia would miraculously find the person in question. She is good, but even she would have trouble outperforming three of her best pupils.¡±


    ¡°Still finding it hard to believe that there are psychics,¡± Gunnar said, waving a set of papers while he came over. ¡°Never heard a mention of them on Earth and I am as augmented as it gets.¡±


    ¡°So either Earth is keeping a tight lip on a power which holds the potential to topple their government, or they are so afraid of someone being able to take a peek into their heads that they forewent the mutation entirely,¡± Teresa pointed out snarkily. ¡°Doesn''t help that there seems to be no easy way for the nanites to reproduce the mutation reliably.¡±


    Gunnar scratched his three-day beard with the documents in his hand while he thought. ¡°Good argument.¡±


    ¡°So if Thalia is unavailable, why not ask Vanya?¡± I asked. ¡°Thalia spoke very highly of the matriarch''s psychic abilities when they met.¡±


    Eaton and Teresa gave each other a look before Teresa answered, ¡°The matriarch is currently very busy with interrogations. We don''t have many prisoners, but the few we have paint a concerning picture of Thich''s society. Vanya said it''s necessary to profile them and see what makes them tick.¡±


    I tilted my head, interested in everything relevant to my sister''s fate. ¡°Please explain.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°You are aware of how isolated the clans are. Cultural exchange happens through the Caravaners, but it''s a slow and tedious process. Among the clans, Aerie and Hochberg are very similar in their ideology. The various stratas favour education and logic as a way to determine how the clan''s policies are decided and the selection process for the matriarch ensures only the smartest get to rule. But our similarities are mostly only because the trading route connecting us is comparatively easy to traverse. The Northroute family makes several trips per year with their saherna herd.¡±


    Remembering our trip via saherna, I wanted to protest, but I refrained from arguing to keep the conversation going.


    She gestured at the map. ¡°On the same account, getting to Jeng and the Old Camp is not just a matter of distance, but easy enough. Traversing the forest to visit Jeng greatly increases the dangers. Nonetheless, a risk the Caravaner undertake to trade for iobeetle shells. There is some exchange between Jeng and Vier and very little between Hochberg and Vier. And pretty much none between Hochberg and Thich. Not to mention Aerie. As for the few Caravaners who trade with Thich, the only viable route is to travel through a desert from Vier past the Raiders to Thich''s fortress city. The Raiders are a nasty group of thieves who barely deserve to be called a clan. Pray you never have to deal with them.¡± Teresa''s eyes grew distant as she delved into a memory from long ago.


    ¡°So you are saying the Thich and Aerie are recluses since they are located on the two ends of a pretty much linear trade network,¡± I summarized. ¡°But the Thich are even more isolated because of geographic and social obstacles between them and the Vier.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I may have digressed a little with that explanation,¡± Teresa apologized. ¡°What I wanted to get across was that we had little to no contact with Thich''s leadership since the war. From what I remember they have always been assholes, sorry for the diplomatic slip. So far, our view of them was affirmed through the relations our recruiters had with them through the Old Camp. But if Vanya is right, then that''s only what they wanted us to see. Because of the recent large-scale battle, we got our hands on a few of their warriors. People who are a little deeper ingrained into their society than the average recruiters who would visit the Old Camp. The impression we got is that their society took on outright cultic traits. Vanya is very worried about it.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Once she is ready I would like to have a report of her findings. Anyway, I still don''t get why you would consider us for this manhunt?¡±


    ¡°Well, it''s a bit of a gamble, to be honest,¡± Eaton admitted. ¡°We sent psychics to investigate and they aren''t bringing back results. The next best idea I have is to have a non-psychic start asking questions and hope the target slips up, thinking you easy pickings.¡±


    ¡°Because we have shown great resistance to psychic influence,¡± Astra concluded.


    I looked questioningly at Astra.


    When she didn''t respond immediately, I suggested, ¡°I would take the counter mission. It''s something we know we are suited for. Hunting a ghost feels like a long shot.¡±


    ¡°No worries!¡± Gunnar said with a smirk. ¡°I prefer taking all the fame for myself.¡±


    Something gurgled in protest from beneath the table where Gunnar had fought with his reports. A creepy and gaunt goblinoid face peeked out from beneath the tablecloth. The far too-large eyes squinted at us before the creature retreated.


    ¡°You get just as much recognition as you deserve,¡± Gunnar shot back. ¡°So far, you haven''t been very useful.¡±


    I involuntarily reached for the knife at my belt and activated Second Sight to find the outlines of a child-like figure hiding beneath the cloth. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡±


    Teresa glanced at the table and back at me. ¡°Oh, sorry. I guess you haven''t met him yet. That''s Chitters. He is a bit shy. We convinced him to help Gunnar with his investigations. When it comes to tracking, Chitters is better than any of the sensors we have. Though, he isn''t a fighter, so be nice and don''t hurt him.¡±


    ¡°It reminded me of those rat things,¡± I admitted and took the hand away from my blade.


    Teresa pulled down the corners of her mouth. ¡°Sadly, they share a similar origin. Chitters is the result of a partnering gone horribly wrong.¡±


    Was she telling me that thing had human parents!?


    Teresa nodded, guessing at my thoughts. I didn''t want to know the expression which had involuntarily slipped onto my face.


    ¡°Chitters is smart, sociable, and can follow simple orders, so we didn''t kill him. Just think of him as a person with a disability if it makes you feel better. Just don''t hurt him or Mary might get angry. He is under her protection since she liked his parents.¡±


    ¡°It does not!¡± I shot back, still a bit disturbed. ¡°Wasn''t there a rule about... killing any mutations which are... intelligent? What about the other clans?¡±


    ¡°Chitters does not have the kind of intelligence which we are concerned about and we informed the other clans about the circumstances behind his presence,¡± Teresa replied. ¡°He will be met with distrust wherever he goes, but he should be safe enough as long as he stays with the investigation team.¡±

 Ch 127 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Forest***


    ***Astra***


    Two days after receiving our new mission, we found ourselves at the borderlands between Jeng''s forest and the vast desert which led into Thich territory.


    Crossing the desert by foot was a recipe for very unpleasant suicide, but it didn¡¯t stop the Thich from flying in small raiding parties via airship and with their strange flying mounts. Until now, I had believed the Aerie were the only ones who managed to tame animals like the drakes. This was no longer the case.


    As I understood it, Thich''s homelands were located on a high plateau of limestone. Aeons of rain and strong temperature shifts had created a wasteland of white, rocky cliffs and caverns in the ground. In certain areas the limestone was riddled with cracks, creating a surreal landscape which forced people to take a jump every few metres or they would fall into an uncharted underground cave system.


    The rain season washed out the fertile soil which was then carried into Jeng''s forest basin, explaining the forest''s verdant growth. The water ultimately gathered at the swamp region further towards the coast and was drained into the sea.


    The borderlands between the forest and this rocky karst were a small strip of grassland and bushes where enough water and soil were kept to support smaller flora.


    A day before starting our mission, we met up with Elijah and Linda Northroute, the two Caravaners who we had gotten acquainted with during our saherna trip to Hochberg. To my frustration, Elijah and Magnus had bumped fists like old friends while my greeting with Linda was a little more reserved. Normally, I was the people-person between the two of us.


    Then again, Magnus and Elijah seemed to be cut from the same cloth, so maybe their becoming easy friends shouldn''t be too surprising.


    Meanwhile, things weren''t so good between Linda and me. The two of us had gotten off on the wrong foot and while I came to acknowledge Linda''s behaviour for just wanting to protect her people, I still didn''t like the woman.


    Nonetheless, it was surprising to find the two Caravaners joining our cause, given how reluctant their people had been to interfere in this war.


    So since we had nothing better to do at the moment than to stand on guard, Elijah was explaining the sudden shift in his family''s policy ¨C everything was about the family with the Caravaners.


    ¡°Normally the families wouldn''t move a finger to interfere in clan politics,¡± Elijah explained. ¡°What do we care about one trading partner feuding with another? Taking sides would only threaten our way of life if the other side decided to stop dealing with us. But we got to talk with the Southpaths since the all-out attack on Jeng was launched. The destruction of Jeng''s mother tree essentially brought all trading to a stop. The Southpaths can no longer rely on Jeng''s hospitality when they visit the forest.¡±


    The gigantic man waved his hand. ¡°So, even if we want to stay out of this conflict, one of the families was already caught up in it. If the Thich are willing to go as far as they did, then there is no reason to assume they wouldn''t move against the Caravaners as a whole once it is convenient. Many regard the Caravaners as one of the great clans, but the truth is that we are far from wielding the same power. The families are spread out over a vast area, while the clans have their strongholds.¡±


    I nodded to myself. The Southpaths were in charge of trading between Jeng and Hochberg and they had gotten caught up in the attack on Jeng. It was a sufficient reason for Eliah''s people to rethink their stance. In a way, the Thich''s declaration of war had helped us.


    ¡°So you decided no matter what comes out of this big family meeting of yours, the Northroutes would stand against the Thich?¡± Magnus concluded after listening to Elijah''s drawn-out explanation.


    ¡°And the Southpaths,¡± Elijah added sagely. ¡°Sadly, I can''t tell for certain what the other families will do. They may be compromised since the Eastways should have told us something about Thich''s plans. It is hard to believe an assault on this scale could be organized without them noticing.¡±


    Since the two men were busy talking about politics, I turned my attention to Linda and the fifth member of our little party, priestess Maria. The psychic sat hunched with her back against the rocky cliff on which we had chosen to camp. The forest was just a few dozen metres behind us and in front of us lay one of the smaller clan settlements, a small, medieval-looking castle with a star-shaped layout.


    With her knees drawn up to her chest and a frightened expression, Maria looked miserable.


    ¡°I still don''t get why they sent you on this mission,¡± I commented with a deadpan expression while eyeing the priestess in her ill-fitting iobeetle armour which looked like a hand-me-down from a relative. Which was the predominant way of how non-warrior types got their hands on such equipment.


    Leaving the question of why she got assigned to this mission.


    Did the church still have it out for her because of the incident with Magnus?


    My parents had only pulled a few strings to make the issue of him hitting a priestess disappear, but I guessed having a preacher known to use her psychic abilities to ''convert'' new followers had the potential to become a very ugly affair. So maybe the church¡¯s higher-ups were still punishing Maria by giving her these assignments.


    ¡°Right?¡± Maria complained. ¡°I am supposed to help troubled people see Gaia''s light! Curse high priestess Innanah for having me take that field course years ago. There should be a statutory period of limitation for stuff like that!¡±


    Linda chuckled. ¡°Her only job is to be our sensor. Nobody asks her to fight, so I think it is fine.¡±


    I shifted on my rock, deliberating whether I should object to Linda''s lax attitude. If Maria had certified survival training, then she was a useful resource. A waste to allow her to rot away behind the walls of the church. On the other hand, the woman was so whiny, that it grated on my nerves. And if it was true that she had gotten her certification years ago and never stepped outside the central cavern since then... well...


    But if I started an argument this early in our assignment, my already strained relationship with Linda might suffer. Maybe we would be spending a few days out here.


    ¡°Why don''t we go over the plan again?¡± I suggested. ¡°Maybe Maria just needs something to distract herself from her thoughts.¡±


    The Thich scouts were reported to be a group of approximately eight people running interference for a raiding party of a hundred. They had been slowly moving southwards through the borderlands, hitting smaller clans on their way.


    Clans just like the Tomiris who owned the castle we were watching. They were a little, isolated group, so it wasn¡¯t wrong to regard them as their own people, but since they were living at the edge of Jeng¡¯s territory they had strong ties with what they regarded as their extended kin. A few warriors with Jeng mutations were enough to open the gates for us.


    It was unclear whether the Thich were launching their attacks just to sow chaos or whether they were hunting for more slaves and warriors to draft into their troops. When the Thich had started their campaign against Jeng, they bypassed and ignored the smaller clans, apparently deeming them irrelevant. But now Thich had decided to catch up on what they missed out on.


    Of the eight Thich scouts, only three or four were reported to be at our level.


    The two speedsters were an obvious threat that Magnus and I would have to take care of. Furthermore, there were two fairly quick strength-type warriors whose skills had raised concerns in earlier engagements. The rest of the scouting party was reported to be quick on their feet and above-average warriors, but nothing on the same level as a juggernaut.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    All in all, the Thich''s scouting group was put together primarily with mobility in mind.


    It was our job to engage them and as soon as they were distracted, Maria would call for the support of five drake riders who were lying in wait within the walls of the castle.


    Linda and Elijah were fairly powerful warriors, and while they might not be the fastest, Elijah had already demonstrated that their Precognition was on another level. I had no doubts they would be able to hold their own against a backstabby speedster. Anyway, their primary purpose was to take care of the other two warriors and survive till the drakeriders joined the fight.


    It wasn¡¯t like command hadn¡¯t tried to hunt the Thich with more conventional means, but so far they had successfully evaded our riders.


    Hence Magnus and I would have to take care of their speedsters. If we were successful, there was a significant chance of eliminating the whole scouting party once the drakeriders came into play. Without their scouts, the Thich raiding party would run blindly into the 150 men and women who were hiding inside the castle together with its inhabitants.


    Vanya wasn¡¯t a hundred per cent certain with her prediction, but the matriarch gave it a nine out of ten chance that this castle would be their next goal. If the Thich would not show up, we would get movement orders to another likely target.


    I watched silently as Magnus began to boast about his new armour. Recently, he had been forced to wear a replacement breastplate during our diplomatic mission to meet with Ancient Balthasar. But elder Gilbert had worked overtime to forge a sufficient substitute for the destroyed piece. Not only was it all new and polished, but it also provided a few new hidden tricks. Sadly, Magnus didn¡¯t want to spoil the surprise till Gilbert could make a second one for me.


    We waited till late in the evening until we began packing up the camp to retreat into the castle for the night. There was no point in taking the risk of camping outside when a perfectly fortified abode was just a few hundred metres away.


    Maria stiffened suddenly and pointed at the grassy hills in the direction of the desert. ¡°Something is coming. I can feel it.¡±


    I dropped my backpack and stood together with the others to watch the grassland between the castle and the desert.


    It took a few seconds of anxious waiting before two blurry streaks of movement came over a hill¡¯s crest, followed by a group of riders on strange hound-like creatures.


    ¡°Finally! I will take the lead!¡± Elijah swung his gauntleted fists and jumped, his inhuman strength taking him high up into the air and towards the incoming Thich.


    Maria let out a small whimper and dropped her gear before running towards a small crevice to hide ¨C something we had previously agreed upon since the psychic and sensor had zero combat abilities. She would use the UI to alert the drakeriders while we gave our best to pin down the speedsters who likely intended to launch a probing attack on the settlement.


    It was their standard tactic, reported by a few survivors of earlier attacks.


    The speedsters would go in quickly and harass the guards on watch while their compatriots approached on foot or with their mounts. Depending on how the situation developed, the Thich would do as much damage as possible until someone with sufficient power to repel them showed up. An hour or two after they retreated the main raiding party would arrive and lay waste to the settlement.


    Under normal circumstances, an hour was not enough time to call for help, but this time reinforcements were already here.


    So far, there had been only one case in which the Thich decided against attacking because the settlement had a few excellent warriors protecting it. It was likely the raid had decided afterwards they didn¡¯t have the necessary skills at hand to force an outcome in their favour.


    Linda cursed and launched herself after her overeager partner. The two were a funny pair with the gigantic Elijah and the much smaller Linda right next to him.


    Magnus shouldered his spetum and closed the faceplate of his helmet, the light in his eyes lighting up the four vision slits from within. ¡°Do you want the one to the left or the one to the right?¡±


    ¡°The right one looks like the woman of the pair. I will take her,¡± I said after squinting my eyes at the two speedsters who were checking out the grassland for traps to allow their comrades safe passage. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to be tempted upon meeting another woman who can match your speed.¡±


    ¡°Remember to use the UI if there is trouble,¡± Magnus said with a jovial undertone in his voice. ¡°And I would never be tempted after having met a temptress like you.¡±


    I used one of my javelins to bump him in the armour, or at least I tried to. ¡°Watch out for yourself. Maybe I will have to come running to save your sorry ass.¡±


    ¡°Watch it!¡± Magnus dodged quickly. ¡°No scratches on my new gear!¡±


    I rolled my eyes and put on my helmet. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Look out for yourself.¡± He flash-stepped, shooting towards his target like a bullet.


    I did so too, but at a higher angle while I unfolded my filaments. With my armour on, I could glide just well enough to hold my height.


    With four flash steps, I was above my target who ogled me with a surprised expression but I didn¡¯t allow the human-looking woman much time to think. Channelling power, I unleashed a lightning strike at her position, grounding it out against the earth.


    But the violet-skinned woman evaded in the blink of an eye, turning into a blur of movement.


    ¡°Are you trying to impersonate some kind of Lovecraftian angel?¡± a voice said from behind me.


    One of my sub-personalities took over, moving my armour plates just a centimetre or two before something struck me in the back of my hip, right where a gap between my breastplate and the leggings was supposed to be. It should be protected by the tasset, but my Precognition had screamed bloody murder, forcing me to react.


    My filaments moved as I turned, aiming an assortment of javelins at the woman who had somehow gotten behind me.


    In my peripheral vision, I could see her dodge all of them, somehow controlling her orientation in mid-air with rapid movements. Stabbing at me a second time, I barely dodged the tip of a pointy implement which scratched across my helmet, leaving a deep groove on my upper left vision slit. Only Gilbert¡¯s compound design prevented it from shattering.


    My hand shot out and grasped the weapon to electrocute it while I stabbed at her in an attempt to return the favour. But just as I made contact, feeling the tip of my spear meet resistance, she blurred away.


    Her weapon was ripped out of my hand, causing sparks to fly as we separated.


    Aiming my palm at the blur of movement that was my opponent, I shot a ball of plasma to gain some time to think.


    Understanding your opponent¡¯s abilities was important, but I had to admit I was at an impasse. This woman wasn¡¯t relying on the same application of electromagnetic principles as Magnus and I.


    Yet she was keeping up with me, easily so.


    My Precognition tingled and I turned, parrying her weapon just in time to divert a blow which was aimed at another weakly protected spot on my shoulder.


    This time I could see it. Her weapon held great similarity with the rapiers which I had trained with before I abandoned the idea. But unlike a rapier, this was just a white spike with a basket grip. It looked like an oversized needle.


    The woman grinned before we separated once more, her dark leather armour flapping in the wind. Did her wearing only light armour mean she didn''t have a lot of strength?


    ¡°A speedster tank! What bullshit will you weaklings come up with next?¡± she complained. ¡°But no matter. You may be fast, but you are no match for a Thich. This world is ours!¡±


    She blurred again.


    And I flash-stepped, aiming for the spot she was in just a moment ago.


    To an outsider, it must have appeared as if we simply traded places.


    The woman frowned when I wasn¡¯t where she expected me to be and turned in mid-air by rotating one of her feet. It looked strange in my altered perception, but it undeniably worked for her.


    ¡°Okay, I admit that you are fast, but all you have are short bursts of speed.¡±


    I clenched my teeth in silent frustration at her casual banter.


    Then she blurred again and all I could do was dodge and parry where I could and rely on my armour where I could not. Not only was my opponent able to withstand the charges of electricity I unleashed when she got close, but her weapon was not conductive, allowing her to poke at me with abandon.


    Worse, I was feeling like I was slowly falling behind as she ramped up the speed.


    And I still didn¡¯t understand the source of her ability as the crazy bitch began laughing.


    Was I going to die here?


    The thought involuntarily crept up on me as I missed another parry and had to rely on my armour instead.


    No!


    I had trained for this with my parents and with Magnus. There was no reason to just roll over and die! I closed my primary eyes and relied solely on Second Sight and Precognition. Since my normal eyes could not make out much more than a blur anyway, they were useless in this fight.


    Relying on my sub-personalities to take action when necessary, I concentrated on the feeling of Precognition, the slight tingle all over my body which announced an attack before it was coming.


    Parry, dodge, block.


    There was only so much I could do as my opponent¡¯s weapon was seemingly everywhere and nowhere all at once.


    I had to go deeper... anticipate an attack to create an opening.


    Something pierced the back of my knee, where the armour was weak out of necessity.


    My spear separated empty air and my head rocked to the side as the woman¡¯s needle struck me.


    Once more sparks flew as the strange weapon scraped over my armour.


    I couldn¡¯t do it!


    I was going to die!


    ¡®What are you doing, fool!¡¯, something screamed from deep within me and an icy, emotionless coldness overcame me. ¡®If you keep going like this, we are going to die!¡¯


    Something tore at me from within. Or rather... not something... but another me.


    It felt like I was being yanked out of the driver¡¯s seat of my own body by one of my sub-identities. I wanted to scream in pure horror, not understanding what was happening, but the emotionless me forced me down, taking sole control of the situation, and forcing all emotion away. The other me was cold, logical, and willing to do anything to survive.


    What was this other me thinking to take control like that!? How was this possible?


    ¡®If you are outmatched, you have to take extraordinary measures. When fighting a superior opponent you have to decide how far you are willing to go to bridge the gap. Because sometimes, combat with your life on the line is not decided by skill or abilities. It is decided by who is willing to pay the higher price!¡¯

 Ch 128 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Forest***


    ***Magnus***


    I flash-stepped all the way up to my opponent, already swinging the spetum with abandon and leaving the surprised Thich no choice but to block with the twin weapons he was carrying.


    Both his and my arms shuddered painfully as they were forced to withstand the raw impact of our colliding weapons.


    His axes had a blade on one side and a pointy hammer on the other, with the grip providing an additional blade plus a protective metal basket. They looked like versatile close-range weapons mainly intended against people, but not very useful to battle the large monsters of this world.


    Upon making contact, I tried channelling electricity through my weapon to electrocute the opponent, but either he had high resistance towards electricity, or his weapon was not conductive.


    Narrowing my eyes, at the strange, whitish material I judged it to be likely some kind of metal ceramic compound similar to the iobeetle armour.


    Not giving me any more time to analyse the situation, the man blurred forward and I flash-stepped out of instinct, dodging a hammer aimed at my head.


    The weapon blew past my face, barely missing me by a centimetre which surprised the Thich warrior who exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Whoa, you are fas-¡±


    I flash-stepped again, keeping up the rapid pace of the fight with an attempt to impale my opponent through his back, but he blurred and was suddenly past the tip of my blade, his two weapons coming together from either side of my head.


    He was fast!


    I brought my spetum up and to the side, cutting the man''s leather armour with a sideblade while I ducked and caught a glancing blow to my helmet. It was a wake-up call, reminding me not to mess around in mortal combat with people whose abilities weren''t known with absolute certainty.


    Discharging a continuous arc of lightning, I followed the man''s movements as he blurred away. There was no way for him to be faster than the lightning discharge, but he still managed to be always ahead of the arc. I guided the discharge with magnetic fields but he seemed to anticipate where I would direct the energy next, and switching to plasma discharges brought no better results.


    His supernatural speed was strange. It looked like he was merely moving impossibly fast, but contrary to bad movies, a human-sized object shouldn''t be able to move at such speeds without audibly displacing the air all around us. It was reasonable to assume he was relying on a principle similar to the one Astra and I were using to trick the laws of physics, but I couldn¡¯t detect any of the characteristic electromagnetic discharges a flash-step would cause.


    So his ability was on the same level as flash-step, meaning he must have another way of tricking the laws of physics? Some kind of Alcubierre drive which allowed him to sidestep physical reality? If so, how had a human managed to come by this knowledge? Were Gaia¡¯s supposed enemies responsible? Or had he simply mimicked the ability of an animal, added with a lifetime of experience?


    I couldn¡¯t stop the low chuckle from escaping my lips as I realized this opponent was a mystery, a challenge to be solved. Belatedly, I noticed I was slipping again, but for once this feeling of mine wasn¡¯t something to be suppressed. Whatever others thought of the laughing maniac I seemingly became in the heat of battle, these instincts had never betrayed me so far.


    So I embraced the feeling fully this time, allowing it to guide my actions.


    The Thich came to a halt in front of me as I took on a defensive stance while considering his possible angles of attack.


    ¡°Calmed down enough to talk?¡± he asked, seemingly bored while he inspected the cut in his armour. ¡°Do you know how much this leather costs? Everything else wears out within minutes at my speed.¡±


    Instead of answering, I changed my stance slightly and drew a flechette from my belt, wondering whether he was fast enough to dodge a railgun projectile.


    ¡°Mad fucker, why are you laughing?¡± The Thich shook his head. ¡°For a moment, I wondered whether you are worthy to be recruited into our ranks, but if this small exchange is already enough to snap your composure, you do not deserve to be a part of Tirnanog¡¯s children. Only the strong get to join the Thich. All others have to serve or die.¡±


    He spared a glance for the setting sun which was just touching the distant mountain ridge towards the north. ¡°It will get dark soon, and then-¡±


    My hand moved, sending the flechette at him with enough force to cause a small ¡®boom¡¯ with the projectile going supersonic.


    He blurred out of the way, appearing next to me, his blades already descending. ¡°I have had enough!¡±


    Using my spetum and my armour to block, I avoided a heavy injury as we transitioned into a flawless exchange of colliding weapons, parries, near misses and dodges.


    There was only so much I could do to keep up as I slowly fell back, forced to rely on my weapon¡¯s reach and keep him at a distance. For the moment I managed, but the disparity in our abilities couldn¡¯t be ignored. When it came to a single burst of speed, I had the upper hand with flash-step. Meanwhile, the Thich reigned supreme when it came to continuous overall speed.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I was reminded of the duel at Hochberg, where I held the supreme advantage in speed. Unlike back then, this opponent wouldn¡¯t be overwhelmed by brute force.


    A state of affairs I found to be quite frustrating as I slowly took another step backwards.


    ¡°The weak are supposed to pave the way for the strong! This is the way of the children of Tirnanog!¡± The Thich exclaimed as he brought his weapon down on me, surging past the tip of my blade in a moment of inattention.


    The hammerhead barely touched my breastplate. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a blow which could have ended the fight through blunt trauma.


    But I flash-stepped backwards, laughing at his audacity. This fight wouldn¡¯t be won so easily!


    To keep up the banter during a fight to the death, either he didn¡¯t take me seriously, or he was truly a blind fool. Sadly, I would have to rely on a gamble to end this.


    Most of my sub-personalities agreed with this assessment.


    I didn¡¯t like gambling with my life on the line, but the laughing me, he relished the thought of what was to come. A glorious conclusion to a battle between two men, each standing up for their convictions. A clash with everything on the line.


    ¡°I love this,¡± I replied for the first time. ¡°Try not to die too quickly.¡±


    Sensing there was no more time to fool around, the Thich drew and threw a dagger at me.


    In response, I raised my palm, shaping the electromagnetic fields in front of me just the way Gaia had taught us.


    A miniature wormhole formed, though to call this one a wormhole was probably a little far-fetched. I didn¡¯t have the power to create a jaunt point on a whim, but warping space just enough to bend the laws of physics was well within the power of someone who could teleport hundreds of kilometres and had a godlike entity as a physics tutor.


    The dagger distorted strangely as it entered the warped space in front of my palm and then shot away sideways.


    The Thich gaped at me as I cracked the knuckle of my index finger to loosen up my hand. If I wanted to pull this off, I needed to be a little more accurate than I had been up to this point.


    Figuring my plan would work better with something providing a little more mass, I drew my short sword and twirled it once before I chucked the heavy lump of metal at the Thich.


    It had more in common with a crowbar than a traditional sword as it sailed through the air, which was why my choice fell on it. Gilbert would be mad at me for ruining another weapon, but there was no helping it.


    Made wary of my newly displayed ability, the Thich blurred away and I flash-stepped right in front of the weapon I had thrown so lazily.


    Lifting my palm, I once more warped space with what should be the beginnings of a wormhole under normal circumstances. Tilting my palm slightly, I aimed at the Thich¡¯s new position.


    This time, the sword travelled no longer on a lazy arc but shot out as a deadly projectile.


    ¡°I have to admit I have no clue how your ability works,¡± I said quickly, not bothering to slow my speech. I figured another speedster would understand.


    Flash-step, catch, eject, sonic boom, and the Thich blurred away yet again!


    ¡°But mine allows me to manipulate and bend the laws of physics just a little bit,¡± I continued, committing that there was a lot of understanding involved. If it weren''t for Gaia, Astra and I would still be content with throwing lightning bolts, likely doomed to never understand the great gift she had given us.


    Flash-step, catch, eject, sonic boom, and a vacuum sucked me after the projectile as the Thich blurred away.


    This was getting old.


    ¡°Thing is if you aren¡¯t super careful with warping space, a wormhole which doesn¡¯t correct for the inertia of anything entering it¡­ that is very dangerous,¡± I mumbled.


    Flash-step, catch, eject, and the Thich blurred away as I was sucked after the weapon speeding away from me. My ears popped painfully with the sudden pressure difference.


    ¡°When you are sloppy about it, you can accidentally alter not only the trajectory and location of an object but also impart some power from the reference system it is moving in.¡±


    Flash-step, catch, eject, and the Thich blurred away, or was he already blown away by the displaced air? I wasn''t sure.


    ¡°As a planet is moving at several thousand kilometres an hour around its star, and the star may be moving at hundreds of thousands of kilometres, you can probably imagine how things can go wrong very quickly if your error range is off by a millionth of a degree. Worse, the error is cumulative as power is added to the system.¡±


    The Thich blurred into existence to my left, his axes already aiming to behead me. ¡°Which simply means I have to kill you before your projectile can gather enough energy to catch up to me!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± I grinned as I caught my weapon of mass destruction one final time, not even bothering to aim it at the Thich. ¡°I fear it¡¯s far too late for that.¡±


    Instead of forcing the Thich to dodge once more by aiming at him, the sword shot straight into the earthy ground this time.


    It left a roughly sword-shaped hole and I tensed in anticipation as I prepared myself.


    My opponent¡¯s eyes had a fraction of a moment to widen in horror as he realized what I had done, and then the ground beneath us erupted in a shower of earth, dust and debris as the sword¡¯s kinetic energy was released through the impact.


    From one moment to the next, a cloud of material denser than air surrounded us, bringing the Thich¡¯s supernatural movements to an immediate halt as he collided with said particles. Stopped cold by the shower of shrapnel coming up from beneath us like a wave, he was easy prey.


    Having been ready to abuse my spetum¡¯s far longer reach, I stabbed out, impaling the man through his chest. The hard leather resisted for a moment but was ultimately no protection against the sharp tip of my spetum. Seeing how one small mistake could spell the end, I was certain the mobility gain of lighter armour wasn¡¯t worth the risk.


    Riding the shockwave of the explosion, we landed several dozen metres away, my spetum nailing the Thich to the ground.


    To finish the matter, I kicked away the one axe he hadn¡¯t let go of in his shock. Then I stepped on one of my spetum¡¯s sideblades, driving it in all the way.


    I wondered whether I should give it a good twist and finish him off, but when he just grabbed my weapon¡¯s shaft and stared at me in defiance, I knew I was right. No matter how he did it, the rules of physics could only be bent, not broken. Just as Gaia had taught us. The air was gaseous enough to be tunnelled through for a certain distance, but put something non-gaseous in a speedster¡¯s way and it was as good as running into a wall. A weakness the both of us shared.


    Once I was sure he wouldn¡¯t ¡®blur¡¯ anywhere anytime soon, especially not with a rod of steel running through his chest, I went over to the nearby axe with a skip in my step and claimed it for myself.


    After a few testing swings, I turned back and knelt beside him, feeling somewhat exhausted. ¡°You know what? I think I like this thing! Once I¡¯ve made sure you don¡¯t run away, I will search for the second one.¡±


    Wincing, he coughed up blood and spat it in my face. ¡°The strong take what they will from the weak.¡±


    I wiped the blood from my faceplate and chuckled. ¡°So true¡­ so true. Sadly for you, I can¡¯t even argue with your logic. Or rather¡­ at least in your case, I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Employing the axe¡¯s blade, I raised it and gave it a first, good test-chop.

 Ch 129 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Forest***


    ***Astra***


    The other me flash-stepped, then flash-stepped once more, keeping up a steady rhythm which kept up with the searching tip of my opponent¡¯s rapier. Somehow it always barely touched, applying enough pressure to a weak point in my armour to be threatening, but without actually penetrating.


    Then I, or rather the other, stopped and the weapon found a small gap between my helmet and my breastplate.


    My muscles flexed in a futile defensive reflex as the woman drove her rapier down into my torso. Despite my muscle¡¯s utility as subdermal armour, they couldn¡¯t stop the needle-like tip from slipping between their fibres. In a way, it was the perfect weapon against me.


    I wasn¡¯t in control, but I could still feel every millimetre sliding into me as I screamed internally. Meanwhile, the other only felt the ¨C to me ¨C incomprehensible euphoria of victory.


    ¡°Finally!¡± the woman exclaimed as she tried to pull back her weapon, a task she suddenly learned to be not as easy as with the average human, or even mutated human. Unlike other people, my whole body was an intricate network of muscle fibres and, right now, they had a good grip on the rapier.


    The other¡¯s hand shot out and closed around the woman¡¯s fingers, locking her hand in place where she held her rapier.


    ¡°Finally... indeed,¡± the other me affirmed in a raspy tone as the woman tried to pull away.


    But I dropped my spear to hold onto her with a second hand as I reeled her in, my filaments flowing out from beneath my armour and around her as I took her into a chokehold with my legs wrapped around her body. One of her arms was easily brought under control, but the other blurred before I could restrain it.


    A dagger flashed in her free hand, aimed for my throat. Thankfully, this time the armour was firmly in place where she could reach and all she managed was a scratch. Screaming incessantly, she began stabbing everywhere, hoping to find a weak point as my filaments tightened around us, slowly increasing the pressure.


    The filaments restrained her arm with the knife soon after, but not before she managed to pry the tip of the blade into a weak point. Her bones snapped as she worked the blade deeper into a gap in my armour¡¯s inner elbow joint. Recognizing her last chance at escape, she began to saw into it, working the blade around with as much force as she could muster. I did my best to restrain her range of movement, but she was strong and what little movement she managed was enough to hurt me a lot.


    Her spinal cord popped in several places as my blood ran freely over both of us and the other whispered a sweet hush into the woman¡¯s ear.


    ¡°When you stab someone, you should make sure to hit something vital,¡± the other lectured as my arm snaked around to the woman¡¯s throat.


    Sharp fingernails, hardened by the mindflayer¡¯s mutation, dug through her skin and channelled electricity. My opponent¡¯s resistance didn¡¯t matter when my fingers could close the circuit between themselves.


    She shuddered and dropped the dagger as I went deeper, my fingers closing around her Adam¡¯s apple before the other me ripped out half her throat with a final, sudden movement.


    At last, her whimper was cut off, replaced by a low gurgle.


    She was on her last leg, but so was I.


    My entire chest was raw pain from the rapier inside it. It felt like the woman managed to saw halfway through my arm, yet I couldn¡¯t do anything against this pain as I was locked out of my own body.


    She stilled, but the other didn¡¯t let go. Instead, the other slid the integrated armblade out from beneath my wrist and used it to cut through my opponent¡¯s neck.


    Only once I held her head dangling by the woman¡¯s long hair, did control over my own body return to me.


    ¡®That¡¯s how it is done.¡¯


    ¡°Aaah!¡± I immediately dropped the head and fell to my knees, allowing the woman¡¯s body to drop away from me as I relaxed all my filaments. A moment later, when the rapier¡¯s orientation was uncomfortably changed inside me, I realized how stupid of a move that had been and clamped down again.


    I also used the filaments to staunch the flow of blood.


    The other me had somehow used my muscles to direct the rapier¡¯s path as it went down between my lungs, missing major arteries and my heart. Or¡­ no¡­ I remembered now. The woman hadn¡¯t missed my heart, but since the heart was a muscle, the rapier had glanced off, barely so.


    It probably was a stupid move, but I couldn¡¯t endure this thing inside me for a moment longer.


    Reaching up with a shaking hand, I gripped the rapier, inching it out ever so slowly, paying painful attention not to move the pointy tip in the wrong direction and finish myself off by injuring something vital.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ***Tirnanog, Jeng, The Forest***


    ***Steiner***


    As one of the handful of capable warriors of Clan Tomiri, it fell to me and my sisters to hold the wall against the anticipated attack. It was frustrating to be nothing but a playball in this war between the great clans, but at least some of them were on our side.


    The story about Clan Jeng being almost destroyed by Thich¡¯s and Vier¡¯s surprise attack was a hard pill to swallow. For Jeng to be brought so low that it had to be saved sounded outlandish. I had only visited the Mother Tree once, but back then it felt like nothing could threaten Jeng¡¯s control over the forest. Amidst Tirnanog¡¯s wilderness, it looked like their people managed to rebuild a smidgen of civilisation.


    Just to confirm their claims, I could hardly make the dangerous journey on my own when my own people¡¯s holdings were infiltrated by strangers from three of the great clans. Little did it matter that they were supposedly on our side.


    I allowed myself a short glance at the other warriors manning the wall with me, each of the great clans distinctly recognisable by their choice of preferred mutations.


    The Jeng were the most similar to us, as they also relied on some of the same mutations the forest offered. Yet where the Tomiri preferred the stoneskin mutation for protection, Jeng¡¯s more extreme mutations relied on the iobeetles, turning their warriors into bug-like humanoids. Going through such an extreme change was considered the greatest sacrifice for the protection of their clan.


    The Hochberg looked comparably tame in comparison, but most of them towered above all the others with their increased size and bulging musculature. Since they originated from the other side of the forest, I wasn¡¯t sure which mutations were responsible for their features. Travelling such distances was inconceivable to me. Going further than to the Mother Tree might as well be a journey to the other side of the planet ¨C a journey with little chance of ever returning home.


    Many of the drake-riding Aerie were slender and pale in appearance, with their warriors covered in medieval-looking armour and writhing tentacles showing sometimes from beneath when one of them forgot to hide them. I shuddered at the thought of what kind of creature might be responsible for such a mutation. And many Aerie had mutations with wings of various origins.


    Admittedly, those were just my perceived impressions of what I had seen of the three factions as a whole. There were exceptions to the rule like the small, sturdy Hochberg who had looked at me askance when I assumed she hailed from Aerie or Jeng.


    When I returned my attention to the planes beyond the forest, I saw it. Streaks of blurred movements so fast I couldn¡¯t keep up.


    Thich!


    And they were so fast, they had to be juggernauts!


    When riders on dryhounds showed up in their wake, I reached for the warning bell next to me and began to raise the alarm.


    If the Jeng were right, then there were at least four warriors among them who could be classified as juggernauts. Of which two would likely be more than enough to end my people once and for all.


    I touched my collarbone and sent a quick prayer to Gaia, hoping against hope for a miracle to happen. I wasn¡¯t a particularly religious person, but I still remembered a missionary from Gaia¡¯s church visiting our small enclave when I was a child. And if there was a greater truth out there, then we needed all the help it could grant us.


    Two streaks of sparkling lightning shot out from the watch post further south, meeting Thich¡¯s speedsters.


    The following moments felt like they drew on for an eternity, but it couldn¡¯t have been more than a few seconds during which frantic movement and flashes of afterimages painted a stop motion scene of the exchange. From one moment to the next, I saw the two parties facing each other, seemingly talking before they once more blurred into motion I couldn¡¯t keep up with.


    Then the duel to the left ended suddenly and violently with an explosion which felt like an artillery shell had hit the two combatants. Even from this distance, I felt the wave of pressure before the earth erupted, forming a crater with a diameter of at least twenty metres.


    Some debris from the explosion glanced off my cheek, thankfully deflected thanks to my hardened skin, and I ducked far too late for it to be of any help. Yet I couldn¡¯t stop myself from following the reflex of seeking protection.


    When I dared to look back over the balustrade after no second explosion was coming, I saw that the speedsters had finished their battles already.


    The other Thich had yet to encounter their opponents, but the sudden and decisive end of their comrades had obviously shaken the riders on their dryhounds as they tried to call back their beasts.


    Meanwhile, Aerie¡¯s drakeriders rose from the courtyard behind me to hunt and engage the remaining Thich.


    The warriors from the great clans left their posts on the wall to follow the drakes with more confidence than I could ever muster after seeing such a violent exchange. Among my clan, I was seen as strong, but I couldn¡¯t consider myself to be more than cannon fodder when faced with someone who could call upon an artillery strike and survive the aftermath!


    After ensuring that the wall was still sufficiently manned by my people, I decided to follow the clanners with considerably more hesitation than their warriors had shown.


    I stepped over the balustrade and jumped, landing several dozen metres ahead before I settled into a fast jog to reach the battlefield.


    The sun was already setting beyond the mountains and I wasn¡¯t sure whether the clanners were aware of it, but the twilight hour sometimes drew out the beasts of the night considerably earlier in this region. It was advisable to get any prisoners and injured back into the fortress as fast as possible.


    When I reached the scene of the battle, it looked like both of Aerie¡¯s speedsters had decided the battle in our favour, but one of them was heavily injured. The armour-clad woman was run through by what looked like a sword and four warriors were trying to dissuade her from pulling it out before a healer could reach the scene.


    The other speedster was carrying a prisoner ¨C sans legs and arms ¨C and dropped him without so much as a second thought when he saw the grave injury his partner had taken. It took an intense argument and the woman pointing after the drakeriders still visible in the sky before the speedster flashed away, presumably to help hunt down the other Thich.


    I couldn¡¯t comprehend how someone with her injuries was still standing at all.


    Looking between the woman, the drakes in the distance, and the chopped-up prisoner on the ground who was somehow still breathing, I wondered whether I should have my people pack up all their things and move to the Mother Tree. Because if the Thich came back I saw little chance for my people¡¯s future. If this was truly an all-out war between the great clans, then there was little else for us to do other than to get out from underfoot.


    I swallowed and began nodding to myself. If we gathered all our things, maybe we could join a group of Caravaners and run all the way to Hochberg.


    Journeying such a long distance suddenly seemed no longer an insurmountable task compared to staying here.

 Ch 130 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Plains***


    ***Tolsten***


    ¡°Fucking mess is what it is,¡± Oman exclaimed for the n-teenth time while he walked a small circle into the ground. The circular path which took him around our little campsite was slowly beginning to get visible as he wore out the hardy and dry flora. His eyes were flicking constantly back and forth, searching the darkness for threats.


    The large warrior was grating on my nerves with his behaviour and incessant complaints, but it couldn''t be helped. He was the only person left who could ensure the safety of our camping site. I wasn''t a sensor and Qiu had only her smell to rely upon.


    The whole mission had gone down the drain the moment the enemy''s speedsters had shown up. It was a miracle the three of us managed to get away while our heavy hitters went down. In a way, they paid with their lives to buy the time for us to escape.


    I leaned against the rock behind me and searched the darkness, frustrated at my lack of sensory abilities. My eyesight was improved, but I needed daylight to get any use out of it.


    Staying outside during the night wasn''t ideal, but we had no choice after losing more than half of our number to the hunters who showed up to chase us away from the Tomiri compound.


    To be fair, encountering resistance had to be expected sooner or later. The rules of inter-clan warfare stated one had to be as unpredictable as possible so the opponent couldn''t counteract our abilities. Alas, central command thought that the war could no longer be won quickly, and so we got orders to delay a possible counter-attack for as long as possible by sowing chaos within the enemy''s lands.


    We did everything possible to minimize the risk. Like staying unpredictable while fulfilling our mission. Yes, we had moved more or less in a straight line while terrorizing the smaller clans, but we skipped entire settlements at irregular intervals to throw off any concentrated countermeasures.


    And it wasn''t like there weren''t several possible settlements we could have hit today. Right off the bat, I could think of four other settlements we could have attacked if the commander hadn''t chosen the Tomiri. The other side must have wasted a lot of their resources to reinforce several settlements needlessly, or they were extremely lucky taking their pick.


    Either way, nobody believed it to be possible for Sotorios and Trishna to be overwhelmed so completely. I mean... the battle was over within seconds. We didn''t even have the time to consider retreat.


    ¡°We should have kicked them into the dust!¡± Oman continued. ¡°Just like when we stepped onto the bugs. How are we supposed to demonstrate Thich¡¯s superiority if we run away at the first sign of resistance!?¡±


    I bit my lip, careful not to aggravate the man by pointing out that he was more sensor than warrior and couldn''t have stood up to a single drake if he tried.


    ''You still need him for watch duty, Tolsten,'' I thought to myself. I could still give him a beating once we were reunited with the rest of the company.


    ¡°Could you please try to be a little quieter?¡± Qiu Shen whispered. ¡°I would rather not be jumped by a nightstalker when we are down more than half our people and the rest of the company is another half a day of hard riding away.¡±


    ¡°Do not worry.¡± Oman gestured into the darkness. ¡°I can see more than a kilometre in every direction from here and the terrain is flat. We aren''t at the karst yet, so nothing can sneak up on us.¡±


    I scanned the darkness around us at his words. Unfortunately, all I could do was believe him and rely on my memory of what the area had looked like before the sun went down. The two moons also weren''t out tonight, impairing visibility even more.


    Our enemies had been on our tracks like bloodhounds, but the darkness was a threat to them just as to us. Since it was more dangerous to stumble through the night than just to stay put, they had likely also set up a camp in a protected location. However, I wasn''t so sure about their drakeriders.


    I shook my head. There was no point in worrying about things I couldn¡¯t change. If the drakes could find us in the darkness, they would already be here.


    Just to make sure there would be no unlucky mishap, I tested the fastenings which held the leather cover in place above the glowmoss. It acted as a sight screen against the night sky. This way, we could have our campsite dimly illuminated while being relatively certain not to announce our presence to a drakerider.


    It would have been preferable to have air support of our own, but we had to play the cards we were dealt. I was sure we would win in the end and prove Clan Thich to be the strongest. After all, we were Tirnanog''s rightful inheritors.


    But till then we had to not only be strong, we also had to be smart and cunning.


    ¡°What are you shaking your head for?¡± Oman sneered at me.


    ¡°I was just caught up in my thoughts,¡± I answered, forcing my voice to be calm and steady. Oman was an easily provoked bloodthirsty bully. Idiotic too, since he didn''t have the power to back up his behaviour, so I had to be the smarter man till we found our way out of this situation.


    It wouldn''t do if I beat him to a pulp right now. I promised myself as soon as we reunited with the others the gloves would come off and he would learn why he had been designated nothing more than support.


    Qiu Shen gestured at our surroundings, her eyes a little frantic. ¡°Didn''t I tell you to keep watch!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ Still wishing we could celebrate our victory on the bonfire of Jeng''s Mother Tree.¡± Against all odds, Oman returned to making his rounds without lashing out at Qiu. I supposed he had a thing for her. There was no other way for me to explain the irritable man''s behaviour.


    Nonetheless, it was true that we had likely dealt the Jeng a lethal blow, but I wasn''t so certain as the others. At least it was the official narrative coming from central command.


    Not to forget, I had seen several of Jeng¡¯s living trees fall before the Aerie showed up with their damnable airships and started unloading heaps of Hochberg shock troops with their pioneers. Those guys were worse than the Jeng when it came to hiding inside fortifications.


    The Jeng only had their trees, but the Hochberg pioneers were almost impossible to root out of their trench systems once they managed to dig in.


    No clue how the fleet warfare had gone down as a whole, but it looked like both sides held back as much as was reasonable. At least I had only seen a few ships go down in the first hour of the relief force''s arrival. Afterwards, I was too preoccupied with staying alive amidst the trench warfare the Hochberg pioneers had drawn us into.


    I nonetheless genuinely believed we had done enough damage to Jeng for the wilderness to do the rest. Also, there was still the coming winter and without their food stores...


    ¡°I have to take a piss!¡± Oman growled and turned to a nearby stone.


    Qiu let out an aghast sound and pointed southwards into the distance. ¡°At least piss down-wind from us so I don''t have to smell it for the rest of the night!¡±


    The large man shrugged with a grin on his stupid mug and took the few steps in the indicated direction before facing away from us.


    I was about to return to my lamentations when something white flashed past my face ¨C an axe, as I processed one moment after the weapon buried itself in Oman''s back. It hit him perfectly between the shoulders, the blade going in down the length of his spine.


    There wasn''t so much as a grunt from Oman as he fell forward onto his face. His spine was no obstacle for the axe''s steelbone blade.


    ¡°That''s the lieutenant''s-¡± Qiu''s big, round eyes were torn away from the weapon which once belonged to one of our comrades. An armour-clad warrior had appeared behind her, pulling her head back and opening her throat with a blade from ear to ear. The blade had snapped out of his wrist and was drawn back in as soon as the deed was done.


    Then he was gone, accompanied by a trail of sparks disappearing into the darkness beyond the light of the glow-moss.


    I jumped to my feet, sword in hand and ready to fight as-


    Something hit me in the back of my knees and I folded over backwards. Once more the armoured man was there, his raised axe lit ominously by the glow-moss¡¯s light.


    Then the axe flashed once more and the world tilted and rolled strangely before it stopped, showing the warrior standing above my headless body.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ***Tirnanog, The Forest***


    ***Astra***


    I fumbled at the straps which held the strange neckruff in place which the field medics had improvised to stabilize my position after removing the rapier. The process hadn''t been any more sophisticated than what I intended to do from the start ¨C which meant simply pulling the weapon out. Admittedly, they had probably done a better job than I could have with only one hand, given the awkward angle at which the weapon was stuck inside me.


    ¡°Didn''t I tell you not to move?¡± The doctor from the ninth strata chided me. I didn¡¯t know her personally, but I recognized her as a part of the staff which was seen regularly around Thalia and her mother. It probably shouldn¡¯t come as a surprise for one of the better doctors to be involved in this mission.


    The woman glared down at me where I lay on a stretcher. ¡°If you keep moving, you could worsen your internal injuries, and I have no desire to perform a field operation to stop internal bleeding when it isn''t necessary.¡±


    ¡°I told you, there are no major arteries cut,¡± I protested. ¡°I would know.¡±


    ¡°And what about all the small ones?¡± she asked in a condescending tone. ¡°You have been unbelievably lucky already. And even if that blade somehow missed everything important on the way in, which I believe to be a miracle, there is no way there aren''t dozens of small blood vessels injured. Only your mutations saved you. And your arm is a mess, so if you don''t lay down for a few days at least I am going to strap you to that stretcher with your own filaments.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. Someone else using my filaments to bind me would be a feat.


    Thankfully, I was saved another sermon when Magnus entered the room. The sun had been up for hours, so it was high time for him to return. ¡°Magnus! Are you alright? Why didn''t you message me with the UI?¡±


    He crossed his arms and looked down at me. ¡°I told you, I won''t read that screen while running alone through that damnable wilderness. Not to mention, I was out of range till a few minutes ago. The nanites can''t keep up a reliable connection when there is no clear line of sight. And I figured we could talk in person just as well once I reported back.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Did you get them?¡±


    ¡°First, are you fine?¡± He asked with a grim expression.


    I waved him off. ¡°I won¡¯t die, just like I promised.¡±


    He let out a sigh. ¡°You gave me a shock. Yes, the drakeriders, Elijah and Linda engaged the Thich¡¯s main raiding unit to clean up the rest. The riders already confirmed their positions and I took a stroll through their camp to make sure they don¡¯t have more juggernauts hidden up their sleeves. They had nobody who could counter me and surrendered as soon as our people showed up.¡±


    For a second, I imagined a speedster rushing through a camp, taking limbs left and right without anyone being able to stop him. It was no wonder they surrendered, though I had no clue what we could do with so many prisoners. Could we take them in? I was glad it wasn¡¯t my decision.


    ¡°And what about Maria?¡± I asked before I gave the doctor a pointed look. ¡°They don¡¯t give me any news in here.¡±


    ¡°She is discussing things with the prisoner ¨C who is surprisingly well enough to argue religion with her.¡± Magnus went and got himself a stool to take a seat next to me. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect him to survive that.¡±


    ¡°Chopping off his limbs certainly didn¡¯t improve his health!¡± the doctor commented snarkily from the sideline.


    Magnus shrugged. ¡°Hey, what do you want? It was either his limbs or his head. I wouldn¡¯t try to lock up someone with such powers even if I felt particularly lucky. Takes just one mistake and half our people could be dead before someone can stop him.¡±


    ¡°What is Maria trying to find out?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Aw, I admit I didn¡¯t listen much after she began questioning the man¡¯s religion.¡± Magnus gave me a helpless gesture with his hands. ¡°Like I said, have never been religious.¡±


    ¡°The Church of Gaia isn¡¯t really a religion, though,¡± I pointed out, figuring Magnus likely hadn¡¯t gotten around to learning much about our clan¡¯s societal norms in that regard. There hadn¡¯t been much reason. ¡°You already learned about their doctrine.¡±


    ¡°I have?¡± Magnus sounded genuinely surprised.


    ¡°Your lessons with Mary about the clan¡¯s stance on enlightenment,¡± I explained. ¡°She probably never explicitly said it was the church¡¯s doctrine. The church is more of an organisation with the goal of helping people than a traditional religion. I think they only call themselves a church because people called them such and at some point the label stuck and they decided to just go with it.¡±


    ¡°I think I remember the whole enlightenment thing.¡± Magnus hummed. ¡°Though, I thought it was more about the government system. Only those who prove themselves capable get to vote and all that.¡±


    ¡°The Church of Gaia originated from a group of people whose powers didn¡¯t lend themselves to survival on Tirnanog,¡± Maria¡¯s voice interrupted us from the door. ¡°They were of no physical help to the clan, so they sought other ways to assist. Like helping people with mental welfare, keeping knowledge and history, and consequently we are deeply tied to the fifth strata. It was a logical next step to tend to society as a whole.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Magnus turned to Maria who had entered the sick ward. ¡°Are you done arguing with him?¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°It will take a stronger psychic than me to get more out of him. He is too set in his ways for there to be any meaningful discussion. Too set for it to be normal. Either he was indoctrinated from early childhood on, or someone twisted his mind.¡±


    Her expression turned to a displeased frown. ¡°What that man said, it¡¯s almost like a mockery of Gaia¡¯s principles. I am deeply worried for what we might find at Thich.¡±


    ¡°Please explain,¡± I said.


    Maria tilted her head and thought for a moment. ¡°They call themselves the Children of Tirnanog. Where the Church preaches logic and favours the superiority of the mind, the Children advocate for raw power and survival of the fittest. Where we seek to create a stable society, their goal is the exploitation of the weak by suppression to raise the individual. They are a mockery of everything the Church of Gaia stands for. I have to talk with Casey and Hayne Ortega about this.¡±


    Magnus frowned. ¡°I think you might want to invite Vanya to this discussion. I heard something similar from her before we left on this mission.¡±


    He turned towards me. ¡°Which finally brings me to the reason why I rushed back so quickly after you sent me out to hunt. Are you well enough to jaunt?¡±


    ¡°Aah¡­¡± My eyes flicked to the doctor who glared at me and crossed her arms. ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡±


    ¡°Then I will get you back to Mount Aerie.¡± Magnus bent down and picked me up, stretcher included.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s too far to jaunt with two people!¡± I argued.


    ¡°Which is why we will jaunt to the Old Camp where the flagship is stationed and take the wormgate from there,¡± Magnus explained.


    It was done just as promised and I found myself back at home within an hour and at Kiera¡¯s care. The doctor was elated to hand Constella and Aurora off to me since she didn¡¯t deem my injuries severe enough to justify giving me sick leave from my children.


    The problem was further compounded when we got a message from the crib, stating Isaac was in trouble. Thankfully, Magnus said he could take care of it alone. I just hoped he wouldn''t cause another incident, but given his history, I couldn''t help but worry.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Isaac***


    Isaac was frustrated, worried, angry, and afraid. He had promised to be good, but he had been bad. Very bad if the caretaker was to be believed. Though, Isaac couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with his actions. The other boy deserved what he got, especially after Isaac had warned him several times. So, who was to blame Isaac for zapping the stupid idiot a little?


    Isaac had just done what Dad told him to do when there was a fight. Be not the one who starts an argument, but be sure to finish it when there is one.


    Besides, Isaac was sure he hadn¡¯t done any lasting harm.


    Though, he couldn''t help but worry. The last time Dad had been mad at him was still a vivid memory in his mind. So, it wasn¡¯t so much that Isaac was worried about the caretaker¡¯s disapproval, he was worried about what his parents had to say on the matter. Especially after Mom had been so firm about the rules at the crib when they dropped him off.


    Isaac glanced at Andreas and, unable to get over his anger, narrowed his eyes at the older and larger boy. Andreas still had a little nervous twitch when Isaac looked at him ¨C probably an after-effect of Isaac¡¯s dissuasive shock therapy. His eyes went to Andreas¡¯s parents who were still arguing with the caretaker when Isaac heard the heavy steps of armoured boots coming down the corridor. By the sounds of it, they were his father¡¯s footsteps.


    Isaac looked at the floor, ashamed that his father had to show up just to find him in this situation.


    The footsteps stopped in front of him. ¡°Isaac, looks like you are fine. I heard you got yourself into some trouble, hmm?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Dad,¡± Isaac wasn¡¯t sure whether trouble was the right word for it. ¡°The caretaker and his parents have been screaming a lot.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Mister Frost,¡± the caretaker came over, followed by Andreas¡¯s parents. For some reason, the three of them seemed a lot politer than they had been with Isaac a few minutes ago.


    Dad settled his helmet beneath his armpit and studied the three of them. ¡°I was informed about a problem, though nobody could tell me what it was.¡±


    Andreas¡¯s mother pointed at Isaac. ¡°Your son electrocuted ours till he was a twitching mess on the floor!¡±


    Isaac puffed out his cheeks in anger. ¡°Andreas has been knocking down the castles I built the entire day! When we played dodgeball, he was only after me and ignored the other kids. And during drawing lessons, he scratched my castle blueprints! Enough was enough, so I shocked him!¡±


    The caretaker placed his hands together, massaging one with the other. ¡°You shocked him not only once, you did so repeatedly till we told you to stop.¡±


    ¡°He is twice my size!¡± Isaac defended himself. ¡°Am I supposed to let him hit me?¡±


    The caretaker ignored Isaac and turned to his father instead. ¡°You see, Mr. Frost, we are in a bit of a bind here.¡±


    Isaac¡¯s Dad blinked at the caretaker and Andreas¡¯s parents. He said nothing and just stared at them. It was a good, long stare, like the one Isaac got when he crawled into the mansion¡¯s venting system. And as time went on, even Isaac began to feel uncomfortable, despite not being the target of his father¡¯s scrutinization.


    After what must have been well over a minute, Isaac¡¯s Dad looked down at himself and the three adults followed his eyes to the blood splatters on his armour before they went to the dried blood on the two axes at his side. Not to mention the liberally coated spear on his back.


    Then Isaac¡¯s Dad looked back up ¨C and smiled. ¡°You have to forgive me. You see, two hours ago I was at the frontline where I chopped up about two dozen Thich. Plus, I haven¡¯t slept all night because I had to camp outside with the monsters. To make a long story short, I am very tired and a little on edge. All I heard right now was that two stupid boys got into an argument which went beyond words. Not to mention, the one who was supposed to look after them and keep things from going this far didn¡¯t do his job.¡±


    The caretaker coughed and went slightly red while Magnus glared at him and the parents. ¡°I¡­ suppose the crib will try to keep Isaac and Andreas apart in the future.¡±


    ¡°Good man!¡± Isaac¡¯s Dad clapped the caretaker on the shoulder, leaving behind a few specs of blood. ¡°And I will have a few words with my son about the gradual escalation of conflicts. Why don¡¯t I take him home for today to allow the mood to settle down and from tomorrow onwards you keep a closer eye on the two boys?¡±


    The caretaker licked his lips. ¡°Right.¡±


    Isaac¡¯s Dad clapped his hands together. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go home then.¡± He picked Isaac up at the scruff of his neck, the filaments forming a supporting harness around Isaac¡¯s torso.


    ¡°I am so proud of you Isaac. Never forget that you are an Elrod ¨C and a Frost. Being nice and social is important to live within society, but it has its limits. If someone disrespects you beyond reasonable levels, measures have to be taken. No matter what your mother says, sometimes a prankster just needs a good whack to take you seriously. As a start, I believe you brought the warning across sufficiently well. Next time, I suggest ripping off an ear and if that doesn''t help¡­¡±

 Ch 131 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Magnus bringing Isaac home involved a little drama, as my rather insensitive partner failed to prepare the boy for finding his mother in bed with her arm and neck wrapped in bandages.


    ¡°Mom!¡± Isaac ran up to the bed and took my good hand to place it on top of his head to hold it there while he began to cry. ¡°Mom is hurt!¡±


    ¡°I will be fine!¡± I reassured the boy while ruffling his hair. ¡°The doctors said I just have to lie down for a while and everything will be better.¡±


    Then I looked at Magnus and raised an eyebrow. ¡°And what required you to visit the crib? Please tell me you didn¡¯t show up there covered in blood as you are now. No, why am I even asking? You did. Didn¡¯t I tell you to change before going there?¡± Then a thought struck me. ¡°Or even worse. You got yourself cleaned up and that blood is from the crib?¡±


    ¡°Hey, they told us it is important so I rushed there right after we received their request.¡± Magnus shrugged and grinned while he leaned against the door frame. ¡°And nothing dramatic happened. Just a little disagreement between Isaac and another boy. And Isaac won! I am very proud of him.¡±


    Right, who cared about a little bit of blood when talking to civilians who likely never left Mount Aerie¡¯s living caverns in their entire lives? There weren¡¯t many such people, but if they were to be found anywhere, then they would be crib workers.


    I massaged my forehead. Normally, I should argue to make him see reason. Magnus was representing the Frosts out there. But right now I simply couldn¡¯t summon the energy.


    Isaac nodded. ¡°Andreas was mean, so I shocked him till-¡±


    ¡°Till he got the message,¡± Magnus finished quickly for Isaac and petted him on the head reassuringly. ¡°Remember what we talked about, Isaac? You did exactly the right thing in this particular situation, but going any further on the first offence would have been bad.¡±


    I wanted to sit up and give those two a proper lecture. It was clear something inappropriate was going on, but a lance of pain went through my torso when I tried, so I relaxed back into the bed. ¡°Magnus, I told you not to make the whole affair any bigger! Did you threaten the staff? What about the other boy? I hope he wasn¡¯t injured! Isaac, you didn¡¯t hurt another child, did you?¡±


    Magnus gestured for me to calm down. ¡°I haven¡¯t threatened anyone. Honestly, your imagination is just wild, Astra. Trust your two boys a little bit more. I went there, allowed them to explain the situation, and concluded it to be a stupid fight between children combined with an inattentive caretaker who should have stopped the entire incident before things became violent. I was extraordinarily nice! Isaac is my witness.¡±


    Isaac nodded. ¡°Dad didn¡¯t scream once, even though the caretaker and the other parents screamed at me. Dad was very calm with them.¡±


    I coughed and groaned. ¡°Why do I get the feeling the next time I show up at the crib I am going to have to listen to a complaint?¡±


    ¡°A woman¡¯s intuition?¡± Magnus answered unhelpfully in a questioning tone. ¡°And maybe because they think you are the nicer one between the two of us? No, seriously, I can give you the details later, but I think I was very lenient with them. You can tell them if they have complaints, they can take it up with me.¡±


    That was exactly what I was afraid of.


    ¡°Right now I want nothing more than sleep,¡± I said, unable to muster any interest in dealing with the problem. ¡°And maybe you could go and talk with my parents? Tell them everything is fine.¡±


    Magnus gave me a thumbs-up. ¡°I¡¯ll tell them your best wishes and fill out those reports the military likes so much.¡±


    ¡°Mmh¡­¡± I hummed and closed my eyes, allowing my tiredness to take me to the land of dreams.


    And that¡¯s how I found myself sitting behind a desk while the entity continued her physics lectures as if nothing happened. How foolish of me to believe I''d ever get some true downtime. How my mind could keep functioning without going crazy was a mystery to me.


    I sighed and told myself to get my act together before I narrowed my eyes at Gaia¡¯s back, wishing to be able to drill two holes into it with the power of my mind alone.


    Gaia stood in front of a chalkboard and was scribbling a set of formulas which explained the warping of space around a black hole. An exercise which, if duplicated properly, should allow Magnus and me not only to teleport and move at extraordinary speeds, but also affect gravity around us to a certain degree.


    After all, gravity was an effect of spacial distortions, normally caused by mass.


    Right now it was unclear how we could use this in combat since causing a significant gravity distortion would require a lot of power, but all of Gaia¡¯s teachings turned out to be useful in one way or another.


    When it became increasingly obvious that Gaia had no intention of broaching the matter of a sub-identity taking over my physical body, I cleared my throat.


    Gaia stopped chalking away at her board and turned to face me with a smile on her lips. ¡°Is there anything you haven¡¯t understood? Maybe we should revisit the reason why certain speedsters can seemingly circumvent the laws of physics. And why you can bypass gaseous mass, but solids prove an obstacle?¡±


    I ignored the jab at my failure to exploit the opponent¡¯s weakness. A weakness I should have been very aware of since I shared it.


    ¡°So you know what happened?¡± I narrowed my eyes even further, glaring at her. ¡°I thought your interactions with the physical world are very limited. Has something changed?¡±


    ¡°Only as long as you don¡¯t enter the dream, my dear,¡± Gaia replied without a shred of shame. ¡°In here, you are like an open book to me. If you had paid as much attention as Magnus, maybe you could have avoided being turned into shish-kebab.¡±


    ¡°I know that I fucked up. You don¡¯t have to rub it in!¡± I answered, still glaring at her. ¡°What I want to know is how one of my damned sub-personalities can take over my body! Or how to explain why that personality possesses an entirely different combat experience from me! Am I experiencing the same problem as Magnus?¡±


    Gaia let out a deep sigh. ¡°Can¡¯t you just be glad and say: ¡®Thank you, oh goddess of mine! In your endless wisdom, you have given me the ability to survive against all odds.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Why do humans have this need to explain everything, even if their limited brains have no hope of doing so? Curiosity is such a helpful character trait, but also annoying when it is aimed at something outside the human mind¡¯s comprehension.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I messed up the whole evolution process. Maybe I should double down on that religious gene. Maybe people being a little more trustful towards the unexplainable would be a boon to humanity, hmm?¡±


    ¡°If such a thing as a religious gene truly exists, I believe it would backfire,¡± I replied with a deadpan expression. ¡°Isn¡¯t the whole problem with the Thich born from the circumstance that they have contact with an alien entity and trust it?¡±


    Gaia answered with a so-so gesture. ¡°Not entirely. First, of course, there is no gene which magically gives you the need for religion. But there is one which influences your brain chemistry. It makes you more perceptible to having ¡®visions¡¯, which are in truth dysfunctional optic nerves. Other side-effects are lowered aggression towards family while increasing aggression towards what you regard as ''not family''. In other words, it affects tribal behaviour.¡±


    She began wandering from left to right in front of the chalkboard. ¡°And as for the Thich, I am not certain how my opponents are influencing them. Are they influencing them at all? Or are they somehow taking advantage of a natural development? Humans are too chaotic, but that is by design. Without the ability to confirm for myself I can¡¯t answer the question with certainty. Honestly, having a whole group of humans disconnected from me is really ¡®unpleasant¡¯, to use a term you might understand. So could you hurry up and do something about it?¡±


    I blinked, then shook my head. I had to focus when talking to Gaia, she was prone to digress.


    ¡°You are still trying to distract me. I no longer buy the evasive bullshit you are dishing me and Magnus regarding our sub-personalities and instincts.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°Now spill, or I will find out what allows the Thich to disconnect themselves from you and use it!¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Gaia gave me a displeased frown and we stared at each other for well over thirty seconds.


    At some point, the entity must have concluded that I was serious with my threat because she put the chalk down. ¡°Fine. The reason why Magnus and you are developing these minor issues is that you aren¡¯t used to your abilities. Like I told you, you have to train using your sub-identities just like a muscle. It¡¯s a psychic ability related to your mental state. Magnus discovered an advanced state of this early on because fighting and adrenaline made it easier. You went a level deeper when you combined the stress of combat with a simultaneous attempt at using precognition.¡±


    So, what? Was she telling me that as long as we didn¡¯t get a grip on staying calm during combat, we would be prone to turning into berserkers?


    I mulled that over. ¡°And what are the sub-identities? No, let¡¯s rather ask, what are psychic abilities? I think the answer to that would get me closer to what I want to know.¡±


    Gaia bit her lip, picked up the chalk, rolled her eyes, and then dropped it again. It was the first time I had seen her lose her cool in this manner.


    She turned to the chalkboard and gestured at it as if talking with another person. ¡°How am I supposed to explain to a slide ruler how quantum computing works?¡±


    Now, that was just mean!


    Gaia threw up her hands and gestured at the chalkboard while looking at me. ¡°Do you believe a single human mind would ever be able to calculate the necessary variables to create a miniature wormhole without displacing yourself to a random location? On the fly no less? I had to find a way to allow you two to perform feats which require a totally inhuman intellect while not taking away your ability to interact with the rest of humanity.¡±


    Gaia began wandering up and down in front of me. ¡°I mean, I am trying to do ¡®my¡¯ own thing here. Becoming more than just an avatar of Earth and being a new Gaia for Tirnanog is stressful. Gah! It still feels strange to think of me as separate from the whole. Closing the Tibet gateway for good didn''t do me any favours. Anyway, what I wanted to say is that the choice was either the current state of affairs or creating completely new agents to represent me in the physical realm and start from scratch.¡±


    I closed my eyes, trying my best to decipher the dumpster fire of information Gaia had just spilt on me. ¡°I guess my most immediate concern is whether the children will be affected by this too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they will be fine.¡± The speed of Gaia¡¯s answer was reassuring. ¡°They will have their whole lives to learn wielding their abilities. They never learned the ¡®bad habits¡¯ of you previously normal humans!¡±


    As if on cue, Isaac popped into existence between the two of us. He looked around and fist-pumped before he ran to the door. ¡°Hi, Mom, Aunty Gaia, I¡¯m gonna play outside!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile as I looked after him. He was using every second of Gaia¡¯s dream space to explore the surface world. So far, all he had ever seen were the few spaces he had been to in the living caves. Getting to play outside within the safety of the dream was¡­ a blessing.


    Then I steeled my expression and returned my attention to Gaia. ¡°So, the sub-personalities?¡±


    She tilted her head and looked at the ceiling. ¡°Your brains are now more akin to a computer. If a doctor popped you open, I doubt they would recognize anything in there. But the main function your altered brain fulfils is to act as a sensor for other layers of reality. It allows you to sense other ¡®you¡¯s¡¯ from alternate dimensions and create a Gestalt mind similar to mine.¡± She gestured with her fingers, indicating something very small. ¡°Of course, an extremely dumbed-down version of myself.¡±


    ¡°Other dimensions?¡± I asked, baffled. Gaia¡¯s wormhole theories indirectly implied the existence of other dimensions, but going there would likely require more energy than humanity could ever hope to harness. ¡°Like in a fucking multiverse?¡±


    ¡°See!?¡± Gaia replied, sounding entirely too cheerful in my opinion. ¡°I am so glad that Magnus isn¡¯t here. That¡¯s already getting into those far-removed topics you have absolutely no reason to know about. Just accept that it works, it harms nobody ¨C except you when you lose control. So just train the ability and don¡¯t lose control. Like, seriously, train the ability. Create sub-personalities till you feel like losing control and stay in control. It''s like psychic training with Thalia. The muscle can only grow when exercised.¡±


    ¡°So, psychic abilities interact with other dimensions?¡± I tried digging to the bottom of this. ¡°So the sub-identity which took me over-¡±


    Gaia raised her hands. ¡°Nonono! All wrong! It was just a copy of this other you. Pure information! As far as I know, there is no way to interact between dimensions. There is no information going from your reality to anywhere else. Your ability is purely observer-based. Is it so hard to accept that this is beyond your ken?¡± She gestured at her chalkboard. ¡°It¡¯s like you just learned addition and then you decide to jump directly to a Diophantine Equation.¡±


    I frowned.


    ¡°Okay, how else to explain?¡± Gaia tapped her cheek. ¡°All of you humans are using that UI so cheerfully, yet there is only one of you in all of Tirnanog who understands how it works. In the same manner, what¡¯s the problem with using psychic abilities? They work, and I tell you they are safe to use, so learn to use them properly.¡±


    It seemed like Gaia wasn¡¯t willing to explain any further than this.


    ¡°I guess I will accept this ¨C for now,¡± I answered hesitatingly. ¡°So, what exercises do you believe would be effective for training these sub-personalities?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    It took me little time to wash myself and clean my equipment before I went to report on the outcome of the mission. Abusing a blood-covered getup to intimidate a few civilians was one thing, but I didn¡¯t want to show up like a barbarian fresh from the frontline in front of the elders. Thankfully, maintaining iobeetle armour wasn¡¯t as annoying as preventing rust on medieval steel armour. Hosing my armour down with water and soap was more than enough.


    Since it was on the way, Gilbert was my first stop.


    As expected, I found the forge master and his crew tinkering with the wormgate. It was currently our most valuable strategic asset, so maintaining and perfecting it was of the highest priority.


    ¡°Magnus!¡± Gilbert greeted me right away when I stepped through the gate and found myself in one of the flagship¡¯s secure hangar bays. ¡°Feels like you have been hiding from me recently. I bet you only show your face because you have ruined another armour.¡±


    I grinned back at the elder. ¡°I am proud to report that your latest masterpiece is still intact. Instead, I have a present for you this time. Though, I don¡¯t know its value.¡±


    Wrapped in a blanket, I handed Gilbert the two strange rapiers and one of the axes we had looted from the Thich raiders. I was keeping the other axe for myself because the weapons had shown great durability. Astra had shown no interest in the rapiers after she had already abandoned the weapon category altogether.


    To top it off, I added a stack of papers. They were a set of Gaia¡¯s transcribed lessons on wormhole theory. It wasn¡¯t anything revolutionary, but the knowledge should be condensed enough to allow Gilbert to optimize his machine. The elder was a magician with machines and he was rapidly developing into our top expert on adapting creature cores, but he was no wormhole specialist.


    ¡°Ooh, steelbone weapons, and big ones,¡± Gilbert took out one of the rapiers and flexed it appreciatively. ¡°Those are rare. Whoever you took them from must have been a big shot. And the papers, wormhole theory?¡±


    ¡°You know of the material?¡± I asked and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been researching all the wormhole theory I could get my hands on lately. This is a condensed theory guide on optimizing steps for the wormgate. Hope it helps, though I wash my hands in innocence when it comes to the ¡®hands-on¡¯ stuff.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I will be sure to read it.¡± Gilbert nodded and raised the rapier. ¡°The Thich have an animal similar to the iobeetle in their region, but it¡¯s very rare and only the bones are useful. The creature¡¯s bones are usually no larger than a human thigh bone. It¡¯s very unusual to see weapons this big. Normally, the bones are just big enough for knives, spearheads, arrowheads¡­ small things. Never seen them make armour out of it.¡±


    ¡°So you can make use of the materials?¡± I asked.


    Gilbert shrugged. ¡°To be honest, repurposing these beauties would feel like sacrilege when I can use normal steel or iobeetle shells for the same purpose. These things are a statement of wealth.¡±


    I nodded in understanding. ¡°Well, just add them to your weapon collection then. It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t given us more than enough for free.¡±


    ¡°What is this!?¡± He suddenly pulled out my short sword which I had tugged beneath all the other weapons, hoping it would go unnoticed till I was out of there.


    The weapon was still roughly sword-shaped, but using it as a projectile for my latest artillery skill hadn¡¯t done it any favours. One side was intact, but the other was patterned after the rocky underground it had hit. As if it had been cold-forged, the previously diamond-shaped cross-section was now more crescent-shaped. This made the weapon awkward to handle and essentially useless for a serious fight.


    I scratched the back of my head and patted the axe at my side. ¡°Aw, don¡¯t worry about a replacement. I have found a liking for this axe hammer as an off-hand weapon.¡±


    Gilbert snorted. ¡°Well, the speed at which you have been going through my swords, an axe or a hammer might indeed be the better choice for you. In other words, that looted axe seems perfect. Just tell me what you did to this sword.¡±


    ¡°Threw it at the enemy,¡± I replied. ¡°He dodged, but the ricocheting debris took him out.¡±


    It was a gross simplification, but I didn¡¯t have the time to reiterate the whole fight. The central command was assuredly already waiting for a report.


    Gilbert only raised a doubtful eyebrow but didn¡¯t ask any more questions. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I suggest not repeating the feat with your new axe. It¡¯s more durable than steel, but I expect it would break just the same if you do whatever you did to the sword. Steelbone is harder and more durable than steel, but it is also comparably brittle. You would likely end up with a pile of shards.¡±


    ¡°Noted,¡± I assured him I would find a better projectile next time and excused myself.


    The next stop was filling out the mission documentation in duplicate for Astra and visiting the command centre where I found Matriarch Vanya and Skye Rumen studying a table with morose expressions. Gunnar was also there, wearing a sour expression while a diminutive creature hid behind his legs, Chitters if I remembered correctly.


    ¡°Magnus reports back with a successful mission,¡± I stated cheerfully and slapped the mission report onto the table. ¡°Am I qualified to learn the reason for all the sour expressions?¡±


    Vanya threw up her hands. ¡°Someone infiltrated our flagship¡¯s holding cells and killed all the high-profile prisoners we captured at the battle for Jeng¡¯s Mother Tree! All that intelligence about Thich¡¯s forces and their fortress city ¨C just gone!¡±


    ¡°We believe it was the spy who Chitters and I are searching for,¡± Gunnar added. ¡°We know of nobody else who would have the skill to walk into a high-security prison and kill twenty-four people without leaving a trace.¡±


    ¡°Uuh,¡± I pursed my lips. ¡°Sounds like that spy just jumped to the enemy of the state number one. And good that Astra and I just caught ourselves another high-priority prisoner.¡± I brandished the, as I just learned, precious axe. ¡°He had two of these and Gilbert said only people with lots of funds can ever hope to get their hands on one, let alone two.¡±


    Vanya looked at me, blinking at the axe before a Cheshire smile stole itself onto her face. ¡°I suppose you aren¡¯t up to play bait for us?¡±


    I stopped brandishing my new axe. My premonition tingled ominously at whatever plan was just spawned inside the Matriarch¡¯s brain. ¡°Bait?¡±

 Ch 132 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Holy Moly,¡± I exclaimed when Gunnar showed me the row of corpses in the morgue. ¡°I thought we were searching for a traitor and not some kind of monster. Seriously, what''s up with the popped eyeballs?¡±


    I approached one of the bodies and inspected the empty eye socket. No matter whether we were hunting a human or some kind of creature, it was a sick motherfucker with a penchant for eyeballs.


    Gunnar harrumphed. ¡°More like their brains.¡±


    ¡°Brains?¡± I repeated, baffled.


    ¡°Whatever killed them went in through the eye and slurped out the brain.¡± He mimicked using a drinking straw, slurping audibly while doing so. ¡°At least that''s what the doctors said.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I shook my head and gestured down the line of corpses. ¡°I am not going to play bait for whoever or whatever did this without my full armour. Why are you even still saying it was a spy when it looks more like some horror-flick monster did this?¡±


    I and my ¡®uncle¡¯ hadn¡¯t gotten a proper opportunity to talk yet. But since this was an important matter I agreed to set aside my misgivings for the moment and treat him no differently than I had while we were still working for the organisation. I could do as much, though I had a few stern words for him as soon as this was over.


    Gunnar sighed. ¡°I would have said the same, but after extensive interviews with doctors and elders alike, I was assured that there are even more grotesque mutations out there. And during my time back at Earth I had to learn often enough that humans are capable of horrible things. So far, I haven¡¯t seen much on Tirnanog which could compare to what the worst of our kind are capable of.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°According to the elders something like this,¡± He gestured at the bodies, ¡°isn''t beyond an enemy infiltrator who desires to sow fear and chaos. And I must admit, the methodical selection of the victims so far speaks against a mindless beast. This isn¡¯t some monster picking targets of opportunity when it gets hungry. Every victim was carefully selected to get the saboteur one step closer to the imprisoned Thich.¡±


    There was certainly a lot to learn when it came to the sequence of deaths, but I didn¡¯t have time to listen to hours of research. But Gunnar was experienced with such affairs, so I trusted him to get the basics right. Nonetheless, there were a few things I wanted to make sure to be considered. When it came to Tirnanog, I had a few months of experience on him.


    I hummed and scratched at the stubble on my chin. The last time I had gotten the chance to shave was a few days ago. ¡°You are aware that some monsters out there are frighteningly intelligent. I¡¯ve met ones which could talk, though Astra assured me it was no more than a parrot could do. It still freaked me out.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I was told as much, but everyone I asked also pointed out that such things are rare. It is much more likely that our enemy is human and possesses some form of shape-shifting to blend in. In any case, what I am on board with is that to hide this well they must possess human-level intelligence. As of yet, a creature possessing all these characteristics without human origin is unknown. It could be a deviant ¨C a former human whose mutations got the better of them. Such things supposedly exist. The question remains why they would go out of their way to eradicate possible intelligence we could gather from our prisoners.¡±


    ¡°How do you explain that all of them were killed in the same manner?¡± I asked and gestured at the bodies. ¡°I see no other signs of fighting than the single wound in the eyes. Shouldn¡¯t at least one of the victims have fought back?¡±


    Gunnar looked down the row of bodies. ¡°Vanya assumes it must be an extremely strong psychic. Which was indirectly confirmed by Chitters. According to him, all the bodies smell excessively of fear. The current assumption is that there is some sort of mental paralysation involved.¡±


    I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s just make sure we aren¡¯t overlooking anything. Can we go over the sequence of events once more in detail? I want all the details if I do something as stupid as playing bait for this thing.¡±


    ¡°Sure. As I see it, the first victims were two groups of hunters who helped Jeng harvesters in tracking down dead iobeetles. One of the two groups was wiped out completely. From the other, only two hunters survived and returned to base. From what I could track, that¡¯s when the killings started. In a way, the trail of bodies was very similar to what I would do when infiltrating a government organisation. Pick someone as low and unimportant as possible in the chain of command who still gets access to where you want to go and impersonate them. Switch identities as often as necessary but avoid killing if possible.¡±


    ¡°Avoid killing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Most of the bodies are from the prison massacre,¡± Gunnar explained. ¡°From what I can tell our saboteur only switched identities three or four times outside of that. It gets a bit iffy because I also have a few disappearances to take into account. No bodies, so not certain whether they are connected to this case.¡±


    I nodded along. ¡°And what makes you think we have only one infiltrator and not two? Would suck to suddenly face two saboteurs when we expect only one. If the going assumption is that our enemy is of human origin, then two partnered opponents would be likely.¡±


    ¡°It was my thought too, but there is evidence against it. For once, the trail of corpses indicates that there is only one saboteur.¡± Gunnar looked through his notes. ¡°We followed the trail from the prison incident to these initial hunter deaths. Of the two survivors, a certain Henrik disappeared a day after the bodies started piling up, so I assume our saboteur took on Henrik¡¯s identity for a time. The other survivor, a certain Brook, we found in good health back at the Mother Tree. Of course, we had him checked thoroughly. According to doctors and psychics alike, he is one hundred per cent human.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I creased my eyebrows at the name. ¡°Did you say Brook?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Gunnar nodded.


    ¡°Ahem, you just said Aerie hunting parties were killed, but Brook is a Hochberg, isn''t he?¡± I inquired further, just to make sure they didn¡¯t happen to share the same name by coincidence.


    Gunnar rifled through his notes. ¡°Indeed, he is a Hochberg. Haven''t I mentioned that the hunting parties were a mixed effort between all three clans? You happen to know the man?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. At least I think so,¡± I affirmed and turned around. ¡°I never forget someone who pissed against my leg. Always assuming we are talking about the same guy.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your history with him?¡± Gunnar asked, now more interested. ¡°I know you well enough to tell that you memorize a person¡¯s name only if you intend to have an unfortunate accident befall them.¡±


    ¡°He was a recruiter when I arrived at the Old Camp and he taught me the staff for a while. Gurney arranged it. However, Brook always behaved antagonistically towards me. Later on, I got into an argument with another exile which Brook helped to escalate. I ended up killing the other exile, underestimating the backlash. The other clans used the incident to fuck around, politics. Brook was all too happy to play witness.¡± I frowned. ¡°In hindsight, it feels like he was a little too eager to cooperate with people outside his clan. His comrades weren¡¯t all too pleased with his meddling from what Astra told me, but at the time I wasn¡¯t important enough for them to put a stop to it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t mention the incident was the ultimate reason for Astra and me to partner up. In a way, Brook was responsible for the best thing ever happening to me, but I flat-out refused to give him any credit for it. Given the circumstances back then I strongly suspected Astra and I would have ended up together anyway. After all, she was the only clanner who showed interest in me.


    ¡°Hmm. And now Brook is involved in this incident,¡± Gunnar added, nodding slowly. He rifled through his documents. ¡°Pays now that I had his movements tracked nonetheless. Standard procedure when dealing with slippery targets. Monitor everyone who had contact.¡±


    ¡°And he is now?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°Transferred to the Aerie Mother Ship as a regular guard for Hochberg¡¯s quarters,¡± Gunnar provided, reading from one of his documents before switching to another. ¡°And he is indeed a former recruiter for the Old Camp. We are talking about the same guy.¡±


    I massaged the bridge of my nose. ¡°Wait, wait. If we are talking about the same Brook, then how does a regular recruiter get a transfer to one of the clan¡¯s most important military assets? The guy was barely stronger than me while I was still unpartnered. I mean, he was stronger, but not that strong. Not strong enough to justify him occupying an important military position. Unless he found someone to partner up with, giving him a power boost. He should be barely more than cannon fodder.¡±


    ¡°No, no. He is not partnered.¡± Gunnar grinned. ¡°It feels like you just provided the final detail to kick this case wide open. We have a person who has seemingly no trouble collaborating with other clans. He returns as the sole survivor alongside a mysterious saboteur from a mission. And then he gets a suspiciously unjustified transfer to a high-value target. I suggest we visit this Brook, though I don¡¯t understand how he got through the psychics. I was assured of their reliability.¡±


    I waved a hand in a so-so gesture. ¡°Psychic powers are a little bit iffy. If Brook has some protective mutations and received training in blocking out psychics, he could have fooled them. I know only two psychics who I would expect to get through my current defences. The more you are exposed to psychic powers, the more resistance you build up.¡±


    ¡°Then Mr. Brook just jumped to prime suspect number one,¡± Gunnar said. ¡°At the very least he is a silent collaborator.¡±


    We left the morgue and Gunnar called for his guards. My ¡®uncle¡¯ had military-grade enhancements from Earth, including gene adjustments and cybernetics, but he was still no match for a juggernaut class. His whole kit was more suited to espionage than direct combat.


    After a few informal inquiries, we got the information that Brook was currently enjoying downtime in his quarters. Likely sleeping because he was scheduled for the night shift.


    As soon as we reached the corridor with his quarters, I walked ahead of the rest of the group. ¡°I will take it from here if nobody objects.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait. Shouldn¡¯t one of the guards take the lead?¡± Gunnar asked.


    I eyed Gunnar and his guards. ¡°Sure, so are any of you classified as a juggernaut? A strength-enhanced speedster who can look through walls and has a guaranteed means of non-lethal takedown?¡±


    The guards all shook their heads.


    ¡°So!¡± I clapped my hands together. ¡°Then I will take the lead. Room 3-20, right?¡±


    Gunnar nodded and I strolled down the corridor, switching between Second Sight to observe the energy signatures beyond the walls and normal sight to read the room labels.


    Second Sight wasn¡¯t anything like x-ray vision since it only provided a blurred outline of most things, but if the obstacle between a living creature and myself wasn¡¯t electromagnetically conductive it provided me with more than enough information even if there was a wall in the way.


    If there was time and opportunity, I would have to check where exactly on the microwave or radio wavelengths Second Sight was settled.


    Since the Old Camp, I had concluded that Second Sight was similar to an ultra-sensitive radar array, allowing me to see far into the spectrum of electromagnetic energies. In other words, since most living creatures possessed a nervous system relying on electric signals, I could see their bioelectric energy output. It also explained why most electric devices shone like lightbulbs in Second Sight.


    I stopped my idle thoughts when I reached Brook¡¯s room and found the energy signature of what looked like a grown man inside it. Since he was currently lying in his bed and not doing anything particular, I took the time to scan everything in his room and commit it to memory.


    Only once I was sure I wouldn¡¯t commit a political faux pas with my next actions, did I knock on his door.


    Brook stirred and rolled out of his bed. He stood there, apparently not decided on what to do next, so I knocked again, more urgently this time.


    He finally decided to answer the door, instead of going for his equipment. It saved me from taking some more drastic actions which had the potential of killing him. After seeing what he hid under his bed, I wasn¡¯t willing to let him get anywhere near it.


    Seriously, who hid incriminating equipment under his bed?


    While Brook approached, I placed my hand on the metal door handle and waited. And as soon as he touched the handle on his side, I tazed him.


    Brook stiffened on the other side, his muscles locked into place, giving me all the time in the world to apply a hammer fist to the door. Everything built on Tirnanog was meant for mutated humans. Which implied heavy duty in most cases. On the other hand, there was a line to walk between used materials, functionality, and sturdiness.


    Aerie¡¯s airships had a lot more carrying capability than anything comparable I had seen before. But they nonetheless had a limit, and so the regular doors weren¡¯t up to snuff when someone with strength enhancements decided he wanted to get to the other side.


    The door itself withstood my fist, but the hinges gave way and the entire door disconnected from the door frame, hitting Brook right in the face. He went down with the door on top of him.


    I stepped on the door and walked over Brook into the room, looking around.


    ¡°Now, was that really necessary?¡± Gunnar followed me. ¡°We don¡¯t even have proof of him doing anything bad. Not yet at least.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we have,¡± I replied coolly and touched the tip of my boot to Brook¡¯s shoulder when I saw him stir.


    Another taze and he twitched, he shook, and he spit out a few loose teeth, probably from when I had applied the door to his face.


    I stopped and watched him to make sure he was out for good before I turned to his bed and flipped it over. Beneath it under a loose floor tile, I found the thing I was looking for.


    A cobbled-together, alien-looking device which had an eerie similarity to the communicator we took from the Thich delegation. ¡°If that isn¡¯t incriminating enough, then I don¡¯t know what is.¡±

 Ch 133 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Vanya***


    I glared at the communication device, treating it just like the chalice of poison it represented.


    Only after showing the stupid thing the contempt it deserved, did I turn my attention to the traitor as my mind went through a myriad of possibilities. Previously, I had discarded them as too unlikely to consider. Oh, I hadn''t ignored the idea of traitors, but without investigations finding any solid proof, committing more resources to a witch-hunt was out of the question.


    I poked lightly at Brook''s surface thoughts, just to test his resistance while I thought.


    My mental abilities may seem like clairvoyance to outsiders, but I was painfully aware they were anything but. Based on what I knew I could easily come up with a myriad of scenarios for the future, but preparing and reacting to every single possibility was simply impossible.


    Now, a very unpleasant scenario had turned likely enough that it could no longer be ignored.


    ¡°Gaia''s sagging tits!¡± I cursed.


    ¡°Language!¡± Tianna reprimanded me immediately.


    ¡°She has a point,¡± Teresa Frost commented drily while glaring at Brook.


    I turned to the Aerie elder and bowed to her. ¡°With your permission, I would request the assistance of everyone you can mobilize who has the Second Sight mutation. One communication device in the hands of a Thich delegation is one thing. A second one in the hands of one of my people opens unpleasant possibilities.¡±


    Teresa clicked her tongue. ¡°Where there''s one...¡±


    She left the sentence unfinished. There was no need to spell it out.


    ¡°There are more,¡± Magnus did so nonetheless.


    He stood with Gunner next to the cell''s entrance. The two had called us unexpectedly to the ship''s jail and presented the most recent result of Gunnar''s investigation.


    I closed my eyes and winced. ¡°At this point, it is a possibility we can no longer exclude. My predecessor''s corruption, inviting the enemy into our halls, and now this. I have closed my eyes for far too long. It is high time to clean the house.¡±


    ¡°But shouldn''t we have found hints if there are more of these traitors?¡± Tianna asked. ¡°I vetted everyone in a government position after the Thich delegation revealed their true colours.¡±


    ¡°I am not concerned with people in high positions,¡± I replied stoically. ¡°They have something to lose. But...¡± I sighed before I continued. ¡°Greta housed the Thich delegation for months. More than enough time to corrupt some people in low positions. Social pariahs without prospects and not much to lose. At least from their narrow-minded point of view.¡± I gestured at Brook. ¡°Like him. And if there are just a few more, they could do untold damage to our war efforts.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes and dug a little deeper into Brook''s mind when I found what felt like a weak point, so I applied a bit of pressure. He shuddered and to my astonishment, he resisted the intrusion.


    ¡°I am afraid breaking through his mental defence will take me some time.¡± I chewed on my inner cheek as I considered the implications of Brook''s resistance. ¡°Someone trained him and trained him well. A very powerful psychic.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised he isn''t already spilling all his secrets, as powerful as you are,¡± Magnus commented.


    ¡°Oh, he would be spilling if I desired to,¡± I replied. ¡°But if I tear apart his mind with force, I might not get as much information as I could if I had been careful. It''s like having a porcelain vase with information written on the inside. If I carefully peer in through a hole and take my time, I will eventually learn everything there is to know. Alternatively, I can just crush it and try to put the pieces back together. If I do that, I will get at least some information very quickly, but I have no guarantee of ever restoring all the information.¡±


    It went without mention that doing it the hard way would leave Brook as a babbling idiot. We would either have to put him down, or I would have to invest the time to painstakingly put him back together. Bluntly said, I wasn''t willing to invest so much time into someone of Brook''s calibre.


    I hummed as I poked yet another spot, causing Brook to twitch. ¡°Minds are very complex puzzles.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose we should stop distracting you,¡± Teresa commented and turned towards Magnus. ¡°Thank you very much for your help. There is no way to tell what could have happened if this spy was allowed to roam around freely.¡±


    Magnus raised his hands. ¡°Oh, please don''t praise me for finding the bastard. Gunnar did all the work. I was only there for the final step of the investigation.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Teresa gave Gunnar a nod of acknowledgement. ¡°We thank you for your assistance and expertise in this manner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there is no need.¡± Gunnar scratched the back of his head. ¡°If my people join forces with yours, we would be stupid not to give it our best.¡±


    She turned back to Magnus. ¡°And about Astra. I have heard she was badly injured?¡±


    Magnus nodded. ¡°She was, but the doctors say she will be fine. Just has to stay still for a week or two.¡± He laughed. ¡°Can''t say the kids will have anything to complain about if she is forced to stay at home for a few days. Isaac will be delighted.¡±


    Teresa sighed in relief and lost her serious expression. ¡°Indeed. I have yet to take a few days off to get to know my newest grandkids. This might be the best opportunity before the conflict starts heating up again.¡±


    They were about to leave when a guard interrupted them by entering the cell. She saluted and nodded at one of the guards who were set to watch the prisoner. ¡°I am here to relieve the guard.¡±


    I would have thought nothing of it, paying a change of shift no more heed than any other normal procedure. If something hadn''t tingled at the back of my neck.


    My Precognition was turning haywire, so I surveyed the room for a possible reason.


    Naturally, my eyes went to the only thing which had changed inside the room since the sensation started. Was it time for a change of shift? Why now? Why was a simple guard stumbling so blatantly into the cell instead of waiting outside for the high-profile people to finish their business?


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I blinked, suddenly noticing the subtle psychic influence which was worming its way through the room and into my mental defences. Upon examining it, I found it was an attempt to suggest that everything was alright.


    So I clamped down on my mental defences and returned my attention to the newcomer.


    The new guard felt like a human, looked like a human, and even behaved like a human, but she was anything but. I couldn''t put my finger on what was wrong exactly, but people with my power set came to know what a human mind should feel like. And more generally, what a human looked like.


    Just like a botanist may learn to tell two very similar and yet distinctly different plants from one another at a glance after handling them in the thousands.


    Whatever this woman was, upon a second look I knew immediately it was nothing but a crafted shell. A very convincing shell, but a shell nonetheless. Not only that, there were all the small imperfections. The way her eyes'' movements didn''t match the focus of the iris. Or the movements which were a tad bit too smooth and reminded me of things which had no business in human company.


    My mind tallied up all these hints within a fraction of a second after turning my full attention to the newcomer. Individually, all these things could be explained by one unusual mutation or another. But put together with the fact that my psychic power slid off this woman''s mind like it had an oily coating, I could only draw one conclusion.


    I pointed my finger at the newcomer and retreated from her, all too aware of my physical weakness. ¡°Kill her! Kill her now! She''s not human!¡±


    Everyone in the room looked at me, then followed my finger to the nameless guard, reacting too damned slow. The only one who drew her knife without question was Tianna before she stepped between me and the guard.


    Faster than I could follow, the guard moved. Her skin unfurled like a tapestry and she crashed into my closest friend. Claws ripping, a barbed tongue slicing, and Tianna was thrown into me and we went down as the thing''s carefully crafted mind came undone, revealing the horror beneath.


    Just like its body, it unfolded into something utterly inhuman, blasting out raw emotion like a small star. The thing was fear incarnate, turning itself into what I could only call a psychic bomb.


    I shuddered and tried to combat the raw power of this attack, pushing it away from everyone else, but it was to no avail as the alien mind overwhelmed me. All I could do was hold onto my rationality as my more basic instincts screamed to flee.


    The guards were pushed back, not by physical force, but by their raw inability to confront this horror. In front of this thing all humans, all who knew fear were nothing but prey, unable to confront it, unable to fight.


    The ship began to tilt slightly as something went wrong on the bridge. It looked like not only this room was affected. Faced with this creature''s psychic power, all who came in contact with it knew nothing but to flee or to remain still in shock, incapable of action.


    Faced with this thing, the sea of human minds on this ship parted like frightened sheep.


    All but one.


    A single man crashed into the creature''s back, a laughing man clad in armour.


    He lifted it like a doll and brought it down on one knee with a crunch. Yet it seemed unfazed as it wound itself out of his grasp and returned the favour with a slash of a clawed hand. Just looking at the thing was hard, as the furling patterns on its writhing skin seemed adverse to the mind.


    In turn, the laughing man was unaffected and blocked the attack with his armour.


    I was still trying to force back the psychic fire which had been set loose as they fought, lightning sparking between them. Containing the mental power made my head want to explode.


    The thing was inhumanly fast, but the laughing man was faster. As they traded blows, a blade slid out from beneath his gauntlet and stabbed the thing in the side. Still, the creature caught the hidden blade before it could cause vital damage. They wrestled for control over the blade before the laughing man head-butted the monster and used the moment it was dazzled to tackle it against the far wall.


    The airship''s reinforced cell walls held, but the hardwood cracked and shuddered beneath the impact.


    Since it was impossible to mentally grasp the creature, I turned my focus to the laughing man, hoping I could help him somehow. But just as when I had tried to look into the pair''s minds previously, there were dozens, maybe hundreds of minds at work within Magnus all at once.


    And all of them knew fear, except for the laughing man who now held the creature by its throat, choking it with glee.


    ¡°You are not fearing me as you should, laughing man!¡± the creature rasped, alien and yet understandable. It grasped at the hands which held it, but Magnus¡¯ fingers could just as well be steel as they combined with slithering filaments encasing the creature¡¯s neck.


    Surprisingly, the laughing man stopped, not laughing like before, but still chuckling. ¡°And why should I? I fought worse things than you.¡±


    ¡°All humans know fear!¡± the creature answered. ¡°I looked into your minds and it is an inseparable part of you!¡±


    ¡°Aah, but am I?¡± the laughing man questioned. ¡°Human, that is?¡±


    ¡°You are wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!¡± the thing concluded, denying reality like some child.


    Its captor only nodded.


    ¡°Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful,¡± the laughing man mused as his hands wrung the creature''s neck just a little bit tighter, the slightly pointed fingertips digging into its writhing skin.


    The creature''s barbed tongue shot out, sliding off the laughing man''s faceplate as it tried to find a weak spot. It tried to dig its tongue into the less protected area between the chest plate and the helmet where the neck was exposed.


    Dozens of filaments answered, catching the sinewy intruder and locking it in place.


    ¡°You will not end me. You are prey!¡± the creature blasted the area not with a scream, but with yet another purely mental assault. The raw power almost brought me to my limits.


    ¡°But I will,¡± the laughing man replied, sounding amused by the creature''s claim. ¡°For I am the one waiting at the end of everyone''s path. Whether you challenge the world or the multiverse itself, at the end you will face... me.¡±


    The creature''s neck finally snapped as arching electricity charred its skin and armoured fingers dug through flesh and sinew, separating the monster''s head from its shoulders.


    And with its death, I was suddenly free again. My mind throbbed as if I had tried to combine the worst migraine with an attempt to brain myself.


    ¡°Vanya!¡± Tianna rolled off of me and pulled me to my feet. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Physically, yes. Mentally, no.¡± I held my head as tears began to well up in my eyes. My head felt like it had been split in two. Whatever the thing was, I would never repeat my attempt to suppress its psychic bomb. ¡°I tried to suppress it, but it was just too damned powerful!¡±


    Upon returning my attention to Magnus, I found him ripping out the creature''s tongue. Then he threw the monster''s head up in the air, having it spin it before catching it again. ¡°To be or not to be. That''s the question. I think I will mount you on a wall as a trophy.¡±


    All around us, people slowly regained their wits.


    Teresa gestured at the guards. ¡°You, run to the bridge and find out why the ship is still tilting! You, join him and return with a damage report as soon as possible. We need to know how far the effect spread. How many ships were affected?¡±


    The two guards she had given orders to ran off.


    ¡°The ship may have been affected, but I doubt the effect spread to the whole fleet,¡± I reassured her. ¡°Psychic effects exponentially lose in power with distance. It was powerful. More powerful than anything I encountered before, but it wasn''t strong enough to reach out more than a kilometre or two.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. Though, that''s still far enough to affect some nearby support vessels,¡± Teresa replied. ¡°And why was Magnus unaffected? I am not a dedicated psychic, but I received extensive training in dealing with mental attacks and I was utterly incapable of doing anything!¡±


    I pursed my lips, my eyes drifting warily to the man who had saved us. How to explain? Insanity? Multiple personality disorder? I wasn¡¯t quite sure what Magnus and his partner were at this point, but somewhere along the line, their mental state had left the ranks of normal humans behind.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sub-personalities!¡± Magnus replied, less worried than I would be in his shoes. ¡°One of them is just badass!¡±


    I almost did a double-take. ¡°Badass!?¡±


    Staying quiet would probably be better, but I just couldn''t do it any more. ¡°Badass!? I have no clue what is going on in your head, or what you ate to get the mutation which is messing with your head, but whatever this ¡®sub-personality¡¯ is you have up there, it is utterly insane! I have never felt anything like it! It¡¯s a psychopath! It has no concept of fear and utterly relishes combat of any form. And that''s it! It literally has no other purpose!¡±


    Magnus smiled at me, sending a shiver down my spine. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. On the flip side, he is one of the happiest dudes I ever met. But enough about me. We should worry about what happened to the ship and the crew. I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯s a good thing if everyone suddenly stops what they are supposed to be doing on a vessel like this.¡±

 Ch 134 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°You are serious about keeping this as a trophy?¡± Teresa asked while she watched me play with the skull of what we had named a psyling, combining the terms of psychic and changeling. ¡°And how did you get it this squeaky clean so quickly? You were gone for... like... twenty minutes?¡±


    I grinned. ¡°Teleported to the Old Camp and had a quick run to Zipper Shit Creek. Took the little shits less than a minute to clean the entire thing! Though, if I remember correctly I still have to dry out the bone or it will start stinking. Back on Earth I once talked to a hunter and he mentioned something along those lines.¡± I squinted my eyes as I tried to remember and ultimately shrugged. Sadly, my mutations didn¡¯t affect the things I learned before I got them. ¡°Could be wrong, though.¡±


    ¡°Why not give it to a taxidermist back at the estate?¡± Teresa rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the chaotic bridge.


    I stopped playing with my trophy. ¡°We have taxidermists at home?¡±


    Why was I asking stupid questions? Of course a strata which prided itself on hunting had a few taxidermists around.


    The ship was still tilted to the left, which was the result of a set of ballast tanks being dropped when the psyling incapacitated the whole crew.


    One of the engineers in charge had overreacted in their panic and triggered the release. What had been intended as an emergency measure had backfired massively. It would take at least a week to install the tanks again. Normally, an easy procedure back at the Aerie dockyard, but a time-consuming task in the field.


    To reattach the tanks, the ship had to be anchored to the ground and pulled to ground level to keep it steady while the mechanics worked.


    Having the flagship grounded was a big problem for the fleet''s timetable. The original plan was to slowly begin pressuring Thich''s and Vier''s aerial forces. The start of the operation was scheduled for the next two days. Now, the whole operation would be delayed, depending on how long it took to restore the flagship.


    Additionally, we had lost 38 crewmen who happened to be close enough to exits or had been working on the ship''s deck when the psychic attack hit.


    As it turned out, there were two types of people. Those who simply froze up, incapable of doing anything. And those who would do anything just to escape the perceived source of danger, including jumping over the ship''s railing.


    All of the 38 deaths were people who jumped off the ship in their panic. Worse, among them were two juggernaut-classed warriors, of which one barely survived, albeit with heavy injuries. It was fighting power we would be missing in the coming days.


    I shook my head upon musing over the circumstances. Normally, a juggernaut-classed individual should have easily survived a fall at terminal velocity, even if they got injured by it. There was a list of abilities someone had to possess before they could be classed as a juggernaut, and having the ability to survive a fall from a great height was one of them.


    Unfortunately for said individual, they hadn''t just fallen off the ship but also landed right on top of one of the damned trees which had almost killed me on my first day. So, being not only injured by the fall, but also turned into shish kebab by Tirnanog''s unpleasant wildlife was doubly unlucky, and too much to survive.


    ¡°I don''t want any excuses!¡± Juliana Rumen reprimanded one of her people who was listing off further losses in materials. The elder was furious because of the damage and loss of life which happened while she was on the bridge. ¡°I want solutions! How do we prevent a repeat of this happening in the future? I want some mechanism which requires double confirmation to release the ballast in the future!¡±


    ¡°But it is a security measure in case the ship loses too much lift capacity!¡± The woman she was talking to protested. ¡°It would make no sense to make it too inaccessible to activate before the ship goes down.¡±


    ¡°There is no guarantee that the Thich do not have more people of this sort. I want you to go through the whole ship! Find anything and everything which can cause this level of trouble at the push of a single button. I don¡¯t care how trained or reliable the people operating the equipment are. If it can be activated in a moment of panic, I want to know about it!¡± Juliana countered vehemently.


    ¡°And worse, nobody can tell me what that thing even was!¡± She pointed an accusing finger at my trophy.


    ¡°Not something of human origin,¡± Vanya commented stoically. ¡°Its mind was too alien for that.¡±


    Teresa turned to the matriarch. ¡°So, if it was human I might be inclined to believe that the Thich have a pair of them. If it was not, then what? Do they breed those things? If the attack had happened during an engagement, taking out our entire command structure, we might have lost the fleet. Who can assure me that there aren''t more of them?¡±


    Vanya tilted her head. ¡°We can''t tell at this point. Currently, the only option I see is to proceed as planned and assume they have more bio-weapons of this calibre. Split up command to a second and third vessel, then have them take over in case the leading ship is incapacitated. If anything, this proves we should be willing to pay any price to take down Thich and Vier. No matter the source of this creature, human or otherwise, they either bred or tamed an insanely dangerous intelligent monster, or they tried to utilize a deviant human mutation. Both are forbidden acts under the clan treaty. If we weren''t already at war, this alone would be enough reason to start one.¡±


    Gunnar raised his hand. ¡°Ahem, how about giving the remains to Gurney? Everyone told me he was some high-profile scientist back in the day and he got all that fancy lab equipment from us, so it must be good for something, right?¡±


    A displeased expression appeared on Vanya''s face and she massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°Right! Damn, right. I am sorry. Why didn''t I think of it right away?¡±


    Tianna had no mercy. ¡°Maybe because you encountered something packing more psychic power than you do for the first time in your life and your mental defences are shot? Maybe because you overworked your mental capabilities with all those overnighters even before the attack happened and now your mind is finally refusing to play along? Maybe you should listen to my advice and lay down till you feel better.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°No buts, you are going to sleep till you are back to normal! I swear, I am gonna club you over the head if you don''t rest.¡± Tianna grabbed the weakly protesting Matriarch at the upper elbow and pulled her away from the planning table, then dragged her off like some impudent child.


    I fought my hardest not to allow anything to show on my face till they were out of the bridge.


    Once they were gone, Teresa asked a question, ¡°So, does anyone have an idea why this thing decided to show up right after we locked up this Brook fellow?¡±


    Gunnar massaged his chin. ¡°I don''t want to play the devil''s advocate, but it strongly hints that there must have been some sort of connection between Brook and this creature. Maybe they had an appointment and Brook didn''t show, hence it decided to accelerate the timetable. With this second attack, there is no doubt that one of its goals was to deprive us of information about our opponents. Prevent intelligence gathering by destroying possible sources. And there is another thing. None of us should forget what would have likely happened if Magnus hadn''t been immune to its ability. It would have killed Hochberg''s leader, and there''s no way to tell how many more would have fallen before it was stopped.¡±


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°So far, only a handful of psychics reported to be immune to the fear, or rather, to be able to suppress its effects. It looks like it requires mutations which allow for an altered state of mind,¡± Juliana mused. ¡°Not even Vanya was able to throw it off completely and she is the strongest psychic we know of ¨C at the cost of her physical abilities.¡±


    ¡°But she was right next to it,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Maybe it would have been easier for her if she had been further away. And I have to point out that the psyling wasn¡¯t truly strong. The night terrors I encountered so far were way more worrying when it came to strength. I still don¡¯t believe I could best one of them on my own. The psyling was mostly relying on this fear to paralyse the victims. Without this ability, it was a mid-grade threat at best. I think we should identify the people who can throw off the fear effect and station a few of them on the ship at all times.¡±


    ¡°Too bad that we can¡¯t test their resistance without having a living specimen,¡± elder Juliana complained.


    ¡°I can try to catch the next one alive,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°No!¡±


    The unanimous reply coming from everyone was somewhat unsettling. Had it been that bad? I mean, suffering the psyling¡¯s psychic attack was unpleasant, but I thought it was manageable.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I shrugged. ¡°So I will try to kill the next one faster then?¡±


    Everyone nodded.


    The meeting went on for a little longer from there, but nobody had any world-shaking announcements to make. In some ways, we had gotten away lightly.


    If the wormgate had been affected, it could have been catastrophic, but thanks to Gilbert¡¯s excellent engineering all we had suffered was a temporary shutdown.


    Since there were no more instructions for me, I excused myself once the meeting was finished. On my way back to the wormgate, I found myself accompanied by Teresa and Gunnar.


    The former I was okay with, the latter not so much, even though we had decided to ignore our differences for as long as we had to work together. I just wasn¡¯t ready to accept Gunnar into the family like some long-lost uncle after he hadn¡¯t shown his stupid mug for over thirty years.


    The only memories I had of an uncle were dark and almost non-existent. Nobody could expect me to start cheering upon meeting someone who ¨C just maybe ¨C gave me a present or two when I was a child, then talked to my parents for the rest of the evening before he disappeared again. It wasn¡¯t like he had taken me on camping trips to form an everlasting bond.


    So, in other words, Gunnar trying to suddenly make up for the past just weirded me out after he hadn¡¯t deemed it necessary to come clean at the first opportunity when I joined the organisation.


    The problem was, I couldn¡¯t reasonably tell Gunnar not to tag along when the head of the house, Teresa, had invited him after the meeting. Presumably, to strengthen the bond between clan Aerie and the members of the organisation.


    So we inevitably found ourselves back at the estate, visiting Astra in our quarters where we found her lying on the sofa in the living room with Aurora and Constella next to her. Isaac was playing on the floor, building one of his strangely elaborate castles. No matter how often I witnessed it, it was strange to witness a child as young as him building a Victorian-era castle. And even better, what he was doing could no longer be called playing with wooden building blocks.


    Isaac was using a little chisel to give the blocks a brick texture and someone had gotten him dyes, so he was building a model ¨C and a good one at that. It reminded me of the time when I was into modelling at fifteen. I had sunken countless hours into that hobby, allowing my marks at school to suffer. So much so that my parents believed I would make a living of it before I found a love for my chosen fields of study ¨C physics and programming.


    The boy dropped everything when he saw me and zipped over, holding up his hands expectantly.


    I picked him up and lightly threw him into the air before catching him again. ¡°How is your day off the crib?¡±


    ¡°Splendid!¡± Isaac replied and pointed at his castle.


    I nodded. ¡°I was wondering, where do you get the ideas for them?¡±


    ¡°Aunty showed me when I asked,¡± Isaac replied with conviction, showing yet again that he was mentally more mature than his body showed.


    The others probably thought he was referring to Kiera Tate, the doctor who paid us regular visits because of the kids. Kiera was cutting down on those visits because it became increasingly apparent that the mutations the kids inherited from Astra and me caused no severe side effects ¨C though having a kid like Isaac was admittedly strange.


    Only Astra and I knew that when Isaac meant Kiera, he would spell her out as ¡®Aunty Kiera¡¯. The one who was just ¡®Aunty¡¯ in Isaac¡¯s mind was Gaia.


    While I was busy with Isaac, Teresa was all over Astra and gushing at the two girls with so much enthusiasm that one would never think Astra was indeed not her daughter by blood.


    It took a good five minutes till we got to introduce the stewing Gunnar to the kids and I enjoyed every awkward second of it. He had made the ultimate mistake and asked Isaac about his building project, which resulted in a river of explanations about proper castle construction and how the different design elements had changed throughout history.


    Once that was over, it suddenly struck me. ¡°Gunnar, I just realized, you haven¡¯t met Ivona yet, my sister! And her partner too! We have to get them!¡±


    Knowing Ivona¡¯s personality, she would rather use her fists than take any bullshit from Gunnar. Witnessing their first meeting would be pure pleasure.


    Somewhat overwhelmed, Gunnar only blinked and nodded while listening to Isaac¡¯s explanation of how to integrate murder holes into the construction without making them obvious to the casual observer. He had no idea what he was in for with my prickly sister.


    I used the time to go over to Klein¡¯s cage and check on the little monster. It had grown considerably and was now a miniature version of a grown zipper. Not knowing what else to do with it for the moment, I decided to decorate his cage with my trophy skull. Even though I improved his living conditions, Klein only rewarded me with a few squawks of protest when I didn¡¯t serve him food.


    ¡°Magnus!¡± Astra called for me.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I went over, seeing that Teresa was busy cuddling with the girls. Isaac had Gunnar occupied, so we had time to talk.


    I went down on one knee and kissed Astra lovingly to greet her.


    ¡°I heard there was another incident?¡± Astra asked.


    ¡°Nothing to worry about or do at the moment,¡± I replied. ¡°I am sure you will hear all about it once that wound is healed.¡±


    Astra narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°Teresa mentioned that the flagship was damaged and that it would take a week to repair.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Bad luck, I assure you. Your dear partner is totally fine. I even saved the day!¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Then, that means we have time!¡±


    ¡°Time for what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°To visit a play!¡± Astra grasped my hands and interlinked her fingers with mine. ¡°They started the first performances last week.¡±


    ¡°A play?¡± I asked. ¡°Like in a theatre?¡±


    ¡°Not like in a theatre!¡± Astra puffed out her cheeks. ¡°We really should have gone out more to participate in social life while we had time to spare during winter.¡±


    ¡°I do remember your father beating me half to death in the morning, calling it training. Then elder Gilbert took over in the afternoon. And in the evening, it was Mary¡¯s turn to torture me. And if it wasn¡¯t combat training, it was learning the armour weave. As I remember it, there was hardly any time for anything. So what is this play?¡±


    Teresa turned to us with sparkling eyes. It was clear she had listened in on our conversation. ¡°Every newly minted juggernaut of clan Aerie gets their play, portraying their history and life to make them known to the clan as a whole. Add to that, that you two are not only juggernauts but also earned the title of protector at such a young age. And once it becomes widely known what Magnus did for the clan by unlocking the UI, he will be regarded as a hero by most!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I gasped.


    She covered her mouth to hide her grin. ¡°Oh, I am quite sure it will be the play of the century since it makes for such a juicy story. A single, unpartnered daughter of house Frost going against her parents¡¯ wishes to find love abroad, ending up bringing home the clan¡¯s saviour.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry!¡± Teresa waved her hand. ¡°We made sure they use your alias, Tulkas.¡±


    I threw up my hands. ¡°That¡¯s not the problem!¡±


    Astra frowned, obviously displeased with my reaction. ¡°Does that mean you don¡¯t want to watch the play with me?¡±


    ¡°No! I mean, yes!¡± How could they just drop this on me and expect me not to freak out?


    Astra smiled at me and I felt her filaments snake up and around my legs. ¡°Magnus, would you please, please go and watch that play with me? I was very excited when I heard they were doing one for us and interviewed Thalia for it.¡±


    I looked down at my legs, where Astra¡¯s filaments did a damned good job to make it impossible to run away, and sighed. ¡°They interviewed Thalia for it? Seriously, why not interview the people who would know best ¨C us?¡±


    I could have stopped this before it started.


    Astra nodded, smiling. ¡°Because it''s tradition to tell the story from the point of view of those who witnessed the main characters rise. It is not supposed to be tainted by self-aggrandisement.¡±


    Gunnar stepped next to me from behind, carrying Isaac on his shoulders. ¡°Ohoho! This sounds juicy! I am sure you can reserve an additional seat for one old man?¡±


    Isaac raised a hand. ¡°I want to watch too!¡±

 Ch 135 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    I giggled as the actors gave their best to portray the events with the Thich delegates at Hochberg. The whole scene was there, down to the exact number of actors. They even had a young woman playing Vanya, sitting on a throne and overlooking the stage, but the chosen actress was physically still much too large for the job. Knowing the real Matriarch, I found it hilarious even though the play was meant to be a serious and as close as possible depiction of the events.


    We had gotten ourselves one of the private lounges which overlooked the entire theatre, allowing us to bring along my mother and Magnus¡¯s uncle. Isaac was riding on Gunnar¡¯s shoulders to gain the necessary height so he could watch too. The girls were thankfully sleeping after I had given my best to tire them out with playtime beforehand.


    Leaning over, I placed a wet kiss on my partner¡¯s cheek. Magnus had given in after many complaints, ultimately accepting that there was nothing to be done about the plays. They were tradition, and it was better to know the version of events which was given to the public than to be ignorant.


    ¡°Oh, come on. It isn¡¯t all that bad, don¡¯t you think?¡± I tried to cheer him up. ¡°If you want we could go and watch the Patel¡¯s play once it is back on schedule. That¡¯s a truly hilarious one. I think they did a wonderful job with ours.¡±


    Magnus sank back into his chair. ¡°I suppose they aren¡¯t too bad performance-wise, but...¡±


    He groaned and face palmed when the actor playing Tulkas began to deliver Magnus¡¯s speech with fervour. ¡°Why do they have to do this to me? I just made up some bullshit to provoke the delegates!¡± He sighed after listening a little bit further. ¡°At least they streamlined the speech a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°So it is truly a ¡®Sinner¡¯s Eden¡¯,¡± I mused while I watched Isaac cheer worshipfully at the outcome of his father¡¯s duel and the Thich delegate¡¯s Dejana¡¯s assassination attempt being thwarted.


    ¡°I only hope that stupid speech doesn¡¯t stick.¡± Magnus shook his head. ¡°You mentioned something about the Patels? They have a play of their own?¡±


    I nodded eagerly. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether someone told you, but their wing mutation can have some side effects if you get very unlucky.¡±


    He nodded and shuddered. ¡°I think someone mentioned them rolling zeros when they partnered up. Something about switching X and Y chromosomes.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°So, imagine a play of two people partnering up and the guy waking up as the woman and the woman waking up as the guy.¡±


    ¡°I can only say this: I would lose my shit,¡± Magnus said with utter conviction. ¡°Why would anyone who has his marbles together risk such a thing? I mean, even if the chance is just one in a thousand, I wouldn¡¯t do it. Unless they were, you know, those kinds of people?¡± He gave me a meaningful look, to which I shook my head.


    ¡°You are the one who ended up being chased through half of the third strata¡¯s mining complex with Bruce on his heels,¡± I winked at Magnus. ¡°So you tell me why someone would risk it.¡±


    Magnus grumbled. ¡°Those hummingbird wings are just bullshit. It¡¯s like they are made out of metal. And Bruce being resistant to electricity is even more unfair.¡±


    I laughed and patted his hand to comfort him in his misery about the unfairness of certain mutations. The play ended soon afterwards with Aerie and Hochberg forming an alliance and the actors promising a part two as soon as there was enough material to go on.


    ¡°I think it was perfect,¡± was Teresa¡¯s first comment after the curtains closed. ¡°I especially loved the scene when Astra brought Magnus home and we met our new son-in-law for the first time.¡±


    ¡°As I remember it, there was a lot more complaining and nastiness involved,¡± Magnus grumbled.


    ¡°Hogwash! You have to forgive Etan for being a little bit sceptical of you at first,¡± Teresa replied. ¡°Hasn¡¯t he come around since then?¡±


    ¡°At least now I know what you have been up to,¡± Gunnar commented with glee. ¡°Hearing it told like this was a thousand times better than the boring summary you gave Chloe and Jakob when we met you! I have to make sure they see this too. You are a true spoilsport for leaving out all the interesting stuff.¡±


    Magnus raised a finger. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡±


    ¡°Come on, what are you going to do against it?¡± Gunnar gestured at the coliseum-like theatre around us. ¡°With this being a repeat performance they will inevitably see it at some point.¡±


    ¡°Where he is right, he is right,¡± I commented and rubbed Magnus¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Do you really think it was that bad?¡±


    Magnus gave a tired sigh. ¡°No, no it wasn¡¯t bad. When you mentioned a play I thought it would be either boring or over-dramatized, but it was more of a movie-like narration of the events. Surprisingly tame and in good taste, altogether. I am just afraid of people seeing us as heroes when we are not. At least I don''t see myself as a hero. Can we even go out in public without being accosted after this?¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°I think you are worrying too much and not thinking enough, Magnus. There are heroes and there are heroes. Nobody in Aerie will give us grief about the things we did for them and there will be no hordes of admirers running down our doors. Everyone who earns the title of juggernaut did at least something heroic with their power. Like the Halls single-handedly holding the lower living floors against a ratkin incursion till defence could be mustered. Or the Smyths finding out how to tame molerats and use them as draft animals for the good of all.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Teresa raised a finger. ¡°And as long as you don¡¯t walk out onto the streets and start screaming you are Protector Tulkas Frost, juggernaut and hunter of the twelfth strata, nobody will know who you are. In case you didn¡¯t notice, that actor down there and you don¡¯t look alike at all.¡±


    Magnus massaged his forehead. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I guess you are right. Maybe I got some stage fright even though I wasn¡¯t truly involved.¡±


    I bit my lower lip, unable not to point it out. ¡°Though, only in my humble opinion, this play will be a hit nonetheless! I think someone mentioned it having full attendance each time since they started performances.¡±


    ¡°I want to watch it again!¡± Isaac called out, forgetting to moderate his voice in a childlike manner.


    I winced and used a few filaments to pick him off Gunnar¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Maybe some other time, Isaac. And try to moderate your voice when you are in public or we won¡¯t be able to go out again. It¡¯s rude to be noisy where others can hear you.¡±


    Isaac covered his mouth, whispering through his fingers. ¡°I want to watch it again.¡±


    Magnus ruffled his hair. ¡°We can try to get seats once the attendance recedes.¡±


    Isaac pumped his fists in response.


    What followed were three relaxing days at home before Magnus and I were called to listen in on a meeting at the flagship.


    Among Vanya and her entourage, there was an assortment of elders besides my parents. Among them, Juliana and Skye Rumen were at the forefront.


    What I found surprising was to see representatives from the Church of Gaia among the participants with priestess Maria among them. I also recognized the current head of the church, Esmail Aida, which was surprising. Esmail normally refrained from taking part in anything related to political affairs. The church affiliates were sitting with the elders Hayne and Casey Ortega since the fifth strata was closely affiliated with the church.


    Forming yet another party, the Organisation¡¯s leaders, Jakob Lang, Chloe Pastell, and Gunnar were sitting in on the meeting with Gurney Camacho.


    The meeting was started by a tired, but much better-looking Vanya who handed out stacks of paper which turned out to be interrogation protocols and a report of her findings.


    ¡°There is likely a lot more to unpack on the topic for which I have called you here,¡± Vanya began. ¡°You were all informed of the recent events which led to the deaths of several high-ranking Thich prisoners. Among other psychics, I was also working on them. I wasn¡¯t ready to share our findings, especially since the results were so disjointed. Though, after the recent events I feel like everyone must know at least in partial what¡¯s going on, even if the picture remains incomplete.¡±


    She gestured at where the Organisation¡¯s leaders were sitting, in particular, at Gurney. ¡°Why don¡¯t we start with the psyling assassin ¨C which hit us completely unprepared. Thankfully, the Organisation, who assisted us against Earth¡¯s influence brought a lot of scientific equipment with them. Equipment which Gurney managed to make good use of. I assume there is no need to explain why Gurney¡¯s expertise is of use in this case, even if he is not in the good graces of most people present.¡±


    Gurney cleared his throat and got to his feet. ¡°I analysed the psyling¡¯s remains with the equipment I had at hand. Disconnected from what conclusions you might draw from the result of my analysis, I came to the following results. First, the psyling is a genetic chimaera, similar to what most people with mutations are nowadays. It was made up mainly of human DNA, drake, changeling, something I had no reference for, and in smaller parts of numerous others.


    ¡°The second result of my findings is, as I see it, the creature was without a doubt ¡®designed¡¯. With so many different components seamlessly mixed into a functional whole, there is no way this would have happened naturally. Even assuming that one of Tirnanog¡¯s creatures evolved the ability to incorporate the DNA of others into its makeup, an ability strangely similar to my nanites and recombination virus, the given result seems impossible.


    ¡°And third, since the question already imposed itself. No, the creature was not created with my nanites. As far as I could tell, it had no inherent ability for gene alteration.¡±


    Having delivered his speech, Gurney sat down.


    Vanya quickly raised her hand in a halting gesture. ¡°You can all ask questions later. Just don¡¯t forget Gurney¡¯s findings as I present you more pieces of the puzzle.¡±


    She gestured with a finger and her bodyguard placed a wooden box on the table for everyone to see. Inside it was the second communication device we found.


    ¡°Now we have two communication devices, taken from Thich saboteurs and their affiliates. Please note that their design is not intended for human use.¡±


    One of the Aerie elders, Alex Mora, raised a hand. ¡°Do you want to tell us that the Thich are somehow collaborating with a non-human faction? Deviants, or something worse?¡±


    Vanya shrugged. ¡°I am not saying anything, not yet at least. As I said, I am in the process of presenting facts which I deem pieces to a puzzle which everyone holding a position of power should be aware of. I hoped to come up with a satisfying conclusion before presenting this to everyone, but with the loss of all those prisoners I decided to hurry along the interrogation of the remaining ones and present the facts to everyone.¡±


    The matriarch gestured at the documents she had handed out. ¡°Before you are the prisoners¡¯ interrogation protocols. Taken all together they paint a disjointed picture of Thich society. At least as long as you are unaware of the split in their society, separating what I would call an upper caste from a lower one.


    ¡°I am afraid the Thich we had contact with so far are all part of the lower caste, which includes mainly slaves and aspiring warriors, as well as recruits drawn from the Old Camp. May I also remind you of the strong indicators for a breeding program among those recruits? From what I can tell, only those who are close to the upper caste have an idea of what¡¯s going on in Thich high society. From what I could find out about their fortress city, it cleanly separates the two groups, explaining how this situation could develop in isolation without our knowledge.


    ¡°The closer I got to the top, the more I learned about their ideology. Not sure whether to call it a religion or a cult, though their behaviour certainly fits a cult. They call themselves the ¡®Children of Tirnanog¡¯ and they preach an ideology of survival of the fittest. Let the strong rule and take what they need. The weak are to be left behind.


    She tilted her head. ¡°We have several recounts from young recruits who witnessed the ¡®entrance ceremony¡¯ which is to be taken if you want to become a military officer and rise in rank to eventually join the upper society. I suggest for everyone to read the procedure for themselves and form their own opinion.¡±


    Vanya leaned forward onto the desk and interlaced her fingers. ¡°Besides the worrying ideology the Thich developed, I want to draw your attention to the split in their society. To the need to rise to a certain status before you are allowed into the inner city. Recruits aren¡¯t even allowed to venture beyond the outer walls.¡±


    Skye Rumen raised his voice. ¡°A society like that would be very helpful in hiding what¡¯s at the top. So, are we supposed to believe that Thich¡¯s upper brass was taken over by deviant changelings? Wouldn¡¯t be the first time for a human settlement to fall victim to one of Tirnanog¡¯s horrors. Though, for one of the great clans to fall would be a first.¡±


    Vanya shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t believe the situation is quite as dire. The Thich still have Zacharias and he is an ancient. Hopefully, he would have rooted out any malicious infection. Though, he might be on board with whatever is going on. I have never met him personally, but from what I have heard he is the type who thinks the results justify the means. I am done with my presentation. If anyone has questions which aren¡¯t answered in my report, you may ask them at the follow-up meeting tomorrow.¡±

 Ch 136 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    We left once the meeting was finished.


    I wondered whether we should have used the chance to reveal our connection with Gaia. I even used our secret communication method to discuss the matter with Magnus, but he was adamant about not doing anything.


    And he was right in a way.


    There was no doubt a selected group of people like my parents or Thalia would believe us, but as for the rest of the Council of Elders or the matriarch? Without some solid proof, there was no chance it would not cause more trouble than it was worth.


    Maybe we could get the matriarch on our side if we allowed her to rummage through our minds. She might be able to at least confirm that we believed in our story.


    The downside was our exceptionally high resistance to psychic influence. I wasn¡¯t sure whether the Matriarch was capable of confirming our story without allowing her complete access. Which sounded like a bad idea. Not that I didn¡¯t trust her after she had taken our side against her mentor, but allowing a psychic of her level such access was always a risk.


    Not to mention, neither Magnus nor I knew how to lower our defences at this point. We weren¡¯t trained psychics. The only thing we could try was to reduce the number of active sub-personalities, which also wasn¡¯t the easiest of tasks.


    After months of using them, some of them had faded into the background of my mind to such a degree that getting rid of them would have been on the same level as asking me whether I could consciously stop my heart. Or to stop a reflex which was already ingrained.


    Right now both of us are socially well established and our opinion had some significant political pull among very powerful people. Adding potential accusations of insanity or hallucinations would allow people to question our judgement and put what we had worked so hard for in jeopardy.


    ¡°Should we head back home?¡± Magnus asked, interrupting my thoughts as we walked in the direction of the wormgate.


    ¡°Oh, I heard from Mom that the transports with Balthasar''s people are supposed to arrive today, so I would like to wait here and greet Thalia,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Right!¡± Magnus nodded. ¡°I am interested to see which mutation they got and you are still injured, so I will wait with you!¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to mother me if there is something else you want to do.¡± I waved a hand to show him it wasn''t necessary. ¡°I can walk just fine.¡±


    ¡°There is no doubt you can, but I still want to talk with Mark, now that you reminded me of their return,¡± Magnus replied without hesitation and pulled me closer to link arms.


    He was a little overprotective of me in my opinion, but in the end, I had no ground to argue if he wanted to meet up with Mark. So we waited together on the flagship¡¯s deck while we watched the ongoing repairs from a spot where we wouldn¡¯t be in the way.


    It took three hours for the transport fleet to arrive. They brought Balthasar¡¯s people with them, requiring another round of political greetings between the elders, the matriarch and the ancient. To greet her old friend, Mary also reappeared from wherever she had chosen to go into hiding.


    For once, Magnus and I wisely avoided the centre of attention and went to meet with Thalia and Mark. Ginevra and Thiago were also present, but they excused themselves quickly after delivering the bare minimum of social niceties, lest the elders might decide to recruit our short-term teammates for another mission.


    I greeted my friend with a careful hug after warning her of my injury. Walking around on my own was fine, but I still avoided being squeezed or bumped into at all costs.


    Sadly, Thalia seemed strangely subdued till we managed to get away from all the hustle and bustle of our leaders and people trying to disembark from the ships. Getting Balthasar¡¯s people settled would be a logistical problem I wanted no part of.


    The people from Magnus¡¯s organisation had been almost completely drafted into clan Aerie by now. Some had joined Hochberg.


    But there were still several thousand former prisoners from the Tibet Gate, including gate staff who had been present during the raid. It didn''t have to be mentioned that many of them were not happy with their current circumstances. On top came the problem that the recruiters from Hochberg, Aerie, and Jeng weren¡¯t overly enthused about adding such people to our ranks in large numbers without properly vetting them.


    Yeah, juggling this issue was not on my agenda.


    ¡°There is something important we have to talk about,¡± Thalia said once we were away from the crowd and on our way to the wormgate.


    ¡°Is it about your new mutation?¡± I asked. ¡°I wondered when you would bring it up. Please tell us hunting that white stalker gave you something good. Can you reclassify as a juggernaut now?¡±


    ¡°It concerns our mutation,¡± Mark admitted. ¡°But we really shouldn¡¯t talk about it in public. How about we go to your home to discuss the matter? The Frosts have adequate information security, don''t they?¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Magnus said. ¡°I am sure Isaac will be thrilled to meet you.¡±


    On the way I kept questioning the two about what was going on and which mutation they got, but both kept mum till we reached the inner estate of my family.


    As soon as we stepped over the doorsill, Thalia jumped us and since Magnus stepped in between, he was the first she got a hold of. Lifting him at his breastplate she started shaking him as if he were a plush toy. Her words came out in a rapid staccato fire, barely discernable from each other. ¡°Tell us everything you two know about Gaia or by the feisty bitch herself I swear I will do something stupid because I don¡¯t know whether I am turning insane or not!¡±


    ¡°You- know- you- should- try- to- calm- down-¡± Magnus tried to talk, but being shaken like an angry child¡¯s plushy didn¡¯t make it easy.


    ¡°You saw Gaia?¡± I asked. ¡°You talked to her?¡±


    ¡°We had very fucked up dreams the last few days,¡± Mark admitted while running both hands through his hair. Looking away, he muttered, ¡°And I told Thalia eating another intelligent bipedal creature was too close to cannibalism for comfort. I am sure the meat was bad, or infected, or something.¡±


    Thalia dropped Magnus who landed elegantly on his feet, using the leg extensions of his armour to smooth the landing.


    My friend threw up her hands in a beseeching gesture and turned to her partner. ¡°I told you those things have nothing to do with humans, so it isn¡¯t cannibalism! If something tries to kill and eat you, returning the favour is only fair!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still bad stuff you can get from eating closely related creatures,¡± Mark protested, convinced of his knowledge. ¡°Same reason why eating apes got humanity all those nasty sicknesses which it took us till the third century to get rid of.¡±


    He shuddered. ¡°What if there are little worms in our heads, slowly burrowing their way through as we lose our minds little by little?¡±


    ¡°I told you, nobody on Tirnanog ever died of disease ¨C not counting the Mycelium¡¯s spore infection!¡± Thalia shot back.


    ¡°Does it matter whether a worm or a mushroom nibbles at your brain?¡± Mark asked, horrified at the thought.


    ¡°Mark, we are immune against the Mycelium if you haven¡¯t noticed!¡± Thalia used her fingers to count. ¡°There are the nanites for viruses and bacteria. We have the starfish mutation which allows us to regenerate anything. Then there is the bloodvine mutation which by itself should kill any critter trying to invade our bodies and allows us to ¨C practically ¨C return from the dead! Believe me, I am the biology expert. You do the stuff you are good at!¡±


    ¡°What is he good at?¡± Magnus asked unhelpfully while nodding along.


    ¡°Lying on his back and allowing me to ride him.¡± Thalia replied unapologetically before adding after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°And kill stuff.¡±


    Strangely enough, Mark didn¡¯t argue the point at all. ¡°I am also very good with numbers and statistics!¡±


    Magnus threw his male compatriot a meaningful grin before turning back to Thalia. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the white stalker mutation which allows you to dream of a goddess and behave strangely.¡±


    I lightly whipped him with a few of my filaments corded together. His armour was protection enough to negate any damage, but he needed to understand he was very insensitive right now. ¡°Don¡¯t try to make it worse for them! Can¡¯t you see they are taking it badly?¡±


    He shrugged and cracked his knuckles. ¡°I am just wondering why the bitch wouldn¡¯t tell us that she now has two more victims to play mind games with. We should have a few words with her once we go to sleep tonight.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you two are seeing her too?¡± Mark exclaimed, sounding surprised. ¡°We aren¡¯t going insane?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, we think she is real. She helped us several times with stuff in the real world and she trained us on how to use our abilities to their fullest. Is still doing so in fact.¡±


    ¡°Or at the very least she is a very powerful expression of a passive psychic talent,¡± Magnus added. ¡°The only other explanation is that she is indeed an energy-based entity embodying all of humanity. In other words ¨C the closest thing to a god.¡±


    Thalia grabbed her chest, seeming close to hyperventilation. ¡°Oh, gods. She is real. She is really real. By¡­ I told her she is a saggy-titted idiot!¡±


    ¡°Uuh¡­¡± Magnus clicked his tongue and shook his head with obvious ¡®fake¡¯ sympathy. ¡°That¡¯s bad. Very bad. Did you kick her too?¡±


    Thalia frowned. ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Hit her?¡± my partner questioned further. ¡°Perform any other act of futile violence on her radiant self?¡±


    My friend slowly shook her head. ¡°I only called her¡­ things. Waking up in that island mansion with a strange woman trying suggestion techniques on us was quite the kicker.¡±


    Magnus nodded sagely. ¡°Then you might get away with twins, depending on her mood. Though, I have yet to find out how she weighs insults against physical attacks. Depending on what you said, she might ramp it up to triplets or quintuplets.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Thalia screamed.


    I covered my face with a hand and drew in a deep breath. ¡°Magnus¡­¡±


    He ignored me and kept going, ¡°Well, I called her names and kicked her when she went ''mental suggestion mode'' on me and her reaction was to saddle us with triplets.¡± His face scrunched up for a moment as he thought about something and then whispered, ¡°If you play nice with her, she might decide to undo the whole egg thing. Also, please veto the seasonal fertility thing. I suspect Gaia got a little too enthused about improving the whole birthing process for her new take on the human species. She refuses to listen to Astra or me on that point. She argued that having the female fertile for three months of the year allows for much better population control. If you ask me, having to be careful for three months in a row is just asking for something to go wrong.¡±


    Contrary to having to be careful almost all the time, I thought to myself.


    Thalia and Mark looked at each other with trepidation.


    ¡°Unless she decided to play around and the deed is already done,¡± Magnus rambled on unapologetically. ¡°As I see it, Gaia is the most powerful entity reasonably imaginable, but even she can¡¯t turn back time. At least I don''t think so. If she could, she wouldn¡¯t bother with trying to get us lesser lifeforms to do her will.¡±


    ¡°Magnus.¡± I cleared my throat to get his attention.


    ¡°Yes, dear?¡± He looked at me.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and get me some of those pain meds the doctor left for me in case the wound acts up.¡± I reached for my chest, wisely not mentioning that I had tried them and found the painkillers to be utterly useless. ¡°I think running around all day long wasn¡¯t such a great idea after all.¡±


    It looked like our poison resistance recognised painkillers as poison.


    He sighed. ¡°Of course, dear. But don¡¯t believe for a moment I don¡¯t understand perfectly well you are trying to make me shut my mouth. I still think Thalia and Mark should know exactly what they are dealing with when they interact with Gaia.¡±


    Magnus raised a finger. ¡°I will now walk off very slowly and get those meds and when I get back I will run my mouth again.¡±


    I turned to Thalia and smiled at her. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the living room and discuss everything?¡±


    Halfway down the corridor, my partner turned around. ¡°Come to think, where do you have those meds?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Oh, I think I forgot where I put them. Why don¡¯t you start by searching the bed and the bathroom?¡±


    Maybe that bought me ten minutes tops to talk with Mark and Thalia before Magnus got back to freaking them out.

 Ch 137 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    Gaia stood in her villa''s living room, facing four adults and a hyperactive boy who was running circles around her.


    ¡°This is unexpected.¡± The avatar tilted her head while studying the four of us. ¡°How did you figure out you just have to sleep together to end up in the same dream? I expected it would take a lot more time for you to find out.¡±


    ¡°Don''t make it sound like we were having a foursome!¡± Mark exclaimed quickly. ¡°We are just only sleeping in close vicinity to each other.¡±


    Thalia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. ¡°Every psychic with just a smidgen of experience knows that psychic abilities are strongly reliant on distance to the target. It stood to reason that if this dream is indeed relying on psychic power, sleeping in the same room would ensure it is at its strongest.¡±


    Gaia sighed. ¡°Well, I told you two to talk with Astra and Magnus so you would believe me. Maybe this was inevitable.¡±


    She mumbled to herself. ¡°I never met someone so insistent on calling me a figment of their imagination. I mean, how often do you need to have the same dream till you at least consider the possibility of something extraordinary happening?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Aren''t we four the first humans who get to talk to you directly? It''s not like you have a significant sample size to conclude from. Magnus and I were doubting you for weeks after we had the first dream.¡±


    My partner raised a hand and pretended to cough. ¡°Months!¡±


    ¡°Five humans!¡± Gaia replied indignantly and pointed at Isaac who was running around her. ¡°Isaac never questions me! He is such a dear boy without a speck of doubt in his heart.¡±


    Isaac stopped running and looked up at her. ¡°But Aunty, I am a child. Why should I distrust anyone?¡±


    Gaia looked down at the boy and gasped, looking seriously hurt at the betrayal. Not even the child she was babysitting for eight hours a day was on her side.


    Isaac turned around with a confused expression, facing Magnus. ¡°Why did I have to say that?¡±


    Magnus clicked his tongue in disappointment. ¡°You weren''t supposed to reveal that I instructed you to say that.¡±


    ¡°I wasn''t?¡± Isaac looked confused.


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°No, Isaac. We don''t share the stuff we talk about in the guys-channel! Ever!¡±


    Blinking, I turned to my dear partner. ¡°You made a private UI chat channel with Isaac?¡±


    He turned to me, showing not a single sign of remorse for excluding me. ¡°You can make your own with the girls.¡±


    Shaking my head, I reminded myself why we were here and raised both hands in an appeasing gesture. ¡°Okay, enough now, all of you. Gaia has a lot to explain!¡±


    ¡°Explain what?¡± Gaia looked worried as she regarded us with suspicion in her eyes.


    I gestured at Thalia and Mark. ¡°Them!?¡±


    Gaia looked at Thalia. ¡°I can''t explain why hers are bigger than yours. Nor how they are seemingly defying gravity.¡± She nodded to herself, totally serious. ¡°It''s a mystery of nature. A true masterwork of mine.¡±


    Thalia followed Gaia¡¯s gaze to her chest and raised a fist. ¡°If you don¡¯t get serious, I will punch you. Consequences be damned!¡±


    I face-palmed. She was trying to distract us ¨C again. ¡°How did you suddenly manage to allow them lucid dreaming too? Can you do it for more people?¡±


    ¡°Ooh, I see.¡± Gaia wet her lips, her demeanour and body posture changing as if she had to deliver bad news. ¡°No, Magnus and you are not special, nor some sort of messiahs. I thought I told you two how I work. If I want to influence humanity, I have to subtly influence hundreds, no, thousands of individuals if I want just the smallest hope for success. Thalia and Mark found their path to my desired outcome.¡±


    Thalia growled. ¡°She asked whether we can make more people aware of you!¡±


    Gaia shrugged. ¡°Unlikely. Though I have a working example with Magnus and Astra, and I managed to replicate the mutation in you, doing it willy-nilly with everyone won''t be possible. My influence on the nanotech is not sufficient to start rewriting DNA without proper samples. Thalia and Mark were a lucky exception since Thalia was already leaning heavily towards psychic powers and their most recent mutation allowed for a final... ''tuning''. I am afraid there is no way to replicate it unless you want to force-feed some of the newcomers at the old camp and have them-.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Thalia crossed her arms in an ''X'' gesture. ¡°We won''t start a matchmaking farm.¡±


    ¡°Though, they would have to find someone at some point anyway?¡± Mark interjected in a questioning tone.


    ¡°I believe we aren''t quite desperate enough to stoop so low as to force someone to partner up,¡± I commented. ¡°But talking to Gurney might be a good idea. If Gaia can give us a list of mutations which allow her to get us more witnesses we can give it to him. He can sell it to the people from Magnus''s organisation as the preferred mutation path.¡±


    ¡°I could,¡± Gaia hedged. ¡°The question is whether I want to.¡±


    The four of us glared at her. There was no coordination necessary.


    ¡°Oh, come on.¡± Gaia gestured at her villa. ¡°It''s getting crowded in here!¡±


    ¡°Which is no problem if we aren''t sleeping in the same room,¡± Thalia countered. ¡°Or as long as you don¡¯t use your power to hook us into the same dream.¡±


    ¡°Besides, it''s just a question of time until a significant portion of Tirnanog''s population has it,¡± I added on top and pointed at Isaac. ¡°It''s inheritable.¡±


    Gaia pressed her lips together while studying Isaac, who looked up to her with big eyes. For once, it looked like the boy hadn''t followed what we were talking about and was now wondering why he suddenly turned important to the discussion.


    ¡°You have a point.¡± She deflated. ¡°Fine. I will make a list.¡±


    We kept bickering with the lazy avatar throughout the night as we introduced Thalia and Mark to everything they had missed out on. In terms of Gaia''s story as well as for the benefits and support she could give. Last but not least, we discussed whether revealing Gaia''s existence was a possibility. After all, having four witnesses was a lot better than two.


    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Mary***


    Someone was insistently knocking on my door. I cracked an eye open and rolled around, pulling the blanket and the pillow with me until I was a well-muffled caterpillar.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Rescuing Gurney was tiring. I burned through a third of my energy reserves and since restocking on fissionable material wasn''t easy I still had to recuperate.


    The knock came again and I groaned. ¡°Why can''t the young people take care of their problems and leave the old folk alone?¡±


    I got up and arranged my filaments into a dress. Taking my time, I went to answer the door. ¡°Yes?¡±


    In front of my door were Balthasar, Vanya and her entourage, and Gurney and Gunnar. I honestly had to fight the urge to shut the door in their faces and take another nap.


    But... I was the one who requested Balthasar''s help and we hadn''t gotten the opportunity to talk in private. After the arrival of Balthasar and his people, all of his time had been taken up to organize their takeover of the Old Camp.


    Nonetheless, they were the supplicants here. ¡°Form a line.¡±


    Gunnar dodged to the front and handed me a little bouquet. ¡°I thought since everyone else is about doom and gloom, I would be the rising sun on the horizon! Do you want to go out with me?¡±


    I looked at the flowers and took them before returning my attention to Gunnar.


    ¡°No. Next.¡± So far, I had dismissed all of his repeated advances, but this time I decided to keep the flowers.


    They were pretty.


    ¡°Aw...¡± Gunnar stepped aside and gestured for the others to make their petitions while I placed the bouquet on the shelf next to the entrance of my quarters.


    Gurney and Vanya were next ¨C together with a worried-looking Juliana Rumen.


    The matriarch looked concerned. ¡°I know it is late, but something occurred to me once I had a few hours of sleep. Something potentially dangerous. After Gurney gave us the genetical makeup of the psyling I realized none of the creatures involved in its creation were known for psychic abilities! Normally not a great concern, but you have a lot of drakes on your ships and they are on the list. After I checked with Gurney, he assured me the unknown factors he found were too small to create a major psychic like the creature who attacked us. So, just to be sure, I would like to request access to the drake pens. We have to check whether they are a danger!¡±


    It was probably due to my tiredness, but I managed not to show a single change in emotion. My eyes drifted over to Elder Juliana whose face looked like she was trying to turn herself into a psychic through an act of pure will. Or she suffered constipation. One of the two.


    Of course, the matriarch had to get on our asses because of an inane connection such as a genetic analysis.


    I returned my attention to Vanya. ¡°And why are you coming to me with this request?¡±


    Vanya pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Juliana. ¡°July said you have to be informed beforehand.¡±


    July? Did she seriously call Juliana just July?


    My eyes wandered to the elder who looked like she was about to blow a gasket.


    Well, I told the elders that hiding the drakes forever wasn''t possible. It was a wonder it had worked for as long as it did. A circumstance which was mainly owed to Mount Aerie''s isolation and the drakes¡¯ tendency to stay put if left alone.


    I considered the situation before I decided that coming clean now was best. Whatever I thought about Greta''s prot¨¦g¨¦, Vanya wasn''t stupid enough to be deterred at this point. Plus, her disregard for Juliana already indicated she knew something was up.


    ¡°There''s no need,¡± I grumbled. ¡°The drakes are on our side. We have a pact with them.¡±


    Tianna gasped. ¡°You broke the treaty!? You know why all the clans agreed to wipe out intelligent monsters with prejudice! You even were one of those who signed the treaty!¡±


    ¡°Look...¡± I drew in a deep breath. ¡°Don¡¯t complain to me about the stupid treaty. I know every word in that damned document. I wrote half of it, but it doesn''t apply to the drakes. Are they smart? Yes. Can they talk? Yes. Can they plan humanity''s downfall? Most likely.¡±


    I raised a hand to stop the Hochberg before any cries of outrage came. ¡°But are they capable of doing so? No. And the fact remains ¨C we need the power of the drake riders or we might as well roll over and show our bellies the next time the Thich show up. Without aerial superiority and the transportation benefits the drakes provide, this war is lost.¡±


    Vanya narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°I would like to be the judge of that.¡±


    Giving in to my fate, I closed the door behind me and led the way to the pens while trying to explain why the drakes were no danger.


    ¡°Clan Aerie and the drakes of Mount Aerie have a pact. We protect their colony and they protect ours. We work together. We eat no drakes and they eat no humans. Which is easy for them since they are herbivores.¡±


    I stopped talking and waited... and waited.


    ¡°That''s it!?¡± Vanya asked.


    There it was. ¡°Yes, because that''s the extent of a deal you can have with them. They don''t think on the same level as us. They don''t build tools or a civilisation because they see no need. We had them around for decades and it brought us only benefits. It''s certainly better than fighting with a group of creatures who can all fly as fast as fighter jets and are therefore impossible to fight for us ground-dwellers.¡±


    ¡°You have your airships,¡± Tianna pointed out.


    I turned and looked at her while walking. ¡°Seriously? You have seen how fast our airships are and how fast a drake is. Their entire colony could fly circles around our fleet and we would never catch them.¡±


    We reached the hangar which belonged to the drakes and I gestured for one who I had known since he was a hatchling. ¡°Loopsfast!¡±


    One of the drakes looked up from a nest with eggs and came over to us. When Loops saw we weren''t all riders he knew, he rolled onto his back and played cute drake. Which was admittedly more frightening than intended.


    I sighed. ¡°Loopsfast, you can talk to them. We no longer have to play hide. This is Vanya, by the way.¡±


    ''I can? I really can? Can?''


    ¡°Have fun,¡± I gestured at the matriarch, who cleared her throat.


    ¡°Uhm, hi? I would like to-¡±


    ''Do you want to fly?''


    ¡°No, I-¡±


    ''I want to go fly out, but our riders are sooo busy.''


    ¡°Your name is Loo-¡±


    ''Or do you want to look at my eggs? They are sooo pretty.''


    ¡°I-¡±


    ''Can you give me scratches? There is this spot...''


    I turned away from the unfolding drama, knowing well enough that Vanya wouldn''t get anything out of any of the drakes. The problem wasn''t that drakes were stupid. Far from it, but they were simply incapable of considering more than the here and now. Drakes lived their entire lives in the moment, incapable of ever basing their decisions on a past or a future.


    The old ones could be negotiated with, but young ones like Loops and his mates were like toddlers with the intellect of an adult.


    My eyes met Juliana''s who was glaring daggers at me, but I ignored her. She was an elder for Gaia''s sake. Bringing this matter to me was equivalent to shirking her duties.


    Which left... Balthasar.


    I walked over to him. ¡°Why don''t we talk in private?¡±


    Balthasar nodded his chin at Vanya who was beginning to get frustrated with Loops. ¡°Won''t the elders get mad at you for revealing the drakes just like that?¡±


    I shrugged ¡°That''s why I have the elders. To deal with the shit I can''t be bothered with.¡±


    He gestured for me to lead the way. ¡°Where do you want to talk?¡±


    ¡°I think we should invade Felix''s private quarters and capture him for this discussion,¡± I said after thinking about it. ¡°This mess concerns him too.¡±


    A few minutes later we were sitting on one of the tree branches of a redwood which was allowing us to overlook the Old Camp and the Aerie flagship which was still in repair.


    ¡°So, can I know now why you dragged me out here?¡± Felix asked.


    ¡°To prevent others from overhearing this conversation, obviously,¡± Balthasar replied dryly. ¡°If we talked on the ship, every sensor within a hundred metres would have known.¡±


    ¡°Most of them have learned to be discrete with what they overhear,¡± Felix replied with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°I am afraid what we will talk about today is delicate enough to warrant additional safety measures,¡± I said while idly using a fingernail to carve away at a piece of wood I took from the tree. ¡°To get straight to the point, I tried to make contact with the others, but couldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, you couldn¡¯t?¡± Balthasar asked.


    ¡°Exactly what I said.¡± I began to count on my fingers. ¡°Last time we saw each other, there were eleven of us left. Me, Balthasar, Felix, Greta, Nisha, Zacharias, Sindri, Yun, Casimir, Dimitri and Phoebe. Greta is confirmed to be dead. Nisha and Zach are fighting for the other side, and the three of us are here. I thought I knew where Dimitri and Phoebe were hiding, but the people I sent there said the settlement was abandoned. Has been for decades.¡±


    Felix frowned. ¡°The last time I met Casimir, he was with the Raiders, haunting the plains. Though, that was decades ago.¡±


    Felix and I turned our attention to Balthasar who shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any of the others since our last meeting and you know Nisha paid me a visit.¡±


    ¡°Did she mention the others?¡± Felix asked.


    Balthasar shrugged. ¡°She talked big about the alliance between Thich and Vier, but didn¡¯t mention anything of particular value to this discussion.¡±


    ¡°So five ancients are unaccounted for,¡± Felix summarized. ¡°Are there truly no hints where the others could have gone?¡±


    ¡°The world is vast,¡± Balthasar commented. ¡°Maybe they went to the other continents in search of the exit points of the other gateway facilities. I know I would have done so if my abilities allowed it.¡± He gestured at the network of roots making up his clothes. ¡°Alas, I am useless without my plants. I could never cross the ocean and survive. Besides, I found myself with other responsibilities. You have to introduce yourselves to my daughter when there is time.¡±


    ¡°Them leaving would be one of the better outcomes. Let¡¯s hope they truly decided to find their luck elsewhere,¡± I said solemnly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to fight even more old friends.¡±


    ¡°Or enemies!¡± Felix countered while reaching into his robe and pulling out two thin bottles. ¡°I never liked Zacharias. He was always an egomaniac. No wonder he created some cult around his person once left alone. Why don¡¯t we drink on lost comrades?¡±


    ¡°And lost lovers,¡± Balthasar added, taking one of the bottles from Felix. He raised a hand and his roots formed three cups for us.


    Felix smacked his lips once everyone had something to drink and he had gotten a taste of his liqueur. ¡°So, what do we do about Gurney? There is no way we are going to leave him alone, are we?¡±


    ¡°What about him?¡± Balthasar asked. ¡°He was punished and I seek no further quarrel with him. He can stay at the Old Camp or go where he pleases. The reason why we forced him into the role of a neutral party is no more.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Balthasar is right, but we should have a few words with him. Just to make sure he understands the rules.¡±

 Ch 138 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I used the following days to catch up with my acquaintances.


    First on the list were Gurney and the leaders of the Organisation, Jakob and Chloe, who to my utter shock had decided to partner up. When asked, they informed me neither of them had been in a romantic relationship and purely logical reasons guided their partnership. A marriage of convenience, so to speak, and since both of them had taken the starfish mutation, also one involving a lot of ¡®fun¡¯. Upon meeting them, it was my first time seeing the full extent of what the starfish mutation could do to a person. The few days between the mission to the Mycelium and now were enough to turn Chloe from a well-aged fifty to a thirty-looking woman. I almost didn''t recognise her at first.


    Afterwards, catching up with Gurney was also littered with a few surprises. He gave me a detailed report of his time spent as a Thich prisoner and revealed he had decided to follow the Organisation to Mount Aerie. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anywhere else to go, and your people have all that nice equipment,¡± was his only comment on the matter, his eyes shining at the thought of returning to his old calling as a true scientist.


    I used the chance to hand him Gaia¡¯s list, disguised as one of Thalia¡¯s research papers. Thalia had been working hard on ways to determine the compatibility between various mutations for years, albeit limited by the available instruments.


    To her, it was a matter of a few modifications to insert Gaia¡¯s revelations plausibly into her work. There was no doubt the elders would utilize Gurney¡¯s expertise sooner rather than later, and then it would be only a matter of time until more people dreamt of Tirnanog¡¯s ¡®goddess¡¯.


    After discussing the matter, we concluded that standing up in front of the council of elders and declaring our firm belief in Gaia''s existence was probably not a good idea. I mean, in a religious sense it would have caused raised eyebrows, but our ultimate goal was not to sound like complete lunatics upon claiming we had contact with an ethereal entity.


    Furthermore, we decided to take the next opportunity to come clean with Astra''s and Thalia''s parents at the very least. And depending on how it went with those four elders we could increase the circle of ''enlightened'' people.


    But first, we had to catch all four of them in the same spot.


    Next on the list was a visit with two Caravaners who I had kind of abandoned during our joint mission. As it turned out, cleaning up the remnants of the Thich raiding party had been no problem for Elijah and Linda. Bereft of their juggernauts, the remaining warriors had either chosen to flee or to fight to the death. And given Tirnanog¡¯s wildlife, those who fled had likely only lengthened their suffering by a few days at most.


    Travelling without established safe-houses along the route was generally considered a death sentence for anyone below the juggernaut classification.


    I used the chance for a few training bouts with Elijah, but nothing had truly changed between us power-wise. Despite not being a speedster, Elijah¡¯s mastery of precognition was beyond me, leaving us in a stalemate as long as I didn¡¯t decide to resort to potentially lethal attacks. Given my most recent improvement thanks to the thunder eel and Gaia¡¯s training I might be able to obliterate the Caravaner with a feat of pure power, but that was hardly the goal of a friendly bout.


    The last visit on my list was Elder Gilbert. The blacksmith and newly minted wormhole artificer had messaged me and claimed he needed to show me something.


    So I happened to find myself in the man¡¯s workshop which was strewn with creature cores and abandoned or failed projects.


    ¡°I see you have been hard at work since your most recent success,¡± I commented while looking over the mess. It was clear Gilbert was beginning to get a grasp on the strange bio-technology which powered the wondrous abilities of Tirnanog¡¯s creatures.


    His first experiments had been fairly simple, from glorified flashlights to chemical mini-factories. Till now, it had been nothing more than simply taking an existing creature core and employing its functionality in a semi-useful device ¨C for things like a flashlight were of no use to someone with my mutations.


    The wormhole was Gilbert¡¯s greatest achievement so far, as it united a worm¡¯s wormhole generator core and power supply with a suitable control mechanism managed by humans.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lull yourself into a false sense of security,¡± the elder commented while leading me over to a desk with several pieces which looked like armour parts. ¡°I still need you to identify the activation sequences of more creature cores.¡±


    ¡°Glad to be your decoding device,¡± I commented. ¡°So what is this?¡±


    ¡°If it works, this will be a portable power source for your armour!¡± Gilbert explained. ¡°And it is the first creature core I tried to hack!¡±


    ¡°Hack?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± He replied eagerly. ¡°As you probably can see from my vast collection, I have gathered a lot of experience dissecting the things without destroying the individual parts. The more complicated ones are still beyond me. Finding someone with x-ray vision would be helpful.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°I will immediately inform you, should I come across someone who can shoot radiation out of his eyes. I can only make mine glow within the visible spectrum.¡±


    Gilbert pointed at two different cores which had been disassembled and laid out in their various parts. ¡°This one is a molerat¡¯s heart. Fairly simple and easy to recognise as a peristaltic pump once you know what you are looking at! There is no mystery behind its function, while the other one is far more complicated. Personally, I lack the knowledge to guess how the second one works, but I know if you supply the thing with power and add the right ingredients through these feeds, it produces a highly effective acid! So, do you notice any similarities between these two cores?¡±


    I looked them over, setting a few sub-personalities to the task for additional support, and quickly came to the solution. ¡°This part here is identical between both cores. It looks different, but it has the same amount of connections as the other one. What is it?¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    The two pieces were cut out from the cores and filed down to reveal several metal ''contacts'', for the lack of a better term. The bio-technology of Tirnanog¡¯s wildlife was strange and sometimes mind-blowing, but it followed the laws of physics. A peristaltic pump was a peristaltic pump, even if it was clearly not a device assembled by human hands but had rather ¡®grown¡¯ in a perfectly optimized way.


    Circuit boards in human devices were flat, space-wasting, and easy to recognise by any modern person for what they were.


    The cores were mashed together balls of highly condensed electric circuitry with resistors, ICs, and capacitors. How they were formed inside a creature was still a mystery, but I would bet quite a lot there was nanotech involved.


    I couldn''t blame people for not recognizing the cores as biotechnology at first sight. While I classified some of the inner workings as electrical components, they hardly came with a company label or even a standardized appearance. Each core had its own individually optimized and moulded together components. And I doubted many people even knew what a diode or an IC looked like without a neat isolation housing and company label printed on top.


    Of course, once a core was destroyed the build procedure made it impossible for us to put it back together. And if randomly cracked open, most cores looked like ceramic rocks with veins of metal inside.


    ¡°These are the control circuits controlling the cores!¡± Gilbert said, sounding giddy. ¡°And as far as I can tell, apart from the physical layout of the individual parts they are identical! They might not look like it, but they were just slightly altered for the given shape of the creature core. They are a standardized design! Like someone took the same micro-controller blueprint and just altered it from core to core because he didn''t want to bother with re-inventing different control circuits.¡±


    ¡°And this means¡­¡±


    ¡°And this means!¡± Gilbert took the control circuit for the molerat core, one I had deciphered for him months ago. ¡°That I can take this circuit, to which I know the control sequences, and connect it to the other core after cutting out its control unit! What does this mean for our most recent alien theory? I have no clue! But it also means we can take apart cores and use their components to make things like this!¡±


    ¡°A backpack?¡± I asked, following Gilbert¡¯s finger to the largest armour piece. It looked like several thick scales overlapping each other.


    The elder slapped me on the back of my head so fast, I had no time to dodge. ¡°It¡¯s not a backpack you fool!¡±


    ¡°Sure looks like one, albeit a small, thin one,¡± I defended my claim. ¡°Maybe more like a generous spine protection.¡±


    Gilbert sighed. ¡°It¡¯s one of the lightning eel¡¯s cores which you brought with you. I took one apart and as far as I can tell, it¡¯s a highly efficient power cell. One which will be without a doubt capable of increasing your power output by a magnitude.¡±


    ¡°Huh...¡± I looked at the newest upgrade to my armour. ¡°But I still need to charge it?¡±


    ¡°That is the downside,¡± Gilbert admitted.


    ¡°How much can it hold?¡± I asked.


    Gilbert shrugged. ¡°The only way to know is to test it. I am not sure how much power you need for one of your long-range teleportations, but I would be surprised if it didn''t at least enable you to take an adult with you.¡±


    I rubbed my hands together, already imagining what we could do if Astra and I could take people with us through jaunts. The Thich wouldn''t know what hit them if juggernauts moved unpredictably all over the front, making it impossible to plan the right countermeasures for their given abilities. ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Zacharias***


    The magistrate reported the newest developments, kowtowing before the throne while the representatives of various influential families watched.


    Humming, I considered the future. It was funny how a few insignificant developments could change an easy win to a stalemate. Most of it was due to this mysterious organisation which had messed with things. I wondered whether it would have been possible to foresee their involvement, but even Greta, the great Matriarch of Hochberg couldn¡¯t foresee their involvement or even her own demise.


    Our contact with Earth had been silenced practically overnight. And if the spies were correct, then there was no hope of getting more assistance until the Tibet Gateway facility could be rebuilt. Rumours mentioned a nuke, so not counting on getting help from that direction was probably wise.


    The loss of additional research subjects would have to be addressed somehow.


    I sighed.


    Which meant we would have to double down on that breeding program.


    On a positive note, we still had the Vier on our side. But Nisha had started asking clone Seven some inconvenient questions. I would have to be very careful with my answers. Having the Vier turn on us would be a strategic nightmare.


    Things like the unexpected loss of our two best speedsters were comparably low on my list of things to watch. The sole survivor who managed to get away spun tales of the fight being over within seconds and some strange nightmare hunting down the fleeing raiding party in the dark.


    Instead of believing in the tale of Aerie possessing two outstanding speedsters who crushed my people, it was much more likely to assume someone had fucked up and our scouts had gotten ambushed most unfavourably.


    Well, it didn¡¯t hurt to deploy juggernauts which countered speedsters as soon as we got another hint of the enemy making use of those mysterious warriors.


    I consolidated the information with all my clones. The annoying mental hole which was left by the traitorous Eleven was still there, but it had gotten more bearable over time. From time to time my clones could still hear his corrupting whispers, but he wouldn''t regain control over the whole so easily.


    Getting up, I walked down the stairway from the throne and past the magistrate.


    Ignoring the guards who began trailing me, I wandered down to my palace¡¯s courtyard where one of my eight high priests held another sermon for a group of prospective adjutants for our generals.


    Grinning inwardly, I wondered what the brother would think about his sister taking so well to our teachings. She had quite the ambition to reach so high, though I had to make sure she was watched and loyal to our side. Having one of the psychics select the right partner for her would be vital.


    I mentally noted the matter for one of my clones to take care of and continued my casual inspection of the palace.


    There was little to see on the upper levels apart from government infrastructure and glamorous bling to woo the eyes of the influential families. As much as I would have liked to, I didn¡¯t have the means to rule Thich¡¯s population with mental control. A certain degree of support from the powerful and influential was a necessary evil to rule effectively.


    And while I could have probably subdued them on my own, giving them at least the illusion of having something to say proved wise. It meant I had to remind them of why I was at the top only every century or two instead of purging the families every two or three decades. After all, purging my own subjects was nothing but a waste of resources.


    My wanderings led me down to the lower floors where the real research regarding my tentative ally was going on. It would have been perfect if I had been able to recruit Gurney, but I had already learned more than enough by interrogating him. His joining my cause had been unlikely anyway, and giving a man like him access to my facility was a risk. No, it was probably better that Mary had taken him.


    Passing laboratories working on genetic experiments and technological advancements, I finally reached the deepest part of the facility which was hidden beneath the palace in a natural cave which had been there since time immemorial.


    I had been informed it was time for the latest test.


    Two girls stood on a platform, surrounded by several rotating rings. It looked like a gigantic gyroscope, but it was actually a much more advanced version of a human wormhole generator. Something which had been created by our mysterious benefactor.


    The two touched the control globe hovering in the centre controlling the machine. Their faces showed expressions of deep concentration as the rings began to glow and I watched with a savage grin on my lips as it began to activate.


    There was a flash of light blinding my senses and then the girls were gone. Two more test subjects were taken to a mysterious place without return. I wondered why the platform was only taking twins with the right mutations. If there was anyone else on the device, it wouldn''t even power on.


    Turning to the lead scientist overlooking the experiment, I raised my eyebrows. He knew the question well enough.


    ¡°Ninety-eight per cent!¡± he reported eagerly. ¡°We are close to cracking the activation sequence. Only a few more experiments and I guarantee you, we will have complete control over the device.¡±

 Ch 139- EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Teresa***


    ¡°So, anyone got an idea why the youngsters arranged for this meeting?¡± I asked while looking around the people gathered in our mansion''s dining room. It was one of the larger spaces and therefore perfect to host a meeting for a larger group.


    For some reason, Thalia and Astra had invited us to a private meeting and I was quite curious what this was about. Normally, Astra always came to me directly when she was concerned about something. Bringing home Magnus and announcing him to be her partner was the only surprising thing she ever did.


    But to be honest, her finding someone to partner with also was something which had to be expected to happen at some point. Her reason for going on those trips was never a secret. Etan and I just had not expected her to go through with her plan.


    Richard Tate nodded sagely at my question. ¡°I predict Thalia will announce her pregnancy. She was adamant about this Mark fellow being the right one for her with all those tests and her forecast analysis of their mutations. There is no way she wouldn''t flaunt a victory. As if the two of us cared about who she chose based on compatibility tests. As long as she is happy we wouldn''t stand in her way.¡± He looked at Sienna and smiled.


    Sienna Tate in turn glanced at her partner with contempt and shook her head. ¡°You are such an idiot. Do you believe they wouldn''t give us such news in private first? And if you believe Thalia is the type to adopt an heir, then you are on the wrong track. Sometimes I doubt whether you know your own daughter!¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Richard looked a bit taken aback.


    Etan raised a finger. ¡°The only reason I can think of is that they have been up to something and now they need us to smooth things over with the rest of the council. Like when Magnus went to visit the Patels and threw their psychic off the elevator. What a mess!¡±


    ¡°The guy survived,¡± I interjected. ¡°It wasn''t as big a mess as you are making it out to be.¡±


    ¡°Barely!¡± Sienna added.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Richard covered his eyes. ¡°Don''t remind me. Aligning all those bones so they would heal correctly was a nightmare. And the poor man was so traumatized, he requested reassignment to another strata so he wouldn''t have to step on that elevator again. Didn''t even bother to report his survival to the Patels.¡±


    Sienna pursed her lips. ¡°Filing out the report would have been your job. And why can I clearly remember you signing off the deceased paper on that particular case?¡±


    Richard blinked and covered his mouth. ¡°But I don''t like Bruce. Why would I go the extra step to tell him anything which would help him? I misspoke, none of you utters a word about this to the Patels, or I will have to ban you from our hospital.¡±


    Sienna rolled her eyes. ¡°What did I do wrong to deserve this? Do you have any idea what the council might do if the wrong people find out about this?¡±


    ¡°Anyway,¡± I raised my voice. ¡°That''s most assuredly not the reason either. If Magnus had thrown another psychic off a high place, he wouldn''t have cared to hide it from the public. Magnus wants such things to be known.¡±


    ¡°You have a point,¡± Etan admitted begrudgingly. ¡°Then he did something else stupid and we have to hide his tracks.¡±


    The door to the dining room opened and Magnus strolled into the room, having overheard his father-in-law. ¡°For once, I am blameless, Dad!¡±


    ¡°Don''t call me that!¡± Etan shot back quickly.


    Astra shoved her way past her partner into the room, carrying the grouchy sisters, Costella and Aurora in her arms. Coming in behind her was Isaac, wrapped up in filaments like a caterpillar. He was half attached to Astra''s hips, but the boy''s legs were being dragged limply over the floor.


    Seeing this, I only sighed. ¡°What did he do this time?¡±


    ¡°Tried to put make-up on his sisters with his modelling colours!¡± Astra spat. ¡°I was lucky to catch it before the colour could dry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the poor babies!¡± I got up and took Aurora off Astra, studying the girl with raised eyebrows. Astra got most of the colour off, but faint traces could still be seen with a keen eye.


    Contrary to my expectation Isaac hadn''t painted silly faces on them but tried to go for a proper makeover. ¡°You know, if they had been a little bit older, Isaac would have done a decent job.¡±


    Astra''s bondage victim nodded and tried to mumble something intelligible past the filaments covering his mouth before the kid gave up and began spamming the family''s UI chat with justifications for his actions.


    ¡°Don''t encourage him!¡± Astra chided me. ¡°They are too young for make-up.¡±


    ¡°Isaac is only doing these things because he is bored,¡± Magnus pointed out. ¡°You have to account for his learning speed. Inherited memories combined with the sub-personality trait mean he is far beyond any child his age should be. Maybe we should get him a home-room teacher? And it''s only paint. You are making way too big of a deal out of this. At least compared to the other stunts he pulled.¡±


    I turned to Thalia and Mark who also entered the room. ¡°Why don''t we get to the point of this meeting then? I doubt the kids would like listening to the boring ''adult'' stuff.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Oh, but they are involved,¡± Magnus clarified. ¡°Whether they like it or not.¡±


    I frowned and looked at Astra who shrugged while Mark closed the door.


    ¡°There is something we need to talk about with you,¡± Thalia began while kneading her hands. ¡°You see, it all began with us having dreams...¡±


    Not holding back, she launched into a tale of their dreams being taken over by an entity claiming to be humanity''s gestalt, calling herself Gaia of all things. At the name, I exchanged glances with the other elders in the room.


    ¡°Wait, wait.¡± Richard raised both hands, interrupting Thalia''s tale. ¡°You are saying this Gaia is in conflict with other entities who want to erase her from existence? And at least one of those entities is backing the Thich?¡±


    ¡°Not one of the entities itself, but an agent of theirs if Gaia is to be believed,¡± Mark corrected. ¡°To them, Tirnanog is a giant Petri dish and the one we are up against is the lab manager. Therefore it¡¯s questionable whether the Thich are truly aided by this entity or simply pawns.¡±


    Etan waved both his hands in obvious annoyance. ¡°And none of you had the idea this might be important to share? What if you are having hallucinations?¡±


    ¡°A shared hallucination between four people and a kid?¡± Thalia questioned with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Be my guest and try to explain this without involving psychic abilities.¡±


    Magnus gestured to stop the two from arguing. ¡°We considered every possibility; from it being true, to us going insane. Since we have no tangible proof, we decided against going public because we feared others might conclude we are insane. Despite everything, the story still sounds too fantastic, to be honest.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°As for why we didn''t share, what would you have done with the knowledge other than ruminating further about things which had to be done anyway? You were already on the right course of action, so bringing this mess into the mix would have only raised unnecessary doubt. We thought that saying nothing till we have definitive proof or at least a few more witnesses is for the best. Even now we are inducting only you four instead of giving a proclamation in front of the council of elders.¡±


    ¡°You have a point about it sounding a little bit...¡± Sienna paused, searching for the right words.


    ¡°Out there,¡± she finally admitted with worry in her tone while she studied Thalia. ¡°Are you sure these dreams aren''t imagination?¡±


    Magnus raised his voice. ¡°That''s one possible explanation, if one of the lesser ones. The one I am currently leaning towards is that Gaia is at the very least the expression of a psychic ability. So far, the number of times she guided us in the right direction can''t be denied. Once, she even woke us up to protect us from something happening in the real world. Though, that took a lot of her power. And I mean, I would be a hypocrite if I denied the validity of the things she is teaching us about wormhole physics. And last but not least, she added Thalia and Mark to her roster of pupils.¡±


    ¡°That is all well and good, but I still think you can''t go public with this,¡± Etan exclaimed. ¡°The whole story is just too far-fetched without having any physical proof. I mean, there are these strange communication devices and other indirect evidence that something is wrong with the Thich, but nothing would point towards the involvement of the entity you describe. If you could at least show us something. You said she taught you about wormholes?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astra confirmed. ¡°Mainly because our electric mutation gives us the ability to make use of them. How else do you think our jaunt works?¡±


    ¡°Or this?¡± Magnus moved his hands with electric discharges sparking between them. A moment later a small spherical area in front of him warped like a mirror. He drew his belt knife and lightly threw it into the anomaly ¨C from which it emerged at the wrong angle! It was tossed vertically up into the air before it fell back down into the anomaly and was suddenly flung horizontally back into Magnus¡¯s hand.


    He stopped whatever he had done and the mirror sphere disappeared as if it had never been there.


    Everyone just stared at the spot which had seemingly decided to abandon the rules of reality before I cleared my throat, remembering something. ¡°Maybe we should just proceed under the assumption that everything is as indicated. Don''t you find it strange that the Church of Gaia is named after Gaia? If I am to believe this, then this can''t be a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Gaia said that there was a person similar to us a long time ago. He could remember his dreams partly, but he wasn''t lucid while dreaming. She said he founded the church on Gaia''s principles,¡± Thalia explained.


    ¡°Yes, I remember now.¡± I tapped my chin. ¡°There was something like it in the church''s earliest texts. I always found them a little ill-fitting compared with the rest of their doctrine. The church preaches the principles of enlightenment of the mind and logic, but basing their whole institution on dreams of a goddess sounded a little bit too mystical for me. I always thought they might have kept to it for the sake of their more mystically inclined followers.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I also remember reading it!¡± Richard clapped his hands together. ¡°I liked the part where their first priest went to sleep for a hundred nights and wrote down their holy texts each following day. If they are to be believed, they never changed them afterwards.¡±


    Sienna looked at her partner with a tilted head while Etan regarded me with furrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°You read such stuff?¡± Etan asked me. ¡°I thought you were an atheist like me.¡±


    I cleared my throat. ¡°One can be an atheist and still educate herself on the main religion spanning all the big clans. Wouldn''t hurt you to know what motivates a sizeable part of Tirnanog''s population!¡±


    He looked away, appearing embarrassed.


    ¡°Does that mean the church would be on our side if we claim to have a direct wire to their goddess?¡± Magnus asked.


    I groaned. ¡°Hold your molerats! Just because this Gaia entity might have jump-started a religion doesn''t mean its followers would be okay with her direct intervention! This Gaia could be significantly different from what the church''s followers might imagine her to be. The church also seldom mentions any god or goddess in a sermon. They encourage using your own mind on matters of morals. It might cause a religious conflict and we can''t have that right now!¡±


    ¡°So how about we talk to elders Casey and Hayne first? The fifth strata is as closely intertwined with the affairs of the church as it is possible without them being considered just an extension of the church. If anyone could tell us what the head of the church might do in response to this revelation, then it is them,¡± Sienna suggested.


    ¡°Or we simply wait for more apostles to appear,¡± Magnus said while ominously playing with his fingers like some evil mastermind.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Etan asked, looking worried.


    Thalia shrugged. ¡°We might have nudged Gurney a little bit to suggest mutation combinations which favour a connection to Gaia. So we get more witnesses.¡±


    Etan covered his face with both hands. ¡°Of course they did.¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°And it¡¯s not like you could have waited with this until after speaking with us?¡±


    Magnus raised both hands. ¡°Hey, it is not like this will take immediate effect. Or is even guaranteed to produce more people with this ability.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, deciding there was no point in complaining about a done deed right now. ¡°In this light, informing the Ortegas might be the best choice of action. They wouldn''t be happy if they learned we knew about this long in advance once people who claim to have contact with Gaia start popping up left and right.¡±


    ¡°They have also been firmly on our side of this conflict since the beginning,¡± Richard pointed out. ¡°Approaching them with this matter might be less risky than we think. I wouldn¡¯t dare bring this up with the Smyths or the Torres for example. They would freak out and begin questioning everything.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°They do that with everything, especially Gwen and Trent. Those two are paranoid. How about we first evaluate which elders should know about this conspiracy? Then we can make plans on how to deal with this alien threat.¡±

 Ch 140 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, The Old Camp, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°The Thich and their allies are still holding the highlands, but we have successfully driven their forces out of Jeng¡¯s Forest. Our scouts have identified several fortified settlements in the highland region which were formerly held by smaller clans. They are now being used as launching points for raiding parties by Thich and Vier forces,¡± Vanya explained while pointing out several red markers on a huge map.


    It depicted the entire region colonized by the clans and spanned from the southeastern oceanic shore to the northern Aerie mountain range. A branch of Jeng¡¯s forest reached out to the Old Camp in the centre, splitting the region by providing a natural barrier. To the south-east lay Thich¡¯s highlands and the east was controlled by Vier¡¯s grasslands, coming to a full circle by once again bordering the ocean.


    ¡°Of all these outposts, the one I deem the most problematic is directly across the swamp region which separated the Old Camp from Vier territory. It was a former clan settlement from a group called the Ingkar. We have no clue what happened to the former owners, but our scouts reported the Vier were massing their troops there. The problem we have is that the Ingkar dug their settlement deep into a rocky hillside,¡± Vanya scratched her temple and frowned while studying the map. ¡°We cannot advance into the highlands without taking this fortress. The forces there would not only be a thorn in our backs, but they would also be within striking range of the Old Camp.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the Old Camp be safe now that it is held by Ancient Balthasar?¡± Elder Juliana asked. ¡°By listening to Mary it sounded like he could take on a small army by himself.¡±


    Vanya tilted her head from side to side, showing she was on the fence with this line of thinking. ¡°Balthasar has amiable ties with Ancient Nisha. She might respect his wishes to stay out of this conflict. However, Thich and Vier have already shown the lengths they are willing to go to achieve their goals and we don¡¯t have any assurances on what Zacharias might do. If we move out with our troops, I am afraid retaking the Old Camp as a central staging point would be too tempting for the commander of that fortress. No matter what their orders may be. They might simply decide if Balthasar is not on their side, he has to be on ours. There is also the issue of how Balthasar¡¯s mutation works. He told me it would take some more time to establish his root network and regain his power. All considered, I would prefer the outpost to be gone before we move the bulk of our forces away from the Old Camp.¡±


    ¡°What about the other outposts?¡± another elder asked. ¡°Won¡¯t they pose the same problem?¡±


    ¡°They do to a degree,¡± Vanya admitted. ¡°But the difference is the distance to the Old Camp. Having to march for several weeks through unsecured territory is more of a deterrence than taking your chances with two or three nights in the open. Because of the close vicinity, I regard it much more likely for the Vier to take their chances. Also, the forces stationed there are large enough to pose a threat to the Old Camp should we move our troops away. I also don¡¯t want to split the fleet this early into the campaign. We have already left a sizeable part of our fighting forces to defend Jeng¡¯s mother tree. Or at least what remains of it.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I wish the flagship hadn¡¯t been delayed so much. It gave our enemies all the time they needed to fortify their positions.¡±


    While the others were talking, I had my eyes still on the map, allowing my sub-personalities to go wild. There wasn¡¯t much else to do while our big generals discussed their next steps.


    That¡¯s when one of my sub-personalities brought up a slightly insane idea to me.


    Grinning, I raised a hand and cleared my throat, drawing everyone¡¯s attention while pointing at the map. ¡°Say, this area is still part of the karst region with the regular rainstorms, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Ingkar Outpost***


    ***Sharada***


    I studied the worsening weather with a deep frown. Nothing was surprising about the daily rainstorm to go down in the evening. At this time of the year bad weather was to be expected, but today the slowly building clouds were rising dark and high above the region, promising a true thunderstorm. A good sensor like myself could tell it would be a bad night for any poor soldier on watch duty. The humidity level in the air and the heat were already foretelling enough, but something also made the small hairs on my forearm tingle.


    I wasn¡¯t certain whether my precognition was warning me of things to come or whether it was just the static charge building in the atmosphere.


    Nonetheless, there would be a thunderstorm tonight. I could practically taste it in the air.


    Huffing, I readied myself for a bad shift. Those clouds unexpectedly dispersing was probably too much to hope for.


    Much like I feared, the weather continued to worsen till the late evening when the twilight hour began. The sound of rolling thunder had been building up as the dome of dark clouds drew closer to the outpost. There were some lightning flashes in the upper layers, but I had yet to see any lightning strikes hit the ground.


    The weather front¡¯s arrival was accompanied by a lightning bolt discharging into the top of the settlement, igniting a lone banner which had been fluttering in the wind.


    Blinking and covering my ears, I tried to regain my senses as quickly as possible. The lightning had destroyed my night-sight since I had looked directly into it and the thunder messed up my hearing. At times like these, I hated to be a sensor. Having better eyesight and hearing than anyone else was good and all, but it also made me a lot more sensitive to light and noise.


    Already seeing it would only get worse, I was of half a mind to retreat underground, but procedures demanded for the watch to be kept during the day with utter vigilance and I wasn¡¯t scheduled to be relieved till nightfall.


    Well, one could argue that with rain clouds so dark they hid the sun ¨C it was already technically night. Under these conditions, there were without a doubt some critters who decided to come out early to snack on a half-blinded, half-deaf human.


    My thoughts were interrupted by another lightning strike hitting the roof of a nearby building, followed by a third one impacting the grounded airship which was supposed to serve as an emergency carrier, should the upper brass decide it was time to flee while leaving the grunts behind. They had already done that with the troops guarding the Old Camp and rumours made the rounds despite the commanders trying to suppress the information. But it was impossible to keep soldiers from talking when they witnessed others being left behind to delay the enemy.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Granted, most of the ones who had been forsaken were those from other clans who had been pressed into service, but it still left a bitter taste in many mouths.


    I was still caught in my thoughts when all hell broke loose as the lightning strikes which were previously just an ominous rolling rumble in the upper cloud layers began raining down on the outpost in a continuous set of strikes.


    As if guided by an intelligent force, repeated strikes obliterated the airship¡¯s rear propellers. Hell, at this point I was still inclined to believe in some fluke of nature. Like the airship¡¯s superstructure providing a convenient place for some weather phenomena to discharge its immense power.


    All that went out the window when one of the nearby watchtowers was struck next and all I could see was the dark silhouette of a fellow watchman twitching on the parapet before falling still. And worse, the lighting wasn¡¯t just a single strike, but a continuous flickering snake which wandered over the entire structure. As I watched the watchtower¡¯s roof was peeled away as if it were nothing but paper.


    Judging by the tower I was stationed on, I knew for certain it had to be a very sturdy roof capable of withstanding most flying critters who wished to snack on a poor human.


    The structure being torn apart in this manner was a telltale sign of the unleashed power.


    That¡¯s when I noticed the two flickering lights in the clouds above. They danced around each other like opposing poles, seemingly guiding the storm clouds moving around them like a cyclone. As the charge built up again, I imagined seeing two people, but it was hard to tell because of the dark cloud.


    Realizing the first initial onslaught of lighting was just the prelude for more to come, I took a hesitant step backwards, wondering what the next target would be. Judging by the fact that one watchtower had already been felled, I was prepared when my precognition turned the skin on the back of my neck into a tingling mess.


    Eyes wide with terror, I threw myself into the nearby doorway leading into the interior of my tower. There was barely enough time to tumble down the first stairway to the lower floor before the world outside turned white and my poor ears exploded from the following thunderclap.


    The upper floor was torn apart above me even as I kept more tumbling than running down the stairway with my ears ringing.


    Taking quick looks out of the tower¡¯s narrow windows as I passed, I watched with increasing horror as the elements themselves seemed to have taken a dislike to my people as lightning strike after lightning strike came down on the settlement in an honest attempt at wiping Ingkar from existence.


    Whatever was stationed at the settlement¡¯s surface was successively destroyed by the lightning storm which seemed to increase in power as time passed.


    Upon reaching the watchtower¡¯s base, I didn¡¯t entertain a single thought of taking my chances outside. I went directly into the underground tunnel system which connected most of the surface structures the Ingkar had built to keep track of their surroundings.


    The last thing I saw before entering the tunnel was a ball of plasma dancing outside the watchtower in eerie erratic movements.


    That¡¯s when I was certain that there was no strange weather phenomenon at play here. Even if it sounded ludicrous, fantastic even, someone was messing with the weather! Had to! Or else I had to believe that the goddess herself had intervened to punish the Vier.


    ***Tirnanog, Ingkar Outpost***


    ***Astra***


    I landed hand-in-hand with Magnus on top of the remains of the superstructure which had served as a hangar for the handful of airships stationed at the outpost.


    It had taken us the better part of the day to nudge the weather system in the right direction. To say we controlled the thunderstorm was stretching it. We weren¡¯t on that level of power, so we had to make do with what was already there by nature. And there was indeed a lot of power within a storm front if one could draw it all together in one spot.


    The Vier¡¯s surface presence had been obliterated, forcing them to retreat underground and leave it to a combined force from Aerie, Hochberg and Jeng to take easy control of the surface and lay siege to the outpost. With the defenders being forced underground it was just a matter of time till we managed to root them out.


    The only question was whether they had some secret exit which would allow them to mount a sally and try to break the siege.


    ¡°I am completely tapped out,¡± Magnus commented. ¡°And I am drenched.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± I answered. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it worked.¡±


    Magnus grinned. ¡°There was never any doubt in my mind after our performance at the Mycelium.¡±


    ¡°Will you inform command of our status or should I?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I will do it,¡± Magnus said and began posting messages into the chat UI.


    We watched together as a group of Jeng paladins led the path into the outpost¡¯s underground facilities. As Jeng¡¯s version of Aerie¡¯s hunters, they were known as elite warriors and they still had a bone to pick with the Vier.


    Due to their specialization in defensive mutations like strong carapaces and the adverse conditions of tunnel systems like the hive-like setups within Jeng¡¯s giant trees, the paladins had been chosen to serve as a spear-point in this operation once the surface was secured.


    With a beat of leathery wings, Thalia and Mark landed next to us.


    ¡°Bro, you two rock!¡± Mark commented right away. ¡°We watched from like five kilometres away and I still thought increasing the safety distance some more might be prudent. Those guys down there who didn¡¯t book it into the tunnels had a bad time. You up for more?¡±


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°I may have one or two jaunts in me, but nothing more. My body is killing me.¡±


    I nodded, feeling the same. ¡°It seems like our muscle system isn¡¯t just taxed by creating an electrical charge, but holding and manipulating the power by creating an electrical field is also stressful. We have been gathering this storm since early morning, so I would prefer taking it easy from here.¡±


    ¡°No complaints,¡± Mark said. ¡°I prefer staying away from the frontline.¡±


    We stayed on standby, should the troops need our help, but nobody called for us till the operation came to an end. Seemed like the commanders preferred to avoid sending two exhausted strategic resources into an underground combat zone and instead drew on their pool of capable warriors to finish the fight.


    About an hour after the attack began, our airships descended from the sky, exactly timed with the last rays of sunlight. Once the area was declared safe, we joined the rest of the high brass in a hastily erected field tent which served to house the commanders of this operation.


    Moving the necessary troops within striking range had been a logistical nightmare, but it was well worth it. Our enemies had been caught completely off guard and if our theory was correct, the storm should have prevented any radio-based communication. In addition, the storm would have prevented the enemy¡¯s main fleet from steering in this direction.


    So any relief forces would likely be delayed for long enough to present our opponents with a done deal once they realized the trick we pulled on them. The question was whether we could double down on the strategic advantage of our strategy, or whether the Thich and Vier would realize what happened and pull out of all the outposts they set up along the edge of Jeng¡¯s forest.


    Another hour into the operation Ingkar was declared to be firmly in our hands, albeit with some horrid news.


    A runner had gotten us to inspect the despicable deed.


    Ingkar¡¯s former inhabitants had been found in what served as a waste and compost-dumping spot within their underground system. Or at least those who hadn¡¯t seemed useful or too expensive to transport to their conquerors who needed the facilities.


    So we stood in a stinking cavern filled with the bodies of those who seemed unsuitable for hard work or combat. It was a horrible necessity of war on Tirnanog, but the way the bodies looked made it unlikely a quick execution had taken place here.


    Fighting the reflex to puke, I had to leave the cavern soon after Magnus rushed outside.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Thalia asked. As someone from the ninth strata, she seemed a little more used to the ugliness of a mass grave. ¡°You aren¡¯t going into shock or something?¡±


    ¡°No, just a little sick and maybe a little out of it,¡± I answered, finding it hard to digest what I had seen. ¡°It looked like they got rid of anyone who wasn¡¯t of immediate use, no matter the¡­ age.¡±


    Thalia nodded. ¡°Good, then we should probably go and catch Magnus before he does something stupid.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I looked around, only now realizing that Magnus hadn¡¯t waited for us outside.


    Mark gestured with his hands. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear him ask whether the Geneva Convention applies on Tirnanog?¡±

 Ch 141 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Magnus, repeat after me: We will not stake prisoners of war. Especially not up their posterior or through any other orifice,¡± Astra scolded. ¡°We leave the choice of whether they will be executed to the people responsible for such decisions.¡±


    ¡°It was just a suggestion.¡± I looked away and crossed my arms. ¡°Look, I am not keen on torturing people to punish them, but those guys deserve it! Am I the only one who got upset at what we found in that basement!? Besides, is this any better?¡± I gestured at the row of bound prisoners who were hanging from their feet. The ropes holding them were attached to the airship flying next to ours as the fleet continued on to hit another outpost, aiming to utilize the element of surprise to its fullest.


    This time we wouldn¡¯t have the advantage of harnessing the lightning power of a storm, but command had decided that the now rolling counteroffensive would be best utilized by relying on our fleet¡¯s momentum rather than waiting days for another sufficiently strong storm front to form, thereby taking the risk of allowing the enemy to figure out what we did to take one of their most heavily defended outposts within a night.


    Thalia cleared her throat. ¡°Look, Magnus. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t understand. We feel the same way as you do, but believe me if I tell you this is the most effective way of executing our enemies.¡±


    I raised both eyebrows. ¡°By having them dangle from their feet? I would understand if the rope had gone around their neck, but hanging them upside down? I don¡¯t see any other reason to do this than for the dramatic effect. Psychological warfare?¡±


    Thalia let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Magnus, you just have to think of yourself. What would happen if someone tried to stake, hang, or poison you? And before you answer, let me cut this short. The first one would be very, very hard to do because of your physique. You would likely suffer for days before giving up the ghost. The second and third options simply wouldn¡¯t work. Furthermore, all these people have various mutations which make them very resilient in different ways. So hanging them upside down for a day or two is the most efficient execution method we have.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it,¡± I replied. ¡°Call it a lack of medical knowledge. How is that supposed to kill anyone?¡±


    ¡°The human circulatory system is not supposed to pump blood through an upside-down body. This way, the heart needs more effort to pump the blood and at some point the body simply fails. Normal humans die after a few hours of standing on their heads, in case you didn¡¯t know that. Add on top that mutations to the circulatory system are very rare and Tirnanog¡¯s increased gravity plays its role as an additional stress factor. It¡¯s not a pretty way to die, but it is way better than a failed attempt at being staked, beheaded or whatever other means you might want to employ.¡±


    Still frowning, I shook my head. ¡°I admit this is the first time hearing of death by headstand.¡±


    ¡°Well.¡± Thalia shrugged. ¡°I suppose having someone die in this manner would be extremely rare if it was not caused intentionally.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we busy ourselves with more important problems?¡± Astra asked and linked arms with me, pulling me away from the scene of people dangling off the bow of an airship. The idea was that even should they manage to free themselves, they would fall to their deaths. According to Astra, it was a fairly common method of dealing with enemies who couldn¡¯t be imprisoned indefinitely.


    And if they were lucky, some flying critter would snatch them during the night.


    Personally, I still thought that if the Aerie had been truly concerned about giving their enemies an easy end, death by decapitation would have been the best solution. This was without doubt psychological warfare combined with quite a bit of malice.


    ***Tirnanog, Vier Main Battlegroup***


    ***Nisha Dawson***


    ¡°It is better to retreat and preserve our forces for the time being,¡± Zach-1 said before leaning back in his chair like some great general.


    In my mind, Zacharias was having a little bit too much fun with playing his overlord role. Considering what we were facing, I had been forced to give his various clones a bit more power over my troops than I liked. Alas, he was uniquely qualified to command our combined forces.


    Which didn¡¯t mean I had to put up with this latest idea of his. I slowly turned and glared at Zach-1 with narrowed eyes. ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    My eyes roamed to the two other clones of the man who I dubbed Zach-2 and Zach-3. All three of Zacharias¡¯ bodies looked the same, but their clothes were different. While Zach-1 was clad in a gaudy suit, Zach-2 was wearing a general¡¯s outfit and Zach-3 was geared and armoured for battle. Zach-2 was currently busy at the planning table with some of our generals and Zach-3 looked very busy discussing something with the captain who commanded the flagship of our combined forces.


    Seeing so many Zachs in one spot was highly uncommon. Normally, Zacharias preferred to scatter his various clones to as many places as possible. While he was a powerful fighter, gifted with physical abilities rivalling the powers of the other ancients, his suit of abilities was not geared towards a direct confrontation.


    Even if all of his bodies were in one place, he was no match for a powerhouse like Mary who could go nuclear and melt her way through anything in her path. Or Balthasar, who commanded entire landscapes at his fingertips given enough time to spread his roots.


    When Gurney designed our powers, he was very careful not to give anyone the ability to overcome everything in their path. While Mary and Balthasar seemed more powerful than the rest of us, they were just that. Balthasar was a fortress without the ability to move. Mary was a battering ram without finesse.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I was the spy and Zacharias was a manager before everything else.


    Having the ability to command several bodies at once while possessing only one mind allowed him to be the ultimate coordinator and commander. Be it an army or a nation, Zacharias seemed tailor made to be the one in charge ¨C if it had not been for his personality.


    Maybe I should correct myself on that. Zacharias was not intended to be in charge, but to perform as the ultimate relay for someone smarter than himself ¨C Greta.


    The Zacharias I knew from the clan wars was a lot less sure of himself, questioning his decisions and allowing advisers to shape his decisions. We ancients had already fallen out with each other by then and had not truly worked together. But the old Zacharias was a lot different from the one I knew right now. Over the decades he had changed.


    This new Zacharias was adamant in his conviction to rule over all of Tirnanog ¨C be it for good or ill.


    Zach-1 nodded in a bored manner. ¡°I am inclined to allow our enemies to advance to Raider¡¯s valley. Let them deal with the threat there and see whether they give us an opening to make use of.¡±


    Raider¡¯s valley?


    I looked at the map for a few seconds, stunned, before I voiced my objections, ¡°And it would also allow them a lot of strategic freedom. While the fleet of airships your people managed to build up in secret is impressive and rivals Aerie¡¯s fleet, you seem to forget that our ships are still much slower than theirs!¡±


    The map showed the current known positions of our opponent¡¯s forces. Raider¡¯s Valley was located roughly between Thich¡¯s and Vier¡¯s central seats of power and a little bit further to the south.


    There was no problem with delaying a confrontation as long as we could keep the fleet in a suitable location to intercept Aerie¡¯s airships, but Zach''s suggestion was ludicrous! ¡°Where do you intend to position our fleet to lie in wait? Further north towards Vier or further south towards Thich? What if Aerie¡¯s commanders decide to make a run for either city? If they arrive just a little bit earlier than us they could do untold damage before we could stop them.¡±


    There was no way someone like Hochberg¡¯s matriarch wouldn¡¯t immediately recognize the chance if we presented it to her on a platter in such an obvious manner.


    Zach and I gathered most of our combat-capable forces within our united fleet, so I wasn¡¯t sure whether my people could put up sufficient resistance if Aerie¡¯s fleet showed up at their door. And I was pretty sure that with as much as Zacharias was fielding in this engagement, it didn¡¯t look any different for the Thich.


    Zach-1 shrugged. ¡°A necessary risk. If we face them in an open confrontation as we are, mutual annihilation would be the most likely outcome. I have faith in the power of our people and the superiority of the ideology I have engendered in them over the centuries. But our opponents are strong, both physically and mentally. I am not foolish enough to believe that Aerie and Hochberg are not willing to pay any price in blood at this point if it should be necessary to stop us.¡±


    He shook his head and looked at the ceiling. ¡°Both clans faced their own trials and their societies emerged all the stronger for it. The Hochberg may be brutes as a whole, but their dedication to following their matriarch is admirable. It rankles me that I never found out how Greta managed to groom someone even more capable than herself. However, the ultimate outcome of the disciple replacing the teacher is not desirable from my point of view. And Aerie¡¯s caste system produces far more capable individuals than I like.¡±


    He gestured at the map. ¡°The clan war lies just a few decades behind us and they have rebuilt their fleet to the point at which challenging them is a gamble. Had we given them another two or three decades of peace, they would be in a position to overthrow the great clans on their own. Even if my people stole the glow-moss they are using to lift their ships, we don¡¯t have the cave systems to grow as much of it as it is necessary to keep up with their production.¡±


    ¡°The Aerie aren¡¯t a true caste system,¡± I pointed out. As far as I knew, anyone could freely switch between stratas as they wished. It was just extremely unlikely for them to do so once they had worked their way up the ranks. Aerie¡¯s stratas were more like monopolizing organisations working towards the survival of the whole.


    Zach-1 shrugged. ¡°Close enough. Why be hung up over the details.¡±


    I waited to see whether he was going to say anything else, but it looked like he was trying to avoid the issue. ¡°Zach? We are not going to allow the Aerie an opportunity to make a run for either of our capitals. That¡¯s completely out of the question!¡±


    It took two seconds, but Zach-1 eventually looked at me. ¡°Maybe we should discuss this matter away from prying ears.¡± He stood up and briskly walked out of the airship¡¯s bridge towards the open observation platform outside.


    Grinding my teeth, I followed on his heels, remembering the Aerie¡¯s words during my visit at Balthasar¡¯s. Just to be sure, I checked for the hidden dagger beneath my tunic, though I still couldn¡¯t believe Zacharias would pull something now. We planned this venture together, so both of us had put our desires for the future of this world onto the crucible of our dedication. Whether we liked it or not, we were in the same boat.


    Back in the day, we were the only ones among the ancients who advocated for unification after the clan war. To defy Earth¡¯s ambitions on Tirnanog, all of its people had to stand together. But we couldn¡¯t convince the others who were only concerned with putting an end to the fighting. Aerie, Hochberg, and Jeng were too focused on their internal affairs to see that it was only a question of time until Earth¡¯s authorities would try once more to take over.


    Zach-1 stepped out onto the observation platform and turned towards me.


    I stiffened slightly when he reached into his jacket, but Zacharias only revealed one of the items we had commandeered from one of Earth¡¯s old weapon stashes. Why one of their scientists had revealed its location was still a mystery to me, but it had allowed us to move our timetable much further forward.


    Zach activated the sound canceller and threw the two discs against the airship¡¯s hull next to the hatch where they attached themselves magnetically. As soon as they activated my ears popped as the sound of the blowing wind around us was suddenly dampened. It was disorienting, but necessary if Zacharias had to tell me something in secret.


    I turned my attention away from the sound cancellers and looked at Zacharias. ¡°So?¡±


    Zach-1 turned his back to me and looked over the observation platform¡¯s railing, studying the ground beneath. ¡°Are you aware that there is a lot more on the line than the fate of the clans? If the Aerie decide to turn their fleet against Vier, we would have to welcome it. It would give us the time we need to accomplish our goal.¡±


    My eyes widened slightly at this outrageous claim. ¡°What the heck are you talking about, Zach!? There¡¯s no way I will allow you to sacrifice my people for whatever plan you cooked up! Explain yourself right now.¡±


    ¡°Too bad.¡±


    Arms closed around me from behind and I realized too late that I had been had. The fucking sound canceller had prevented me from hearing the other Zachs following us onto the platform.


    I struggled, but one more Zach grabbed my legs and together they lifted me.


    ¡°What the hell! Zach, you are so dead!¡± I screamed. What was he doing? Was this a coup?


    ¡°I doubt that,¡± Zach-1 commented while two and three carried me over to the railing. He stepped back so his two clones would have an easier time.


    ¡°This won¡¯t kill me!¡± I called out while they tried to force me over. The ground was far beneath us, but I knew I could survive the fall even if I reached terminal velocity. ¡°What do you think you are doing!?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, it won¡¯t kill you,¡± Zach-1 said and shook his head. ¡°We go back way too far for me to kill you over something like this. And you still have a role to play later on. All I need right now is to have you out of the game for an hour or two.¡±


    Then, to my astonishment, Zach-2 and Zach-3 flung themselves over the railing, taking me with them.


    ¡°This is going to hurt!¡± Zach-2 called out.


    ¡°Tell me about it!¡± Zach-3 commented jovially before I managed to wriggle out of his grasp and sink my dagger into his left eye.

 Ch 142 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Vanya***


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why they are retreating,¡± Juliana said while running a finger over the map. She trailed it down the line of captured settlements which the Thich had used to create a defensive frontline of fortified positions. When each night brought out Tirnanog¡¯s monsters, having a secure base was paramount. Those settlements had been quite a bother, as they had been used as staging points for raids which delayed securing Jeng Forest.


    Now each settlement marked as abandoned after Thich and Vier had abandoned them practically overnight. It smelled like a trap, so Juliana forbade occupying them except for small skeleton crews.


    She shook her head. ¡°If they had made us fight for each of those, they could have delayed the fleet for months. Maybe even till the next winter. But they aren¡¯t even trying to set traps for us. Wouldn¡¯t it be much more beneficial if they had tried to take engagements in their favour?¡±


    ¡°If they had fought for each of them, they would have also paid a hefty price. Both in troops and morale as we would have taken one settlement after the other.¡± I kept playing with my Rubik¡¯s cube while I answered the question. ¡°They are preparing to gamble it all instead of risking a drawn-out war in a series of battles. Rather than making us wary of charging after their retreating forces, they want to lure us into an engagement on a larger scale. Also, there is no guarantee they would have held those positions all too long. Magnus and Astra are frighteningly powerful if they get the time to prepare. We should try to keep them away from the frontline. Losing such artillery class assets to a stupid brawl would be vexing.¡±


    Also, I preferred having them hanging out on the flagship. So far, they were the only ones who had proven resistance to Tirnanog¡¯s newest psychic threat, combined with the physical abilities to fight what we dubbed a psyling. We put countermeasures in place, but as long as they were untested, I preferred having the couple close to central command.


    Juliana turned to me. ¡°Why would a drawn-out conflict be the greater risk?¡±


    I looked up from my cube and tilted my head. ¡°Because you have me on your side. I don¡¯t want to sound stuck up, but as far as I know, our opponents don¡¯t have a single commander who could equal me.¡±


    Juliana raised a doubtful eyebrow, so I explained further. ¡°They have tried to turn the conflict into a positional war which would negate a lot of the strategic value I can bring to the table. Speedy decisions are not as important in a slow positional conflict as on a chaotic battlefield. Enough time to consider each of their moves can compensate for a lack of mental powers. Alas, we showed them that we have a way to break their entrenched positions, so they abandoned the strategy as a whole.¡±


    Nodding at my explanation, I returned my attention to the Rubik¡¯s cube. Greta had created it as a final test for me, so I wouldn¡¯t stop till I solved it ¨C and it wasn¡¯t like I would ever admit that the cube was a very relaxing fidget toy.


    ¡°Plus, Aerie¡¯s ships are faster than theirs. If we put it in terms of two fighters facing each other, both of us are of roughly equal power at this point. But we have the advantage in speed and technique. So what can Thich and Vier do to even the battlefield?¡±


    The elder¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°They will try to turn it into a brawl and hope they come out on top.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Correct. And if my profile of Zacharias¡¯s character is accurate, then this is what he will resort to. Though, we have to look out for the trap.¡±


    ¡°The trap?¡±


    ¡°Zacharias likes simple solutions, but if everything I read and heard about him is true, he always works with layers,¡± I said. ¡°Work with a partner, but position yourself to gain the advantage if something goes wrong. Offer the opponent the obvious solution to a problem, but ensure you can flip the table at any time. There are a lot of records detailing his exploits during the great clan war and studying the way he handled the conflict before, during, and especially after Earth was evicted from Tirnanog tells a lot about his character.¡±


    Suddenly, the cube clicked, and its elements fell apart, causing me to grin. The damned thing had taken so long to solve, I almost came to believe Greta had made it without a solution! I wanted to scream in delight and dance a little jig, but it wouldn¡¯t have been proper to behave so childishly in front of the elder.


    When I realized Juliana was still waiting, I cleared my throat embarrassedly while I tried to reassemble the mechanism. ¡°If we are correct and the reason for their retreat is that they are amassing their forces, then they will try to choose the battlefield and what we have to look out for is the trap. And possibly decide whether we want to spring it or not.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Why would we want to spring it?¡± Juliana asked.


    I debated for a second or two whether I should answer truthfully, but in the end, I decided to be frank. If I tried to influence the outcome of the elders'' decision, the chance of it falling back on me at a later date was not worth the prize.


    ¡°This is an assumption but...¡± I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts. ¡°We don¡¯t know what Thich¡¯s upper brass knows. But from the prisoner interrogations and captured intelligence reports at Ingkar, I believe it is highly likely that Thich believes the fleet you have here is all Aerie can muster. They have no clue you have yet another fleet still hunting in the mountains. Am I correct?¡±


    I observed the elder, wondering whether she would catch it.


    Juliana shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t mobilize those ships for at least another month until the drake territory is secured.¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± I asked. ¡°You have the ships. Whether you can mobilise them within a month or two is irrelevant to the coming confrontation.¡±


    She sighed and looked down at the map. ¡°You suggest if the Thich offer us to butt heads with them, we take the opportunity since we know we will get substantial reinforcements later on. If we wait, we might end up in a situation in which we have to chase them down ¨C which can take a lot of time.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°They certainly won¡¯t confront us if their chances of winning are suddenly reduced to zero after our fleet doubles in size. We could chase them down, given that your ships are slightly faster. Whether it is feasible to do so is best answered by your people.¡±


    Juliana massaged her forehead. ¡°I will have to talk with Skye and the Halls. The problem is that the statement of our ships being faster might be true on average, but it can¡¯t be said for the whole fleet. The airships with the smaller frames would easily catch up to their fastest ships, but the larger designs are just as slow as Thich¡¯s vessels. If we chase them, the fleet would have to split.¡±


    ¡°Which would be one of the opportunities they are assuredly looking for,¡± I added.


    ¡°What if they have something up their sleeves?¡± Juliana asked. ¡°It¡¯s not said that we are the only ones with potential reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°Not impossible, but unlikely,¡± I replied calmly. ¡°We have studied the wrecks of their airships and they employ the same glowmoss you are using to create lift. I have checked the maps of the region surrounding Thich¡¯s capital and talked to Elder Smyth. Glowmoss grows only in dark environments. If they haven¡¯t discovered a previously unknown cave system equalling Mount Aerie¡¯s, then the fleet we see is most of what they have. They might have more combatants hidden away. It¡¯s even likely, given they have been preparing for this. But if we manage to cripple their transport capabilities this war is as good as over. If not this year, then next one for sure.¡±


    Juliana snorted. ¡°You have to forgive me if I am still not keen on sacrificing so many lives just to stick it to the Thich. If we win the war just for the survivors to be eaten by Tirnanog¡¯s wildlife, we still lose.¡±


    ¡°I agree. I just thought it had to be pointed out. The opportunity is there. And who knows how many people we might lose if we pussyfoot around? Our current attrition rate is acceptable, not counting the initial clash at Jeng¡¯s Mother Tree. We can fight on like this for another year. Maybe two. If the conflict lasts longer, taking the confrontation right now might be the better choice.¡±


    Juliana shook her head. ¡°I would still have to talk with the other elders. All of them. Losing most of our current troops would be a disaster. Mount Aerie isn¡¯t as safe as it might seem, though the influx of Jeng refugees helps with manpower.¡±


    I stopped fiddling with the parts of my cube. ¡°Ah, I think you misunderstood me. We would not try to fight this out to the last warrior. Well, Thich and Vier would likely try to do so, but our goal would be different from theirs. Our goal would be to incapacitate or damage their ships while preserving as much manpower as possible. It would be your job to figure out how to achieve that in the best way. If most of their fleet is grounded once your reinforcements arrive, their fighting troops might as well be starfish ripe for the taking.¡±


    Juliana drummed the table with her fingers while she thought over my words. ¡°I will have to talk with the others, but if our priority is only to take out their airships, then it might be possible without too much loss of personnel. Nonetheless, we will have to pay a high price.¡±


    I blinked, wondering whether I had overlooked something. She sounded like there was a way to do this. Though, I had to admit I wasn¡¯t well-versed in running one of Aerie¡¯s airships. ¡°I would have to leave the details of how we engage the enemy to you. Even though I tried to educate myself on the topic, I am not one of your captains.¡±


    The elder nodded. ¡°What about their special assassins, the psylings? Any hint of more of them?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Not right now. But there is news from the Caravaners. It looks like they finally managed to drum together most of their families. The Northroutes are firmly on our side, as well as the Easttrails.¡±


    Juliana nodded. ¡°Not surprising. They are the ones handling trade between Aerie, Hochberg, and Jeng. What about the others?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°It looks like their much-vaunted unity was a little overhyped. The Coastliners who handled trade between Jeng and Vier are refusing to cooperate, claiming neutrality. And the Southikes didn¡¯t show up at their meeting. Not even a representative.¡±


    Juliana snorted. ¡°Not surprising at all, if you ask me. The Southikes would get a lot of heat since it would have been their responsibility to inform the other great clans about what went on between Vier and Thich! With the war going on, there¡¯s no way they would be able to ditch us a story of how they never realized what was happening at Thich.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so. The Southikes and Coastliners are to be seen as thoroughly corrupted if you ask me. There is no other explanation for why they kept mum. I have yet to hear about what the Northroutes and the Easttrails are going to do in regards to their brethren, but I heard Seekers Holly and Luka mention a purge.¡±


    ¡°Not surprising, given their failure at upholding the treaty,¡± the elder commented. ¡°The Caravaners were always considered equal to one of the great clans. With this, they have lost much of their credibility. It¡¯s as if our stratas had suddenly started infighting.¡±

 Ch 143 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°What are you doing here? The fleet is about to go into battle!¡±


    ¡°There he goes again,¡± Ivonne stopped and turned to face me as if she and Hector hadn¡¯t just tried to avoid me by dodging around a corner. ¡°We should have stayed in our quarters till it started, Hector.¡±


    So I was right! They tried to avoid me!


    ¡°I told you it wasn¡¯t smart to insist on taking part in this campaign,¡± Hector mumbled, more so to himself, than to Ivonne. ¡°Anywhere without the possibility of running into ¡®him¡¯ is preferable.¡±


    I ran towards the couple and glared at Hector for allowing my little sister to come here. ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you to keep her out of trouble? Didn¡¯t we agree you have to inform me about her plans through the UI? Why do I have to randomly encounter you on this corridor? What were you two up to?¡±


    Hector gulped and threw a sideways glance at Iv who crossed her arms and looked up at her partner, expecting him to say something.


    ¡°You have secret contact with my brother? To snitch on me?¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°What have you told him about our plans?¡±


    Hector looked like he had just been caught between a hammer and an anvil. He raised both hands in an appeasing gesture and stepped behind Ivonne. ¡°Look, I just want to stay out of this quarrel you two are having. I may be your partner, Iv, but that doesn¡¯t entitle me to get in between you and your brother. When siblings clash, the spouse gets a free card out of jail!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a quarrel!¡± I replied quickly. ¡°I entrusted you with the task of keeping my little sister away from the fighting. All you had to do was give a simple heads up she would try to join the war! What¡¯s so hard about a chat message through the UI? She would have never known.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to make such decisions for me, Magnus!¡± Iv countered before turning on her partner. ¡°And show a little more spine, Hector!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I have a spine,¡± Hector replied. ¡°But I also don¡¯t want unnecessary trouble. Now that I have a choice about it, I like not trying to fight with everyone and everything around me.¡±


    ¡°Your affairs become mine if you are not qualified to take part in military operations!¡± I retorted at Ivonne. ¡°The Frosts may have adopted you, but that doesn¡¯t entitle you to wield their authority.¡±


    Iv¡¯s expression turned smug. ¡°That¡¯s why Hector and I were training so hard for the past few months. We delved into the deepest parts of Aerie¡¯s cave system and optimized our mutations ¨C including a symbiont! We got tested and are now officially juggernaut classed! Just as you are.¡±


    She showed me her open palm and had some¡­ slime¡­ ooze out from beneath her skin. ¡°Meet Ozzy, it is a slime-mould which bonds with their host to enhance their physical and mental abilities! It¡¯s not sapient, but sentient. And it knows how to help based on our feelings.¡±


    I spared the wiggly thing on her palm a few moments of abhorring curiosity, wondering what other uses the glibber thing might have. But that was not important right now. Iv was trying to distract me with that new pet of hers.


    ¡°Hector!¡± I turned to my in-law, hoping that as a member of the thirteenth strata ¨C the people in charge of Aerie¡¯s legal system ¨C he would have something to say about this.


    He only shook his head. ¡°All according to protocol, I am afraid.¡±


    I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn¡¯t find a logical-sounding argument at the drop of a hat. If Ivonne had gone through the complete authorization process for joining this campaign, she was technically better certified than me, since I had allowed Astra¡¯s parents to remove some organisational hurdles I might have faced otherwise.


    Ivonne turned around. ¡°Why are you hiding behind me, Hector? It¡¯s just my brother. Don¡¯t you realize he won¡¯t do anything now that we are partnered? You should be the one standing up for me!¡±


    She kicked Hector¡¯s shin to no apparent effect.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe Magnus is messing around when it comes to you.¡± Hector was unimpressed and grabbed Iv¡¯s shoulders, turning her back around to use her as a shield against me.


    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°If I ever see you trying to use my sister as a shield against anyone else, I am going to test that juggernaut title of yours by throwing you off this ship!¡±


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Stop threatening my partner, Magnus,¡± Ivonne said while getting up in my face, or at least trying to do so. She was a few centimetres too short to not make it look hilarious. ¡°I am going to search for Evanne! And there is nothing you can do to stop me since I have all the necessary credentials to take part in this operation.¡±


    I blinked down at her while pressing my lips together, doing my best not to let something unfortunate slip. Astra and the others had advised me to let go of trying to protect Ivonne from herself, so I did my best not to comment on anything she got up to since partnering up with Hector. I even approved of her relationship.


    In hindsight, that might have been a mistake. Making him disappear now was a little too late.


    Hector pointed at me. ¡°That¡¯s the expression! Did you see it? When the corner of the left eye twitches like that. He¡¯s considering killing me! It was the same when he tried choking me to death.¡±


    Did he get some psychic abilities or was Hector just becoming too familiar with me?


    Ivonne slapped Hector¡¯s hand aside. ¡°Astra ended that incident way before you were in any danger of dying. You are becoming paranoid again. My brother won¡¯t hurt you. He even approved of our relationship!¡±


    I quickly mimed cutting off Hector¡¯s little finger for allowing Iv to come here. When he saw that, his eyes widened, but I quickly put my hands back down when Iv turned her attention back to me. Thanks to my speed, she hadn¡¯t seen anything.


    Just how could I get my sister to stay out of this battle? Despite how it grated on my sense of responsibility for what happened to my sisters, I had to come to terms with Ivonne¡¯s personality. If told not to do something stupid, Ivonne was the type of person who would be all the more committed to doing it just out of spite.


    It was better not to say anything to not rile her up, but I had to say something or she would get herself killed for sure.


    By Gaia, this latest stunt of hers wasn¡¯t making it easy. And Hector would assuredly face some blowback for failing his mission!


    ¡°Iv, I haven¡¯t forgotten for a moment about Evanne,¡± I said once I was sure to keep my voice level. ¡°If there is anything I can do to save her, I will do it. I just don¡¯t think there is anything we can do right now. Taking part in this engagement provides almost zero chance of finding Eva while risking injury or death. Everyone I know is looking for her. And I plan to go and get her whether she likes it or not as soon as I see a chance to do it without running through Thich¡¯s capital and shouting her name.¡±


    ¡°I have no doubts you will try,¡± Iv replied while tilting her head. ¡°But can you even guarantee that you will recognize her should you happen to face her? You couldn¡¯t recognize me when we met after all those years.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Of course! She should look like you and be violet. I¡¯ve read the report you made for the Council of Elders.¡±


    Iv blinked and looked down at herself. ¡°Are you serious? I look a lot different from when we met. There¡¯s no guarantee for Evanne to stay the same.¡± Her expression darkened. ¡°With the war going on all the recruits were assuredly ¡®encouraged¡¯ to partner up. Do you have no other plans than to wait and see whether someone is going to find her, or her showing up by chance?¡±


    I pursed my lips in frustration.


    After hooking up with Hector, Ivonne had indeed lost most of her violet colouration in favour of a paler, much more ¡®human-ish¡¯ skin colour ¨C probably owed to Hector¡¯s previously ashen complexion. However, she and Hector were still somewhat violet. Her physique was also a lot sturdier than before and while I strongly believed her face hadn¡¯t changed much, I had to admit I wouldn¡¯t have recognized her from behind easily.


    Hector shook his head, showing he thought this argument was a lost cause. He had his hands in his pockets as if that would save his fingers.


    I gave up. ¡°What else are we supposed to do? Okay, since you obviously won¡¯t let this matter go, let¡¯s talk facts! I have thought a lot about what we should do if we find Eva. Are you aware that a high number of the commanding Thich we are fighting are mind-programmed fanatics? And by mind-programmed I mean some psychic on Thalia¡¯s or the Matriarch¡¯s level fucked with their brain! The matriarch tried to untwist one of them, but she says that¡¯s not something she will make a habit of. My greatest worry till now hasn¡¯t been how to find Eva, but what I might have to do should I find her. Ivonne, are you ready to defend yourself from Evanne with possibly lethal force if she decides to kill you? Or will you run up to her and get shanked because our enemies put a kill order into her mind?¡±


    ¡°Eva would never¡­¡± Ivonne shook her head. ¡°How would they even know to do such a thing? Neither Evanne nor I were anywhere important enough to justify the effort.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know how, but I do know that the Thich leader, Zacharias, knew me by name. And he knew they had my sisters among their ranks. I suppose the assassins who tried to kill me back at Aerie identified me and Earth somehow reasoned out why I came to Tirnanog. Then they warned the Thich.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°Zacharias tried to threaten me back at the battle for Jeng¡¯s Mother Tree. Though, it turned out he was just fucking around because he could. When we fought, neither Astra nor I could touch the guy.¡±


    Ivonne looked at the floor. ¡°I will keep what you said in mind, but I will not give up on Evanne. If I have to, I will club her over the head and drag her out of whatever mess she is in.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow in surprise and debated whether I should say more, but there was probably no point in doing so. I honestly hadn¡¯t expected Iv to come to such a conclusion. Maybe assembling a group of the most powerful people I knew and raiding the Thich capital to abduct Evanne wasn¡¯t as whacko as it sounded. Of course, we would have to ask either Thalia or Vanya to undo whatever the Thich had done to Eva... and whoever she partnered up with had to be killed, obviously.


    Hmm, it was probably better not to voice that thought aloud since it definitely crossed a line ¨C maybe.


    Anyway, Iv was forewarned and that was all I could do at the moment.


    ¡°Just look out for yourself,¡± I said after a moment of hesitation. ¡°I was ordered to stay on the bridge with Astra. If you need anything, you can find us there.¡±


    Ivonne nodded. ¡°Hector and I are stationed at the drake hangar.¡±


    She turned and walked away, gesturing for Hector to follow her.


    Her partner was a little bit slower, so I made sure he knew what was to come by pointing at Iv and mimicking the good-old loose thumb some people liked to play on children. If he failed his duties and Iv got hurt, there would be hell to pay.


    I think I never saw someone running almost as fast as I could.

 Ch 144 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°What managed to get that sour expression onto your face?¡± Astra asked as soon as I entered the bridge and made my way over to her. She was standing with her parents and other elders at one of the planning tables, where they were briefed on the situation.


    One table further I found the matriarch with her entire entourage of trusted people. Jeng¡¯s leadership was also present and as the icing on the cake, I recognized some Caravaners like Seeker Holly and Luka mixed in among the crowd. On a second glance, I also found Gunnar and Jakob as representatives of the Organisation among them.


    It seemed like everyone who had something to say was present.


    ¡°Nothing much,¡± I replied once I returned my attention to Astra. ¡°Just met Ivonne and Hector on the way here. They managed to join the club, so to speak. I just hope Iv doesn¡¯t get herself killed.¡±


    Astra clicked her tongue. ¡°I imagine you didn¡¯t like that. Did you blow up in front of her?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I grumbled.


    Astra looked briefly surprised before she smiled and unexpectedly hugged me. ¡°I am so proud of you! Normally, I would have expected you to rip off Hector¡¯s head for allowing your sister anywhere close to the conflict.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, alright, alright!¡± I quickly tried to wrangle her off of me. Not that I disliked being hugged by Astra, but I felt uncomfortable with such a display right in front of so many high-ranking people.


    Etan turned away from where he was talking with Mary. ¡°I am not a fan of Iv¡¯s pursuits, but she hopped through all the hoops. Keeping her at Mount Aerie would have been high-handed of us. Especially after she managed to get Hector on board with her search for her sister. At the very least I tasked them with protecting the Drake hangar. It should be one of the safest spots on the ship aside from the bridge.¡±


    He hesitated for a moment. ¡°And nothing against your sister. We have adopted her which was a big extension of trust, so I prefer she stays far away from any Thich military. You have already proven yourself more than enough, but the girl is untested. I don¡¯t want there to be even the possibility of collaboration with the enemy. Mere suspicion or not. It doesn¡¯t matter that Thalia vetted her.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I raised a hand, palm out, to stop him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything more. I understand.¡±


    Etan nodded.


    There wasn¡¯t much more to say, so I turned to the map. ¡°Do we already know how this will be going down? I heard fairly little about how this fleet engagement will be handled.¡±


    Except for the initial engagement at Jeng, I had been out cold for most of the airship battle thanks to a certain ancient.


    Teresa shrugged. ¡°I am afraid there is not much to tell. We have just received news from the scouting units. The Thich and Vier are not moving, and are massing their units above Raider¡¯s valley. Everyone believes they are preparing a final battle with the intention to duke it out no matter the cost.¡±


    I winced and replied in a questioning tone, ¡°I hope we are not going to take them up on that. I am not certain how we match up to them, but the casualty rate would be horrific in my estimation.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like I cared about sacrificing a certain number of people for the greater good. I had given my blessing on such decisions in the past, but the clans had to survive the aftermath.


    ¡°Skye, Juliana, and the Matriarch worked out a plan,¡± Etan assured me. ¡°At least they are giving out envelopes with orders for everyone. Orders are not to be opened until contact with the enemy is imminent. They want to keep the plan as secret as possible because they are still afraid of more psylings hiding among our ranks.¡±


    ¡°Though current orders say that, should anything come through the UI chat, those orders overrule everything else,¡± Teresa added. ¡°Be sure to monitor the central command chat. Only the two highest ranking individuals from each Clan should be allowed to post messages.¡±


    ¡°Which are?¡± I asked.


    Teresa looked over to the other table. ¡°It¡¯s the elders Juliana and Skye for Aerie. Matriarch Vanya and her right hand Tianna for Hochberg. Jeng is represented by Ancient Felix and Paladin Ahmad Gentry. The Caravaners and your Organisation are pure support, so they abstained from having a command role.¡±


    ¡°The two of us are to stay here as long as we get no other orders,¡± Astra informed me. ¡°I have already talked to the Skyes.¡±


    I gestured with my chin at the map. ¡°Do we already know why the enemy chose this Raider¡¯s valley as the battleground?¡±


    Etan scratched his chin. ¡°Historically, Raider¡¯s Valley belonged to a group who called themselves Raiders. They never had the manpower to be counted among the great clans, but one couldn¡¯t just walk up to them and make demands either. They claimed this region for a few decades and demanded ¡®taxes¡¯ from the Caravaners who commuted through their territory. Everyone who didn¡¯t pay had to expect raids, hence Raiders. They got bolder and bolder over time, increasing their demands. At some point, the Caravaners peddling between Thich and Vier refused to pay and one of their groups disappeared. Suffice it to say, the Raiders didn¡¯t just piss off the Caravaners with that move, but also the Vier and the Thich who relied on the trading route.¡±


    ¡°So I assume the two big clans dealt with the problem?¡± I concluded.


    Etan nodded. ¡°Permanently, as far as I am aware. The valley was since inhabited by one group or the other of dubious background and morality. Not that the scraggy wasteland out here allows people anything but to fight for survival by taking every opportunity presenting itself. Anyway, the settlers out here never again reached the manpower to consider threatening a caravan. I would be wary of whatever is in that valley now. The Caravaner¡¯s situation is proof that Thich and Vier managed to create a complete information embargo on everything beyond the Jeng-Vier trade route. It might have been years since we got reliable news, so I would presume we know nothing about the current situation. All we can do is decide on the spot as soon as we get a picture of what¡¯s in that valley. Our scouts couldn¡¯t get close enough because the enemy¡¯s fleet is hovering right above the area.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The others had a few more tidbits to share, but it was nothing of great import. Ultimately, all I could do at the moment was to lean back and let the airship crews do their work while watching information trickling in.


    It wasn¡¯t like we had a real-time visual of the battlefield. The closest thing was a table with a big map of the region and several wooden figurines representing various scouts and fleet units. From time to time we would receive a scouting report over the UI or even directly from one of the flagship¡¯s lookouts. Then a piece would be moved to a new position.


    I only began to question what our leadership was doing when it looked like the main bodies of both fleets were about to collide, though I was assured it only looked this way because of the map¡¯s scale.


    It was then, that Skye Rumen gave a new command over the UI chat, ordering all vessels to drop ballast and rise at maximum speed, seeking the height advantage over the enemy¡¯s vessels. At the same time, all unnecessary crew was ordered to evacuate over to the troop transports. It was a highly complicated move to pull off on the fly, but Skye seemed sure his people could make it within twenty minutes. Which meant the dedicated warships with guns would be left with nothing but skeleton crews.


    ¡°What are they up to?¡± I questioned while another report came in and one of the adjutants who was in charge of keeping the map updated adjusted the height of our opponent¡¯s vessels who tried to engage our fleet.


    But it looked like they wouldn¡¯t catch us. Skye¡¯s order to drop ballast had ensured Aerie¡¯s airships would overshoot the enemy with a big safety margin.


    ¡°He is testing whether the Thich are willing to drop ballast to force the engagement,¡± Etan explained while my ears began to pop due to the rapid change in elevation. ¡°If they do, he will abort the attack run and have the fleet fly a loop. Then we will repeat the manoeuvre. In an airship battle, the fleet with the higher elevation has a big advantage because they can drop ammunition. On the other hand, dropping ballast or unhooking one of the buoyancy tanks is something which can¡¯t be done repeatedly because the airship will end up too light or too heavy. The one who spends these resources more carefully will end up gaining the upper hand if they can survive for long enough. An airship which can no longer change its elevation is a sitting duck.¡±


    As it turned out, the Thich were not willing to drop ballast, though they tried their best to move out from beneath our fleet while firebombs were dropped to set their airships aflame. According to the reports, we got some good hits but nothing which could be called decisive.


    The Thich nonetheless also steadily gained height as they tried to counter our advantage while using up fewer resources.


    This first engagement was very anticlimactic, especially because we had to wait for twenty minutes afterwards to give the fleet time to fly a spiralling u-turn.


    On the second run, Skye ordered to unhook buoyancy tanks and hold fire till hits would be guaranteed. Primary targets would not be the airships as a whole, but propulsion systems. The troop transports were to split off from the main fleet and avoid contact with the enemy.


    The goal was to drop our fleet through theirs at an angle, allowing our ships to drop firebombs while doing maximum damage without allowing the Thich to do the same to us. It sounded all well and nice in theory, but I nonetheless imagined colliding airships and burning debris falling from the sky.


    ¡°While collisions are a possibility, they are extremely unlikely unless our enemies aim for it,¡± Teresa explained. ¡°The ships are spaced out more than enough for both fleets to pass through one another without significant collisions.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s considered significant?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Oh, between five and ten per cent,¡± Skye replied jovially.


    ¡°That sounds pretty high if you ask me.¡± I mean, ten per cent meant there was a one in ten chance for collision!


    ¡°Just because two airships collide doesn¡¯t mean they go down,¡± Astra assured me. ¡°Airships from Earth might go down if a significant part of their balloon was damaged, but even back then they compartmentalized their gas. Our ships rely entirely on buoyancy tanks filled with glowmoss. So unless you destroy the entire tank or rip it out, nothing much will happen. From what I have read about the last war, collisions between airships left both vessels intact in most cases. Only in the most grievous of crashes, the ships had to be abandoned ¨C like an ammunition depot blowing up or some flammable cargo igniting. And even then, the reason for abandoning the ship was mostly because the buoyancy was affected beyond repair. So the airship could no longer be stopped from gaining or losing height.¡±


    Etan¡¯s explanation was interrupted when something hit the ship and caused the deck to shudder.


    ¡°They still have some of those rockets!¡± was the only explanation we got from one of the adjutants.


    I figured if the damage had been significant, they would have given a more detailed report. Thanks to the flagship¡¯s size and taking Etan¡¯s earlier explanation into account, a single hit wouldn¡¯t bring us down.


    Nonetheless, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how much damage the flagship could take before we had to give it up.


    When the airship shuddered a second time, Juliana Skye gave a surprising order.


    ¡°Magnus, one of the enemy¡¯s capital ships is trying to ram us. I need you to prevent that at all costs. Take out their engines!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± I asked. Days prior, I had been briefed by Skye Rumen on the possibility of getting such a task. He had taken two hours to explain how best to sabotage airships and what to look for. Including a detailed explanation of what we knew about Thich airship construction.


    ¡°They are Two o¡¯clock at a twenty-degree downward angle,¡± one of the adjutants informed me.


    Not wasting any time, I ran out onto the observation platform and flash-stepped off the flagship. From the outside, the battle looked a bit more intense than the relative calm on the flagship¡¯s command bridge suggested.


    Our drake riders and Thich¡¯s flying bat-things were out in great numbers and there were airships all around us, even if they were spaced out generously.


    I oriented myself and found a huge, square-shaped ship headed for us, flanked by four smaller support ships. Thich¡¯s box-like designs were distinctly different from Aerie¡¯s flattened oval shapes.


    Flash-stepping four more times while falling, I landed right on top of one of the ball-shaped flak cannon turrets belonging to one of the Thich support vessels. I had chosen the ship because it was flying the closest the capital ship.


    The cannoneer had a second of looking up to me in baffled surprise before I punched my fist through the sighting-window''s glass. This naturally forced him to close his eyes and raise his hands protectively. Grabbing his collar, I pulled him out and let go as soon as he began sliding down the side of the hull. For good measure, I gave him a kick to send him on his way. It happened so fast, he barely had time for a scream before he disappeared out of sight.


    He most certainly was not juggernaut classed or anywhere close to it. On the other hand, crewing equipment like a cannon with good hand to hand fighters would be stupid.


    ¡°Excuse me, I need that.¡±


    I swung myself into the seat and began pushing and pulling levers to find out what they were doing. It was all pretty intuitive and it took me maybe ten seconds to become comfortable with the machinery which reminded me of something I had seen in a museum about the second world war.


    The cannon had a very complex sight to aim with. The four sliders on it were thankfully not needed. My target was about six hundred metres away and I figured a few wasted shots wouldn¡¯t make any difference, so I pushed the device to the side.


    Drawing in a sharp breath, I used my filaments to protect my ears and pressed the trigger.


    The flak cannon began firing at a satisfying rate of two or three shots per second. My normal eyes couldn¡¯t see the projectiles, but my Second Sight had no trouble informing me that the ammunition dropped below where I was aiming.


    A small adjustment later, big holes began appearing in the engine compartments behind the capital ship¡¯s main propellers.


    I smiled and whistled a small tune while I counted to five in my head. Five seconds was kind of an arbitrary number, but I figured it would take at least eight seconds for some Thich gunner to rationalize why one of their ships was firing at them and take action.


    But five seconds of having free rein with this kind of weapon turned out to be more than enough to rip open most of the visible engine compartments. Especially at this distance!


    At five, I flash-stepped out through the crushed window and turned around while falling, only to see the support vessel¡¯s side erupt with explosions as another ship began scouring away its flak turrets.


    It had taken some quick-witted fellow only about six seconds to begin shooting at their comrades. Which meant I had cut it uncomfortably close.


    ¡°Okay, three seconds it is,¡± I promised myself as I chose my next target to repeat the game.

 Ch 145 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Vanya***


    ¡°I don''t think we should risk sending Magnus out there again,¡± Skye Rumen commented while we listened to the latest report. His concern for the man seemed genuine, if only for altruistic or self-serving reasons.


    The capital ship and the support vessels which managed to breach our formation hadn''t been destroyed, but Magnus''s interference caused them to begin shooting each other, destroying most of their engines. The capital ship was reported to have only one propeller engine remaining, meaning all they could do was fly circles, which took them out of the fight.


    Afterwards, incoming reports on the overall situation had gotten extremely chaotic. This was to be expected when two fleets with several hundred ships on each side more or less got into a frontal assault with each other. And while we had the unlocked UI which provided a compelling intelligence advantage, it was a far cry from a real-time digital map of the situation.


    When Skye suggested sending out Magnus, I was apprehensive at first, unsure of what a single juggernaut could do against five fully crewed airships. But as it turned out, my faulty judgement had once again been caused by a lack of information. Magnus didn''t have to fight the entire group of airships because his abilities made it easy to infiltrate and take over their weapons.


    Talking about weapons, the deck shook as another rocket impacted the flagship''s side, chipping away at the outer hull.


    ¡°Magnus has proven highly effective when it comes to messing with the enemy''s airships,¡± I pointed out, annoyed with the continuous damage we were receiving. ¡°Most normal speedsters can''t move around as if they could fly, so the enemy was unprepared.¡±


    If I had been in charge, I would have kept our flagship with the wormgate well away from the fight, but both Skye and Juliana argued that having the slow flagship alone and without support would make it too vulnerable if the enemy decided to charge ahead with a group of fast ships. They had a point, but I still wasn¡¯t completely convinced.


    When Skye planned the confrontation, he saw to it that the flagship would be as protected as possible at the centre of our formation.


    Allowing the enemy''s capital ship to come so close that they had a realistic chance at ramming us should have never happened. It proved once again that I was the only one in existence who was truly infallible, so for the next time I was tempted to do the course calculations myself.


    I closed my eyes, reminding myself of the trap in this line of thinking. If only I had a way to get reliable intelligence on which to base my calculations! The smartest person in existence could only work with what she had. No, no. Tianna said I couldn''t think like that or I would turn out the same way Martha had ¨C and she was probably right.


    ¡°Yes, more effective than I expected. He single-handedly took five airships out of the fight. We should keep his capability in reserve, especially since we sacrificed a lot of ships with this move,¡± Skye continued. ¡°I am afraid of overusing his ability. If the Thich realize what is happening they can come up with a counter.¡±


    The deck shook again.¡°Just how many of those damned rockets do they have?¡±


    I looked over to the other table, where Magnus was playing with a sighting device he had ripped off from some Thich cannon. He came back right away after sowing chaos among the enemy. The device''s purely analogue construction seemed to fascinate him, as it achieved the same function as a digital targeting computer with a camera.


    According to the sensor''s reports, Magnus had nearly gotten himself blown up twice because of overstaying his welcome while he hijacked the gun turrets on our opponent''s ships.


    On the other hand...


    ¡°What are the Thich going to do if we send him out again?¡± I asked. ¡°Put a juggernaut behind every cannon?¡±


    That would bind a lot of their good fighters in positions where they could do comparatively little harm. And even if they tried such a thing, it wasn''t guaranteed they could take care of a speedster like Magnus.


    Magnus just had to pick another cannon and go there if he encountered resistance.


    Could I gamble on Thich''s leadership being morons?


    Probably not. If I were in charge, I would quickly have my people rig all important installations with deadman switches to ensure our equipment couldn''t be used against us.


    ¡°You can do the same thing only so often before you run into a trap,¡± Skye argued.


    It was a very basic way of thinking, but it worked out for most people without mental enhancements.


    I sighed and returned my attention to the table. ¡°You are right, of course. Let''s not tempt him into bringing along the rest of the cannon to assemble one here. Using him to keep the airspace around the flagship secure should be enough.¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The others looked over to Magnus, only now paying attention to his new toy.


    The two fleets were in the process of disengaging by now anyway and we had paid a gruesome price if the reports were to be believed. Two-thirds of our airships were either out of commission or had to be evacuated by the drake riders.


    ¡°Are you no longer worried about psylings making an appearance?¡± Juliana asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°If the Thich had any under their control, they would have made use of them by now. Do we have an idea of how many casualties we suffered?¡±


    Juliana looked up from the report she had gotten earlier. ¡°We have only a rough estimation, but we have lost anywhere between two and three thousand people in that single engagement. All clans added up. It''s a steep price to pay. And the flagship got damaged. One of the rockets hit a rear impeller, so we have only nine left.¡±


    ¡°It''s a lot better than it could have been if he hadn''t reduced the crews to their bare minimum,¡± Skye said.


    ¡°It nonetheless looks like we achieved our goal,¡± Juliana continued. ¡°From the first counts, we have a lot more airship total losses than the Thich because we chose to evacuate any airship that lost its engines right away. Consequently, we allowed our enemies to complete the destruction of each incapacitated vessel. The drake riders had it the worst because they needed to get into firing range to haul our people out. On the positive side, there should be barely a Thich ship without engine damage while most of what remains of our fleet are between seventy and a hundred per cent of their manoeuvrability.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I highly doubt the Thich can do field repairs. Without engines, those airships are barely more than weather balloons. They may still be in the air, but as long as we don''t allow them to do repairs, those ships may as well be lost. Once we have an idea of how our forces match up, we can begin to finish off ships which can¡¯t keep up with the rest of their fleet.¡±


    There was still the possibility of cannibalizing the components of one ship to repair another. The hard part of our plan would be to prevent this from happening till Aerie''s relief forces arrived. Which meant we would have to keep the Thich on their toes.


    A slightly pale adjutant approached our table and handed Skye a piece of paper.


    Skye frowned upon reading the paper, then grimaced and cursed, ¡°By Gaia''s wobbly bottom!¡±


    He handed the paper to Juliana who glared at him before quickly running her eyes over the report. ¡°Well, at least we know now what the trap is. Shit.¡±


    ¡°We do?¡± Tianna asked. She had watched our conversation silently from the sideline so far, but she got too curious to stay mum when there was something that could agitate two of Aerie''s elders so much it had them start swearing.


    ¡°The hill down in Raider¡¯s valley is a nest,¡± Juliana said. ¡°And from the looks of it, a big one.¡±


    It took me a whole second to compute the words. ¡°A nest, as in a night-terror nest?¡±


    Tianna leaned over and took the report from Juliana¡¯s limp fingers to read it herself before she clicked her tongue. ¡°Fuck.¡±


    Yet another adjutant ran over and began rearranging the pieces on our map which represented various fleet elements. ¡°A large contingent of enemy ships are disengaging from the rest of their fleet. We aren¡¯t a hundred per cent certain, but going by the markings it looks like they are all Thich ships which still have propulsion capabilities. They have dropped ballast and are rising fast.¡±


    ¡°They are running for the hills!¡± Skye hit the table, causing it to shake and have some of the pieces tumble over ¨C which prompted the adjutant to quickly return them to their proper place.


    I bit the inside of my cheek while I considered the situation.


    Night-terrors were considered one of the most dangerous predators on Tirnanog. So much so that the clans had made a concerted effort to wipe out any nest within the colonized territory.


    Under normal circumstances, the creatures would roam the land as solitary hunters while avoiding the light of the sun. That alone was bad enough, as each night-terror was a threat on par with a juggernaut-classed human. And they were very intelligent!


    Sadly, having individual night-terrors roam the land couldn¡¯t be stopped as more and more of the creatures slowly transmigrated into clan lands from the outer territories.


    We didn¡¯t know much about their behaviour, but the general opinion was that if they met up they would form hunting parties. Given enough time, their numbers would grow large enough to prey on small human settlements.


    At a certain point, those hunting parties would inevitably need a lair. If discovered, each of the great clans was obligated through the treaty to wipe out those lairs with all their might. Not only because it was a matter of survival, but also because leaving night-terrors alone could cause trouble for everyone.


    This worked well enough as long as everybody did their job. The formation of lairs took months and for them to conglomerate into a full nest was a matter of years if not decades. The last time the clans had to deal with a nest was well before the great clan war.


    If left alone, and the number of lairs reached a certain threshold, they would at some point join forces and form a nest, which was generally an underground network of tunnels with breeding night-terrors all over the place.


    So many apex hunters in one region needed a lot of food. And once they reached a critical mass they didn¡¯t shy away from attacking entire clans to support their needs.


    ¡°They are expecting us to take care of the night-terrors and suffer the losses for it,¡± I judged, ending the silence. ¡°And they timed it perfectly because the night is coming, and depending on how old the nest is, there may be flying specimens among them.¡±


    ¡°But they are leaving their people behind!¡± Tianna pointed out.


    I shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t claim to understand all of their moves, but if the fleeing ships are indeed all Thich, it looks like they ended their alliance. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if once we go over all the reports, we find out that mostly Vier vessels happened to be in the front to take the brunt of the damage.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t fight the night-terrors in the dark,¡± Skye said. ¡°I suggest we collect the fleet and ascend as high as possible. We gather all vessels as tightly together as possible so that we can support each other ¨C should one vessel be breached. Tomorrow we return and take care of the nest.¡±


    Juliana baulked. ¡°And suffer the losses for it? Why don¡¯t we retreat and let Thich and Vier pay for their lenience?¡±


    Skye turned to his wife. ¡°Because the night-terrors will move on to the most fertile hunting grounds once they scoured this area clean. Which should be soon given the rocky terrain down there. They won¡¯t go for Thich¡¯s scraggy desert. Nor will they turn on Vier¡¯s plains, where there are comparatively few animals. They will go to Jeng¡¯s forest. That¡¯s why the Thich allowed a fucking nest to grow in this area! This is why they were so sure the Jeng wouldn¡¯t survive the next winter.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t walk away because those creatures will inevitably come for us! Nor can we continue onwards and leave such a threat at our backs!¡±

 Ch 146 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°You look ill,¡± I said while I watched Thalia trying her best to keep the contents of her stomach where they belonged. ¡°Is your travel sickness acting up again?¡±


    Her face looked a little paler than normal and a slight sheen of sweat had formed on her forehead, making me worry. I couldn''t help but imagine Thalia barfing all over some poor patient.


    The thought made me shudder because it reminded me of the last time I had to help my friend through her travel sickness, also known as cleaning up after her.


    It was only lucky that the sickbay wasn''t too busy, even though we had just fought a major engagement. Alas, an airship battle meant people either came out mostly unharmed ¨C or dead. There was little between the two states and command ensured that the few wounded we had were evenly split among the remaining ships after they reunited with the fleet transports.


    ¡°Just a little bit,¡± Thalia admitted.


    ¡°I thought you had no problem with airships. The last time you were like this was on the Caravaner¡¯s saherna,¡± I commented while Thalia began rummaging through a drawer.


    Thankfully, I had petitioned to be stationed with Thalia once it became clear that the two fleets were disengaging and nothing disastrous would happen for the next one or two hours.


    However, whether it would stay that way was something only Gaia knew. If it was true that there was a large night-terror nest located right in Raider¡¯s valley the coming night would be bad.


    Skye would most likely order the fleet to go dark and hope whatever horrors emerged from the nest would go after the remaining Vier vessels first and eat their fill. To wish for other humans to get eaten was horrible, but they were our enemies and had called this upon themselves. It also meant we wouldn''t have to burden our conscience with killing them.


    ¡°It¡¯s not solely the fault of being on something that moves,¡± Thalia explained her woes. ¡°Whether I get sick or not is about the constantly changing directions. The saherna was bad because of the constant walking motion. So far, the flagship avoided unnecessary manoeuvres, but during the engagement they had the ship moving around like a roller coaster! First here, then there. Just pick a direction and go with it!¡±


    I pursed my lips, slightly amused at Thalia¡¯s exclamation. ¡°Maybe you just need something to distract yourself?¡±


    ¡°If it was that easy,¡± Thalia said before she found what she was looking for in the drawer, a small pot. She took it and a green paste was revealed once the lid was off.


    A minty smell spread in the room as Thalia dipped a finger into the paste and spread a generous amount of the substance on a piece of bandage before she rolled the fabric up and held it under her nose. After a few deep inhales, she already looked a little less pale. It helped, if not by much.


    ¡°Where is your better half?¡± I asked.


    She gestured at a curtain which separated a camp bed from the rest of the room. ¡°Sleeping his travel sickness off. And I am the better half between the two of us! How could you think otherwise?¡±


    I grinned. ¡°Don''t get too full of yourself. Anyway, are you sure you should be here at all if you are sick? Shouldn''t you go through the wormgate and sit this one out?¡±


    Thalia huffed and sat down on a nearby field bed. ¡°Even if I perform only at fifty per cent, I am still a better healer than most.¡±


    We kept bantering in good nature till a warrior showed up and informed us of the lockdown I had already anticipated. The ship would moor with the rest of the fleet to ensure juggernauts could travel between ships without needing drakes. This made it impossible to manoeuvre, but if the worst-case scenario came true, running wasn¡¯t an option anyway. If the nest beneath us already had flying variants, they could easily catch up with us.


    Once the ships were linked with each other to ensure nobody got lost in the dark, they would close hatches and windows to prevent light from getting out.


    Then the only thing left to do was to hope and wait out the night.


    There were no illusions in my mind that I would get any sleep ¨C which wasn''t too bad. My mutations allowed Magnus and me to go with a few sleepless nights. A stupid, lecherous grin stole itself onto my face as I remembered how helpful that was.


    Once I realized what I was doing, I quickly schooled my expression.


    ¡°By the way,¡± I steered the conversation in a different direction to put my mind on other things. ¡°We haven''t talked about what you got with your latest mutation! You only gave us a very basic idea, but shouldn''t you know for sure by now? I was under the impression the white monster would improve you a lot. It certainly was a hassle to catch it ¨C even if that Vier ancient did all the work for us.¡±


    Thalia sighed. ¡°No, not really. I mean, there are definitive improvements to our strength and Precognition, but otherwise, it looks like the white night-terror was only just that, an improvement. The only other thing I noticed is that I can eat more and a lot faster without feeling bloated.¡± She shrugged and took a metal spoon from the nightstand. Then she casually folded the spoon''s cup the other way with an audible ''pop'' and an inquisitive expression on her face. ¡°I probably shouldn''t complain. I am finally no longer a psychic one-trick molerat.¡±


    I took the spoon from her and tried to bend it back, but didn''t manage to do so with Thalia''s casual ease. I managed it only on the second attempt, using both thumbs.


    ¡°Haha!¡± I raised the spoon, but my triumph was interrupted by a ship-wide alarm, which finally caused Mark to wake up.


    He grumbled and got up, immediately reaching for his bow and checking the presence of a spiked club on his belt. ¡°Are they coming?¡±


    I checked the UI, but there were no new updates. ¡°No. We are to remain in position until ordered otherwise.¡±


    Having three juggernaut-classed individuals guard the sick bay was overkill as far as I was concerned, but those in charge decreed it so. They likely wanted to ensure that the injured had a safe evacuation spot.


    ¡°Where is Magnus?¡± Mark asked once he had checked his messages, his eyes flicking around in that typical manner of people interacting with their UI.


    ¡°He wanted to test the new toy Gilbert made for us, so he requested to be put somewhere with guaranteed action.¡± I rolled my eyes and touched a thumb to my battery backpack. ¡°If he hadn''t gotten a lot better with his battle-mania, I wouldn''t have allowed him to go.¡±


    ¡°You mean you would have complained and he would have gone anyway?¡± Thalia teased.


    ¡°I mean I would have pushed all the emotional buttons and he would have stayed with me so I wouldn¡¯t get upset,¡± I corrected.


    The night continued for us in a thankfully boring manner as alarms were raised and people were brought in for treatment. Thalia and the other staff got busy and no longer had time for idle chit-chat when an entire group of wounded came in all at once.


    Then the UI was suddenly spammed with warning messages. It looked like the flagship had been breached in several positions at once ¨C and some of the monsters were running rampant inside the ship!


    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I moved down the dark corridor with a slight skip in my step and a chuckle on my lips. The corridor was abandoned, evacuated to be exact. If the messages were correct, then one of the intruders should be right around the next corner, so I hopped over the mangled body of a crewmember, taking note of the fist-sized hole in her forehead.


    Finally, a chance to test the new equipment. It had been months since the last time I got my ass whooped by a monster. Since then, I got a new mutation increasing my strength across the board, and my equipment was improved! The skirmish against those airships didn¡¯t count because it was just hit-and-run tactics against opponents who couldn''t put up a fight.


    Since wielding a spetum in this narrow corridor wasn¡¯t practicable, I put the large weapon on my back where I fixed it with a few filaments.


    Then I took my axe and went for a test swing as I rounded the corner.


    I had been forewarned that these night-terror things would be different from the white ones I encountered so far.


    Once I saw it with my own eyes, all I had been told wasn¡¯t enough to prepare for reality. The corridor was dark, but my Second Sight had no trouble identifying the creature.


    Like its ground-bound brethren, the skinny creature had bipedal proportions with extremely over-dimensioned arms. Its forelimbs were long enough to reach the ground, which allowed for a strange gait. It mainly used the legs, but also incorporated the clawed arms at times when it seemed opportune.


    The thing looked like it had escaped straight out of a horror movie. There was nothing but bones, skin, and muscle to it with a bloated ribcage for the organs.


    It chittered and half ran, half hopped towards me. The creature was fast, but far away from its white brethren. The thing wasn¡¯t built for fighting in enclosed spaces. Unlike the white ones, this variant had bat-like membranes spanning between all its limbs. The head was a little more elongated, giving it a hound-like vibe.


    I got caught a bit off guard when it stopped its approach and whipped up a clawed arm, causing my precognition to tingle. More out of instinct than knowing what would happen, I dropped to my knees mid-run and bent backwards, barely dodging the unfolding multi-jointed arm with a bone spike at the end. What I had mistaken for clawed hands were in truth protrusions on the thing¡¯s elbow.


    My shoulder pauldron deflected the attack upwards, but the force behind it was enough to make me grunt and spin around to compensate.


    One of my sub-personalities berated me for not listening to its previous warnings, pointing out that the creature''s wingspan was much too small to allow it to fly and that there had to be a trick to it.


    Completing the spin I hacked upwards with my axe, cutting the membrane and the arm, which elicited a loud shriek from the creature. It got only more vocal when I added an electrifying touch to my attack. The electricity stunned my opponent for long enough to reach and spike it with an armour blade through the chest.


    Then I let loose with everything I had, lighting up the corridor and the creature¡¯s innards with enough force to have the light shine red through its darkened skin.


    It kicked out, throwing me back, and then I had to dodge its second arm spike as it tried to spear me. This hunting style reminded me a lot of mantis shrimps. Without doubt deadly if I allowed it to hit, but once the cat was out of the bag it was a predictable attack.


    Not counting the bone spike attack, I found my opponent to be far slower than I expected from a night-terror. So I went to work with my axe, only to get foiled once more when the night-terror slammed into me using its entire body as it tried to bite my head off. It had realized that spearing me wasn¡¯t as easy as with its earlier victims.


    My axe went flying, but I managed to grab the monster¡¯s maw by creeping several filaments around its head before I dug my index fingers into the large, hateful eyes. It didn¡¯t like that very much, especially when I started grilling its brain.


    A few seconds later all that was left was an electrically animated body twitching on top of me. Just to make sure it didn¡¯t play dead, I drove an armour blade through its chin and up into the night-terror¡¯s brain.


    The thing¡¯s muscles relaxed and suddenly its entire weight was on top of me. Cursing, I rolled it off to the side. ¡°Those things put up a fight! I wouldn¡¯t want to face two at once.¡±


    ¡°No wonder if you charge right into one like some lunatic!¡± Elijah kicked the monster out of the way and grabbed me by the scruff of my armour, pulling me up and setting me on my feet like some child. He also placed my axe back in my hand as if he had to look out for me so I didn¡¯t lose my toys. Normally, I would be indignant at such a treatment, but the huge Caravaner had managed to earn my respect.


    He was a competent fighter and could also enjoy the euphoria of combat. He wasn¡¯t a man of the sciences, but that was okay. Another person didn¡¯t have to share all one¡¯s interests to be a friend.


    ¡°I thought they would be similar to the grounded versions I met so far,¡± I justified charging the enemy with abandon.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t assume so much in the future. Assumptions can kill you.¡± Elijah corrected the grip on one of his knuckle-dusters as two more night-terrors rounded the corner. ¡°The flying ones are slower because they are old, but they are also a lot stronger and sturdier. And don¡¯t expect that all of them use those spikes, nor that they are all on the same power level. The mother fuckers mutate, given enough time. There is no way to tell what variants might have formed if the nest was allowed to survive for long enough.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I pulled a throwing dagger from my belt and charged up a decent throw, minding the fact that I was on an airship and unleashing projectiles at full power would probably cause more collateral damage than it was worth. ¡°Since there are two, I will soften them up.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°Stay back!¡± I screamed and drove my spear through the hole in the door, causing a shriek of pain from the other side before the spear was grabbed and a tug of war ensued. It ended when I electrified the weapon, causing another indignant shriek.


    There were three of the monsters on the other side. If the reports in the UI were to be believed, they went to us in a relatively straight line after breaching the hull. The smell of blood in the sickbay had probably attracted them.


    An arrow whisked past my head, followed by another shriek as I flinched away. ¡°Watch it!¡±


    ¡°Sorry!¡± Mark apologized as he drew another arrow on his monster of a bow. I didn¡¯t know the draw weight, but it had to be a lot since it was a custom product made especially for Mark. ¡°Just don¡¯t make any sudden movements and you will be fine. I am still working on this Precognition thing.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t shoot while someone is between you and your target! Gaia curse it!¡±


    A creepy arm reached in through the hole and tried to undo the heavy-duty beam lock on the door, so I stabbed it.


    The arm withdrew and a moment later the entire door caved in as something huge threw itself against it from the other side.


    I steeled myself and was ready when a night-terror came crashing through the door. Aiming carefully, I caught it right through the mouth as it charged into the sick bay with no concern for injury. It must have been dead as soon as the blade of my weapon severed its spine, but the monster¡¯s momentum kept driving it forward and into me ¨C throwing me back.


    Mark¡¯s arrow caught the second creature charging into the room right through the eye, ending it instantly.


    The third entered the room uncontested, its intimidating size forcing Thalia to move a step away from her spot next to the door before it turned to her and roared terrifyingly, spittle flying all over the place.


    My friend''s expression turned quite strange as she got a whiff of the night-terror''s breath, her short sword already raised to chop something off the enemy. For a moment, it looked like Thalia would keep it together before she spectacularly lost the fight.


    Bending forward slightly, she hurled out an impressive spray of strangely black stomach contents, covering the two metres between her and the monster. It looked like improved musculature also increased the pressure build-up when vomiting.


    Vomit went everywhere. The monster''s face, mouth, and upper chest were generously dosed, startling the monster and causing it to inhale some due to the shock.


    The moment of mutual surprise ended when white vapour began to rise from the creature''s skin and it let out a pitiful howl of pain. It dropped, rolled, and clawed at itself in an attempt to get off the stomach acid. All the monster tried only made it worse as it spread the black, oily substance around. The wooden floor also hissed and blackened rapidly. A mere droplet was enough to cause a violent reaction.


    A second later, an acrid smell reached my nose, forcing me to retreat as far as I could.


    The medical team who had retreated to the back of the room reacted. Some doctor cursed and quickly ran over to the ventilation system while covering his mouth and nose, turning it to full power. Another scrambled to get over to the wall with emergency equipment, choosing something which looked like a fire extinguisher but had a chemical hazard label on it.


    She aimed it at Thalia and the monster before dousing both with a generous amount of some kind of foam which also blackened and sizzled upon contact with Thalia''s vomit, neutralizing each other.


    The night-terror was only a twitching body on the floor by that point. Its torso was a wasted mess covered in black, bubbling sludge.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I exclaimed, still unable to breathe through my nose because of the sting.


    ¡°Fluoroantimonic acid!¡± Thalia exclaimed while looking down at her ruined clothes. What little vomit ran down her chin had dissolved her shirt and created a quite risqu¨¦ V-cut. Thalia''s well-endowed chest was consequently celebrating its newly won freedom.


    ¡°What?¡± I kept repeating myself.


    ¡°Fluoro-¡± Thalia began before the doctor with the fire extinguisher sprayed foam right into her face, not allowing even the slightest remnants of acid to remain untouched.


    ¡°No talking! Get into the shower and throw away the clothes afterwards! We have to clean this up! Don''t you dare vomit a second time!¡± The doctor sounded quite serious.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I asked once more.


    The other doctor turned to me. ¡°I don''t know for sure, but it smells like Fluoroantimonic acid. One of the strongest known acids and very toxic.¡± He pointed at the quite dead night-terror. ¡°It''s not as dangerous as deathnut oil, but we still have to check everyone in here whether they can withstand it.¡±


    I looked around. ¡°Seems like everyone is still up.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°We just inhaled a bit of the vapour. That might be enough if someone can''t metabolize it. As with everything, the amount makes the poison. And if your body can¡¯t deal with it, you could still bite the dust hours later.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± I tried to see something positive about this. ¡°Looks like your mutation wasn¡¯t just a ¡®mere¡¯ improvement.¡±


    Thalia groaned. ¡°Fuck my life.¡±

 Ch 147 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Airship***


    ***Evanne***


    Was my power, my potential, really so insignificant as to be ignored? It contradicted everything the preacher had told us about the enemy.


    I quickly snapped out of my daydream and reminded myself how dangerous it was to question those in higher positions. Looking around the upper deck, I assured myself that nobody had noticed me drifting off to memory lane. It had been a day since those events.


    Even now, we hadn''t been told what was happening. The rumours were wild. Some told of a stunning victory as the enemy fleet was left behind crippled to be taken care of by a night-terror nest. Others only whispered of last night in hushed tones as they spoke of a harrowing defeat.


    Looking around and seeing the fleet''s much-reduced numbers, the only thing I was certain of was that we got at least as good as we dealt. And wouldn''t a stunning victory have us advance on the enemy? Not retreat in the direction of our capital?


    The memory of airships shooting each other with what must have been years of stockpiled resources in ammunition and bombs was still vivid in my mind. Just because we were on Tirnanog didn¡¯t mean people had forgotten about guns, but gathering the resources for what accounted for black powder wasn¡¯t easy. Guns and cannons were scarce not only because the noise attracted monsters, but because each shot meant more resources wasted than the killed monster would return in most cases.


    I shuddered as I heard someone call my name and returned to the airship¡¯s command bridge.


    To receive new orders. To see whether there was someone compatible so we could replenish our numbers of paired warriors.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ***Astra***


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel so well,¡± Thalia complained while holding onto an airtight bag which had been proven to be resistant to her stomach acids.


    ¡°Then we should go back through the wormgate till you feel better!¡± Mark pointed out the sensible solution, but it wasn¡¯t received well.


    ¡°I am going to stay and help!¡± Thalia replied stubbornly, ignoring the fact that any patient of hers would have a really bad time if she lost control of her stomach.


    Well, to be fair, she had killed a night-terror, the rest of the time she was more concerned with her travel sickness than anything else.


    For a moment, I considered whether we should just have her empty her stomach into the night-terror nest. Sadly, it was just wishful thinking. While Thalia¡¯s newest mutation was potent, it was far from able to deal with a threat of that magnitude. Maybe if we threw a few dozen barrels of deathnut oil onto that hill...


    I bit my lower lip as my eyes went between Thalia and Mark. Thalia, who looked like she had been put on a mining cart and shipped back and forth between Mount Aerie¡¯s furthest outpost and the living cavern. Mark, who also didn¡¯t look like he was taking airship transportation well, but still fared much better than his partner.


    One of my sub-personalities had come up with an idea and giving it some more deliberation, there was a definite possibility I was onto something.


    ¡°Have you two considered that there might be more at play here?¡± I asked.


    Thalia looked at me and glared. ¡°Like what?¡±


    I looked down at Thalia¡¯s belly, then back up into her eyes as I raised one eyebrow. ¡°Like a certain person being petty because you cursed on her tits?¡±


    Thalia glared at me and began, ¡°If I were pregnant, I would know...¡± She stopped herself, allowing the last word to trail off as her left eye began to twitch. ¡°Mark, we are going to see Kiera, now!¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma''am!¡± Mark replied and stood there for an awkward moment, waiting.


    My friend didn¡¯t move though, looking like she was very conscious of her bowel movements. It took another few seconds before she declared, ¡°You may carry me to the wormgate.¡±


    Mark rolled his eyes, which Thalia thankfully didn¡¯t see before he picked her up and carried her off the bridge while she held onto her bag.


    Letting out a sigh, I returned to the planning table where the higher-ups were discussing how to proceed after a disastrous night of multiple raids and hull breaches.


    The night- terrors had been great at causing damage all over the place. Thankfully, they were far more interested in just killing people than intentionally sabotaging the ship. The creatures were very intelligent, but the workings of technology completely escaped them as soon as it concerned more than breaking a door. They were very similar to the drakes in that regard.


    ¡°Did you finally manage to convince her?¡± Magnus asked once I stood next to him.


    ¡°No,¡± I replied truthfully. ¡°But I managed to raise concerns she didn¡¯t want to ignore. Like the reason for her being sick might be because she is pregnant.¡±


    He nodded sagely. ¡°I see, I see. And so she claims two more victims in her quest to populate the world. Be fruitful and multiply, and all that.¡±


    ¡°Drama queen,¡± I replied before I returned my attention to the problem at hand. ¡°Have they decided how to deal with the night-terror nest?¡±


    ¡°Well, there have been several proposals from deathnut-oil down to bombing the entire area to bits,¡± Magnus explained. ¡°The guy who suggested sending troops down into the tunnels got the choice between leaving the room and being thrown off the observation platform right away.¡±


    ¡°I assume you are joking about the last one, so what would throwing bombs accomplish?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we have something strong enough to crack that hill open?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Magnus shook his head. ¡°The idea is to close all the entrances and have those things starve out or suffocate. The downside to using deathnut oil is someone would still have to go down into the nest and spread it around ¨C likely perishing in the process. And it would have to be someone who can withstand the poison for long enough to accomplish the job. Meaning we would sacrifice someone powerful.


    ¡°Trying to starve the creatures would mean we have to stay around for an unknown amount of time to ensure the job is done and prevent them from digging other exits. If I understood correctly, those things aren¡¯t adverse to eating each other, meaning it could take a very long time. And the problem remains that we still would have to go down there and check.¡±


    I surveyed the room.


    Elders were managing the airship fleet with Jeng¡¯s people and the Caravaner¡¯s rendering support. The organisation¡¯s men and women were aiding in various capacities. Meanwhile, the assembly was lively discussing the problem.


    The only exception was the Matriarch because she usually had something to say about everything. Contrary to that, Vanya was silently staring daggers at Mary. Grandma Mary meanwhile looked like she was intentionally ignoring the Matriarch.


    Finally, Mary threw up her hands. ¡°Stop looking at me like that, kid. Ask what you are going to ask.¡±


    ¡°Would you be so kind as to take care of the problem, Ancient Mary?¡± Vanya asked, going so far as to use Mary¡¯s formal title before she bowed to her.


    The people on the bridge stopped talking and turned their attention to the pair.


    ¡°If I do this, I will have no juice for another month or two. Which means there will be nobody to bail out your asses if things go wrong at Thich,¡± Mary pointed out.


    Vanya put her hands together, interlocking her fingers. ¡°If you do what I am asking for right now at Thich City, there will be nothing left afterwards. Given the choice between using your abilities against uncaring monsters or humans, I would prefer the first option. People will die either way. Playing this card now saves us time and losses, allowing us to move directly towards our true goal.¡±


    Mary looked at Vanya and grinned before she turned and walked towards the hatch which allowed access to the observation platform. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t want me to cut loose at Thich City later, because I will need at least a month to recuperate.¡±


    On her way, she stopped at Felix Wolf and poked Jeng¡¯s Ancient in the chest. ¡°If either Nisha or Zach show their faces, I expect you to delay them till I am back in the game.¡±


    ¡°What is she doing?¡± Magnus asked with a slight bit of trepidation in his voice. ¡°Does she intend to take on the nest alone?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure,¡± I replied uncertainly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and watch,¡± my mother suggested and followed Mary. ¡°It¡¯s not every day that I get to see the reason why Earth decided leaving us alone would cause fewer problems than shipping five or seven nukes through their wormholes.¡±


    We scrambled after her, only to get out in time to find Mary stepping off the observation platform¡¯s railing while unfolding her filaments.


    Looking over the railing, I found her falling, her filaments causing a trail of sparkling embers ¨C before she ignited, turning into a flaming angel of immolating death.


    ¡°How?¡± Magnus asked, right before Mary dove like a meteor into the night-terror nest.


    ¡°She ate a worm,¡± Teresa said.


    ¡°Like one of ¡®those¡¯ worms?¡± Magnus asked, scratching his chest while looking uncomfortable. ¡°The ones which run on nuclear fuel?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I call a hot woman!¡± Gunnar Elrod exclaimed as a burst of smoke and fire erupted from the night-terror nest as if it had turned into a small volcano.


    ***Zacharias Regulus***


    I watched and nodded as the night-terror nest went up in nuclear fire. One more piece had fallen into place, preventing one of the outcomes which had the potential to end my people.


    Then I turned to face the angry ball of emotions which came stumbling down the cliffside towards me. She looked battered but alive, so I tried to ignore the collection of trophies she carried on her belt ¨C one of them looking like an ear which once belonged to one of my clones.


    ¡°Hello, Nisha.¡±

 Ch 148 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Raider¡¯s Valley***


    ***Mary Frost***


    I stood by and watched as the night-terror cub slowly expired with heavy, labouring death rattles. The smoke and the heat in the tunnel were too much for the little monster, but it was nonetheless humbling to see that even a creature as feared as a night-terror was just a fragile victim in its infancy.


    Its broodmother tried to animate the cub with her nose, pushing the unresponsive body around, but nothing could be done. She was the last of this nest to be taken care of.


    I slowly raised the blade attached to my hand, a formidable weapon my filaments had formed once they changed their state to a silver metal. The exact, underlying process escaped my understanding, but I figured it had something to do with nanomachines.


    Regarding the sleek weapon, I found the thin blade much too elegant for the job. It looked like a rapier, a cultured duellist¡¯s weapon.


    The night-terrors were intelligent monsters. I wasn''t apathetic enough to pretend I couldn''t recognise they cared for each other on some level, but their very nature made co-existence with humanity impossible. However, I doubted they had a concept of the ongoing war between humanity and Tirnanog¡¯s natural inhabitants. They were just doing what was natural to them as one of the higher-ranked predators of this world. Maybe their intelligence was similar to the drakes¡¯, allowing them a high amount of reasoning in some aspects, but cursing them with blindfolds in others.


    Just as the drakes couldn¡¯t conceive the thought of technology, the night-terrors couldn''t see humans as anything other than food. It was the reason why collaborating with other intelligent species was a taboo among the clans. There were too many terrible examples in history, showing just how falsely placed sympathy could go horribly wrong for humans since we tended to bond far too easily with members of other species.


    Which didn¡¯t mean we couldn''t make exceptions like with the drakes. They just had to be carefully evaluated and tested.


    Nonetheless, things like the night-terrors were the very reason why the clans fought so hard to keep their ecological niche in this world.


    I smiled as the blade slowly shortened in my hand and widened, taking the form of a cleaver ¨C a butcher¡¯s weapon. If nothing else, I could at least give the broodmother a modicum of respect by not pretending to be something I was not.


    I was here to slaughter them. This was extermination, pure and simple. And it would stay this way until Tirnanog either belonged to humanity, or the monsters of this world managed to kill the last human.


    But not on my watch.


    The broodmother turned to me and roared. Then it charged down the superheated tunnel with no regard for its health. Despite its speed, the skin began to char merely from coming close to me.


    I dodged the clawed arm it swung at me with inhuman agility, but it was only the first blow and I wasn¡¯t built for speed.


    The second swing caught me full on the sternum and drove me back, but my armour held while my feet carved two deep grooves into the ground.


    The broodmother landed two more hits before it was my turn. I backhanded the creature, sending it careening into the cave wall. Despite the seeming laziness of my response, blood and sharp teeth went flying as the creature¡¯s jaw broke.


    It tried to get up, but my palm landed on its head, pressing it down against the hard ground as its flesh sizzled.


    Then I brought the cleaver to bear with a single chop, separating the broodmother''s head from the rest of its body, and the job was done.


    I sighed and dismissed the weapon after I had one last look around. Then I crossed my arms behind my back and slowly ascended through the labyrinth of tunnels as I returned to the surface. It would take some time to ramp down the power generation, so I wasn''t in a hurry.


    Thankfully, there had been no need to go all out. The constricted tunnels had forced the night-terrors to come at me one at a time and there was no need to hunt them down. Their very nature forced them to come to me, as they were unable to accept that there might be something above them in the food chain.


    I timed my arrival at the surface so that my radiation levels were back to tolerable levels.


    From there, I allowed myself to cool down before I took a drake back to the flagship.


    Sadly, it wasn¡¯t like I was done with the day upon arriving back at the bridge. It sounded like the Caravaners had found a group of their renegade brethren nearby and wished to utilize some of the fleet¡¯s power to bring them to justice. There was a heated discussion between the leading members of the mission, reminding me of the old days and why the various clans had decided to isolate themselves.


    We sat at a large round table. There were three representatives for each of the great clans.


    I was there for Clan Aerie with Xina and Harold Lloyd from the fourteenth strata, which was back then the fifteenth and therefore the most powerful faction within Aerie.


    Hochberg was represented by Matriarch Greta and two of her underlings, a unique partnered pair who were solely focused on mental abilities. I didn¡¯t approve of such a union, as it doomed them to always rely on the protection of others. But nobody could stop loving people from doing foolish things. I was a perfect example of that.


    Zacharias represented Thich with two of his clones in tow, showing everyone how things would go if he had something to say about it. Looking around the table, there was no question that the ancients had the presidency in this meeting, but Zach was the only one brazen enough to show how little he cared about what others might have to say about the future.


    Felix Wolf was there in Jeng¡¯s name, including two of his paladins. Savannah and Ahmad stood behind the old man, forgoing to test the frail furniture with their huge, armoured bodies.


    Nisha Dawson and two of her entourage spoke in Vier¡¯s name.


    Balthasar Pinault and his wife, together with a second Seeker I didn¡¯t know would speak for the Caravaners.


    All the other ancients had refrained from taking part in this meeting. They had partaken in the war to remove Earth¡¯s influence from Tirnanog ¨C so far this was possible. But they had no beef with Gurney Camacho or politics and so they entrusted us with settling the matter.


    Last at the table was Gurney himself, the reason for the war as we found out only after the fact. After he had enlisted us to chase his hunters off this world. Given what he had done for us, it was questionable whether we would have protected him either way. Though the secret he had kept and his reasoning didn¡¯t resonate with some.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I wasn¡¯t so sure myself. On one hand, coming to this world to escape Earth¡¯s government allowed me to find the love of my life. If I hadn¡¯t followed Gurney, I would have never met my husband. On the other, this war had taken the one I held the most dear from me. And Gurney held at least some responsibility for that.


    Zacharias stood up to speak, ¡°I advocate to unite the clans once and for all. In the light of Earth¡¯s ambitions, I see no other choice. If we remain splintered, they will continue to abuse us as test subjects, even if they agreed to retreat for now. Representing them with a united front is our only chance at repelling them in the future. It worked out this time, but it was a close thing. And mark my words, they will be back. Maybe not tomorrow or in a decade, but there will come a time when their memories fade. And then they will try again.¡±


    ¡°They have the secret of immortality now,¡± Gurney pointed out in a subdued manner. ¡°They will be busy with solidifying their power on Earth ¨C for a time. And I am responsible for giving it to them.¡±


    ¡°You are responsible for this war, Gurney Camacho!¡± Nisha called out. ¡°I would be silent if I were you!¡±


    ¡°He has given us a lot,¡± Balthasar pointed out. ¡°None of us would be here without Gurney.¡±


    ¡°And he has also taken a lot!¡± Nisha shot back. ¡°If I had known what this is all about from the beginning, I would have never followed him. All those people, dead. Just to keep some information out of the hands of some old farts. I thought we were coming to this world to build something grandiose, a new beginning. Instead, your secrets had them come after us centuries down the road. I have lost loved ones to this war and you could have ended it at any point! If you had given them your research sooner¡­¡±


    ¡°They will use it to rule Earth with even more of an iron fist than they have in the past,¡± Gurney said. ¡°And once they are immortal, not even the natural course of nature can end them.¡±


    ¡°Like I care about Earth!¡± Nisha spat. ¡°As long as they stay away from this world, everything is fine.¡±


    I closed my eyes and shook my head. ¡°Let¡¯s put our grudges aside at least for this meeting. Everyone in this room had the time to gather gripes with each other over the centuries. Today, we are here to agree on how to proceed in the future, now that Earth agreed to retreat.¡±


    ¡°I already told you how to proceed!¡± Zacharias exclaimed. ¡°We have to unite the clans and work on claiming Tirnanog for our own.¡±


    Felix scoffed. ¡°And do what? Create a world government? Become a second Earth once we are done with Tirnanog? No, thank you.¡±


    Zacharias clenched his fists. ¡°What else do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°Go home!¡± Felix exclaimed. ¡°Even if we could unite the clans on a whim, there is still a hostile world out there, separating the colonies from each other. Even if we proclaim our loyalty to each other today, we are still separated by wilderness most people are unable to cross.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we have to work together and prevent history from repeating itself,¡± Zach beseeched us.


    ¡°History will always repeat itself!¡± I commented in a somewhat apathetic manner.


    ¡°And what of Earth taking control of the Old Camp? We have to make sure that Earth sending exiles in large numbers is handled properly,¡± Zacharias said, visibly working hard to reign in his irritation. ¡°Who else is for unification?¡±


    He raised his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Nisha joined him.


    Felix kept his hands firmly on the table while Greta spoke up for the first time, ¡°While your ambition sounds good on paper, it is not feasible right now, Zacharias. The war weakened the clans substantially. It will be decades before anyone at this table will be able to project significant power beyond their capital settlement. Burdening our efforts at rebuilding with trying to enforce some common policies, at worst clashing with our situational needs is no solution. I am against it ¨C for now.¡±


    Zacharias looked towards Balthasar who shook his head.


    ¡°I have had enough politics for a lifetime,¡± Balthasar said. ¡°I will take those most loyal to me who remain and leave. Nothing you could say will change my decision.¡±


    All eyes landed on me and I blinked, finding myself suddenly in a position to resolve the vote.


    I looked down at the table, considering what Zacharias was suggesting.


    My people had worked hard on our culture. How we handled governing ourselves. It was a work in progress far from being done and even further from perfect. We had ways to go resolving our own problems and now we should take on the problems of others?


    Zach¡¯s motives might sound good on the surface, but I knew the man well enough to tell that in his heart he just sought power. And he was responsible for the death of my husband. I couldn''t forgive him for that. At the same time, I wouldn¡¯t want to give up on Aerie.


    Heck, it was hard not to jump over the table and chop Zach and his clones to pieces, then run out there in a futile attempt to find every last clone until I had the final one at my mercy!


    I blinked, finding myself unable to make such a monumental decision for my people when there was so much unresolved baggage on my shoulders, so I looked towards the two elders at my side. Seeing my expression, both Xina and Harold shared a look before Harold stood. ¡°We refuse any interference from outside Mount Aerie.¡±


    Relieved, I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Fools!¡± Zacharias exclaimed.


    ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡± Nisha asked, crossing her arms.


    There were more discussions involved, going back and forth that day and the following ones, but eventually, we came to an agreement nobody was happy about but most could live with. As it should be.


    Gurney Camacho would repent for the war he had brought down on our heads by rebuilding the Old Camp. It would become a neutral ground and Gurney would handle the exiles from Earth in the future. Earth would assuredly not stop sending them.


    To prevent the Old Camp from returning to its old power, the clans would regularly send recruiters to draw manpower away from the Old Camp. Therefore making it impossible for Earth to influence a heavily populated colony directly on the other side of their gate. Any troops they sent would have to be recruited from Earth. At the same time, it would help the clans to rebuild the forces in a controlled manner, as the exiles would be split among the clans.


    The Caravaners would continue handling trade between the clans and monitor their actions. Having lost their ancient, all the clans agreed to grant the Caravaners special rights so they wouldn¡¯t be susceptible to blackmail by the need to seek shelter with a clan during winter.


    The clans would keep to their own business for at least as long as it took to rebuild.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Vanya turned to me with a questioning expression, ripping me out of my contemplations.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright, girl,¡± I patted her head, to the shock of all the squabbling people in the room. ¡°I just remembered meeting your parents, with everyone being so energetic. It was a long time ago.¡±


    Who knew giving the Matriarch a head-pat would shut them up so quickly?


    ¡°I suggest we deal with those Caravaners while we are on the way,¡± I said somewhat jovially. ¡°It¡¯s not like we intend on facing the Thich at their fortress city without our reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a woman of my taste!¡± Gunnar exclaimed from right next to me and wiggled his eyebrows when I looked at him. ¡°Are you still certain you won¡¯t grant me the honour of a date?¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°That''s it! You have it,¡± I cheered and clapped my hands once Astra finally managed to stabilize the localized space-time distortion. All the training and Gaia''s teachings had finally borne fruit. Astra was just a little behind me because she had trouble stabilizing the energy fields.


    I picked up a pen and threw it into the distorted sphere above Astra''s palm while she kept her attention on maintaining the effect. The pen entered the distortion and was flung away at a right angle, its inertia changed with the spinning distortion. ¡°See? It''s the perfect shield against projectiles and most physical attacks. You just have to get it to the point at which you can enact the effect at will.¡±


    Astra blinked and licked her lips. ¡°You are right. Once it gets going, maintaining and altering it isn''t too hard.¡±


    She tilted her palm away from us and changed the harmonization between her magnetic fields, flattening out the sphere until it resembled a disc.


    ¡°Very good.¡± I nodded. ¡°Though, you might want to keep it a sphere because it is easier to have objects exit the distortion in the direction you want. But as a training exercise, it''s not bad.¡±


    ¡°Just a little experiment I had floating around my head since Gaia taught us how to do this,¡± Astra explained the reason behind her actions while she reached into a pocket and brought out a glass vial with dust inside it. ¡°Ever since I learned about it, it bugged me that this thing is so hard to use offensively. I mean, sucking away movement energy to accelerate an object is way too hard if you think about it. But the principle of this space distortion is just one alteration away from the flash step, right? So what happens if we use magnetic energy to accelerate some iron dust inside the distorted area and enclose it in a flash step bubble? We can accelerate anything affected by the magnetic field without having to overcome air resistance, right?¡±


    ¡°That''s...¡± I pursed my lips while Astra dropped what was supposedly iron dust into her distortion disc, turning the entire thing a blurry grey as it began to hum. Some accelerated air or dust particles seemed to escape the containment and create noise. I sent all my sub-personalities into overdrive as I tried to quantify the quite mad idea my partner had come up with without my knowledge.


    Ever since Astra copied the lightning elk''s lightning ball attack without much thought, I learned not to underestimate her ability to ''apply'' without ''understanding''.


    She laughed as she put more power into the effect, increasing the humming sound. Then she turned the disc and lowered it towards the table.


    ¡°Astra!¡± I raised a warning finger. ¡°You might want to-¡±

 Ch 149 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    "I am so sorry! Aaah!" Astra howled in agony as four people, one among them Thalia''s father, gave it their all to set the bones of her broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. In theory, it sounded easier than it was in reality, considering the patient had reinforced bones and steel muscles that didn''t play along. So, two people were holding onto Astra''s torso while two more were pulling at her hand while manipulating the angle to set the bone and to realign her shoulder.


    Meanwhile, I gave my best to stay still while Thalia tried to operate one of the many wooden splinters out of my cheek which barely missed my left second eye. When Astra''s improvised saw-grinder disintegrated spectacularly, I barely managed to raise my arm and protect my eyes. It was a reflexive reaction and I hadn''t considered the second set. Two centimetres lower and I would have been mostly fine.


    ¡°Don''t pull a face!¡± Thalia reprimanded me. ¡°It''s already hard enough to pry this thing out without doing even more damage to your eye.¡±


    ¡°I am trying, but it feels like you are jamming your tweezers into my eye! Just pull the splinter out and be done with it. It hurts even more if you dig around trying to be gentle,¡± I complained.


    Thalia gave a disgruntled huff and suddenly stabbed her tweezers into my skin, grabbing the splinter and jerking it out ¨C and with it, the Second Sight on my left went all blurry.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I cursed.


    Thalia bent over me and frowned with a slightly intrigued expression. ¡°Yeah, that''s what I wanted to avoid. It''s bleeding over into the sensory area of your second eye. Guess next time you might just give it more time?¡± She shrugged. ¡°But whether it heals in a day or a week isn''t my problem, is it?¡±


    ¡°You are an evil woman!¡±


    She grinned.


    An audible ''pop'' and another scream signalled that the team of doctors finally managed to straighten Astra''s arm and shoulder.


    ¡°I am so sorry, I wanted it to be a surprise,¡± Astra whimpered for the umpteenth time.


    ¡°Well, we are still here, so I guess it was a surprise.¡± I tried to console her but then thought better of it. We were playing with powers which could kill us if applied wrongly. The least we could do was to think before performing an experiment which involved the warping of space. ¡°But next time you should at least speak to someone about it! What did you think would happen? Except for turning our quarters to smithereens.¡±


    The security personnel thought someone tried to assassinate us till we explained everything.


    ¡°I imagined it would be like a saw grinder,¡± Astra admitted. ¡°Something to cut through heavily armoured opponents.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Yeah, as long as you don''t lose control of the magnetic fields keeping the effect in place.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn''t have been a problem!¡± She countered. ¡°I went through it in my head several times and the Math panned out perfectly.¡±


    ¡°Except for when you spin something magnetic, like magnetized iron dust, inside a magnetic field, which then induces a second magnetic field! Like a dynamo! And when you stop the particles violently by ramming them into a resisting surface it destabilizes the whole system. Conservation of energy, Astra. As soon as the field collapsed, all that energy you pumped into it had to go somewhere. Either as heat, radiation, or kinetic energy. I am baffled. You invent an almost perfect energy storage system and your first inclination was to use it as a grinding tool.¡±


    ¡°Energy storage?¡± Astra sounded as if she hadn¡¯t thought of the true potential of her idea at all.


    ¡°Yes, it''s brilliant. Remove friction resistance by creating a localized area of warped space and wrap it in a flash step field. Now put a magnet inside it and you can spin it up as much as you want. It''s a flywheel dynamo with almost limitless potential as long as you can keep paying the relatively minor upkeep cost,¡± I ranted. ¡°It¡¯s the holy grail of any society. Forget about energy generation. It¡¯s energy storage that¡¯s the real problem.¡±


    ¡°So, I am a genius!¡± She sounded like she just had an epiphany and was in awe of herself.


    I pushed Thalia''s tweezers out of my face and sat up to glare at Astra before I realized she was pulling my leg. She was grinning, so I raised a warning finger. ¡°For that, you are the one who deals with the kids while we recover. Isaac will be over the hills once he learns that Mom is sick and has to stay at home.¡±


    Astra winced. ¡°You know, we are instilling the wrong message in them. Isaac is already of the opinion that his parents being sick is a good thing because then we have to stay at home.¡±


    Thalia pushed me back down on the bed. ¡°There is still a big one left. And over all that drama of you coming injured to the hospital, I didn''t get the chance to tell you that Mark and I will get a little one too!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± Astra squealed but hissed when she tried to move her arm.


    ¡°Just one?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It''s too early to judge. And now lean back, I have one more to get out.¡± Thalia pushed me back on the bed and a second later I had the tweezers once more in my line of sight.


    While Thalia dug for the last splinter and Astra was patched up with a splint, I heard an angry scream which sounded like it came from the floor above us.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± I asked, wondering whether something nefarious was afoot.


    ¡°The scream?¡± Thalia shrugged. ¡°That was Gurney. He moved into the floor above because they put all your organisation¡¯s medical equipment there. The last few days he has been up in arms because his nanites are not behaving as they should. He is very upset because of it. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as big of a problem as he makes it out to be. Just shows he isn¡¯t perfect.¡±


    ¡°Moved in?¡± Astra asked, exhausted.


    ¡°Yeah, normally nobody lives in the hospital. Gurney got his quarters, but he never left his new workplace since they set it up for him. He is sleeping in the nurse¡¯s ready room, so it¡¯s not wrong to say he moved in,¡± Thalia explained. She bit her lower lip and finally pulled something large out of my cheek, holding the eight-millimetre splinter triumphantly for me to see. ¡°And I managed it without scratching your eye further.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°You are welcome.¡±


    I got to my feet. ¡°I think I will pay him a visit while they finish with you, Astra.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Astra complained, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. The doctors were in the process of fixating her arm with some sort of plaster cast.


    Thalia gave me a sterile pad so I wouldn¡¯t bleed all over the place and I was on my way while holding it against my cheek to stop the bleeding. There was no problem finding the stairs and getting cleared by two guards who were watching out for unauthorized personnel.


    I found Gurney working with a few more people from the ninth strata. There were also people who I recognized from my days in the organisation, giving me the distinct impression at least a few were solely there to watch Gurney.


    He was handling a machine connected to a touchscreen while a computer next to him displayed a sequence of numbers. The small size of the computer made it obvious that the thing was just an interface connected to the colony¡¯s supercomputer.


    ¡°Hey, Gurney! What are you using our limited resources for? I hope you know we won¡¯t get more of these if you break something?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I know! Do you think I am a fool?¡± Gurney barked back while he turned to me, only to grimace once he got a good look. ¡°By all that¡¯s holy! What happened to your face, Magnus? Did you think it was a bright idea to inspect a sandblaster from up close while it was turned on?¡±


    ¡°Ah, just a little accident while trying to get a grip on our abilities.¡± I waved it off. ¡°I was just in for treatment a floor below when I heard your plight about your new accommodations.¡±


    Gurney harrumphed. ¡°If it just would be that easy. No. What has me so frustrated is that my nanites are going haywire!¡±


    ¡°They are?¡± I asked. ¡°I hope you are not talking about the ones messing with our DNA.¡±


    ¡°What other nanites are there which could hold my interest?¡± Gurney shook his head.


    ¡°So?¡±


    He gestured at his equipment. ¡°I designed those things for a very specific purpose. Namely, to regulate the recombination virus which is responsible for our mutations. They are to act as a part of our immune system and weed out any unwanted irregularities. Autoimmune reactions, cancerous cells, deviating DNA. It¡¯s far from a perfect system, but they are not, and I repeat, not supposed to do anything else!¡±


    ¡°But they do,¡± I stated the obvious conclusion. ¡°What exactly is the problem? Isn¡¯t it possible that Earth made some alterations while you weren¡¯t ¡®practising¡¯?¡±


    Gurney shot me a disapproving glare. ¡°Those fools can try all the alterations they want, but none have any meaning. I would have never unleashed a horde of self-replicating nanomachines if I believed there was the slightest chance of them being altered by my enemies or jumping host species. They do a regular majority check of their functions, not only within the host but also by utilizing the UI network with other hosts. It¡¯s a hard-coded core function. Even if some smartass from Earth introduced a new version, it would be subsumed by the non-corrupted originals as soon as the host enters a settlement and his nanites link up with the rest. The older version would always be recognized as the not corrupted one.¡±


    Or till Gaia takes control and starts messing with their programming on a planetary scale. Shouldn¡¯t be a problem for an entity spanning all of humanity.


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± I raised an eyebrow, nonetheless surprised by this information. And there my people had always worried about getting the right nanites when there was never a true threat. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t know that. So all the experiments done by Earth?¡±


    Gurney waved a hand. ¡°Small alterations in function and prioritization of mutations at most. Maybe some managed to affect the very first mutation an exile got. In the long run, it doesn¡¯t matter because they are functional for a limited amount of time at most. As I said, I was very careful not to create something with the potential to wipe out humanity. If I had allowed any idiot to change my nanites I bet we wouldn¡¯t be talking to each other right now.¡±


    ¡°So what has you in such a tizzy?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The nanites, they do things they aren¡¯t supposed to do!¡± He balled his hands to fists and shook them. ¡°It¡¯s like they evolved on their own while I couldn¡¯t monitor them! Widened their functionality on their own.¡±


    I blinked. ¡°Like what? You are repeating yourself.¡±


    ¡°A myriad of small things, but all together it adds up!¡± He pointed at his tablet. ¡°Hormonal control, lowering the inhibition threshold for unpartnered people. Taking charge of the immune system in case something threatens them. Since your people¡¯s arrival, I had the chance to monitor the partnering of forty-seven couples. The nanites are using hormones to actively influence people whose mutations are compatible. They induce a second puberty!¡±


    ¡°Like mind control?¡± I asked.


    He snorted. ¡°Please, it''s hormones. Nothing as nefarious as a psychic.¡±


    I let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°No! It¡¯s not good. Why am I the only one who sees the problem? Evolving nanites are bad, especially if they follow an unknown agenda! And I am not completely certain yet, but I think we observed at least one case in which they aborted a malformed fetus!¡±


    I massaged my chin, wondering how to handle this. ¡°It sounds like they perfectly integrated themselves with their hosts and are working towards their benefit. And while someone with a higher moral agency than I would have to judge your last point, you haven¡¯t told me anything inherently bad from my point of view.¡±


    Gurney shook his head, seemingly lost at my lack of a reaction. ¡°I am surrounded by idiots.¡±


    ¡°Have you considered whether there is a commonality to all the new functions?¡± I asked. ¡°An overarching goal they achieve? A guiding will, so to say?¡±


    Gurney looked at his data and then at me. ¡°I already explained why changing my nanites is impossible!¡±


    ¡°Nonono, Gurney. That¡¯s not correct. You just told me you can alter their function if you can reprogram the majority of nanites in one fell swoop,¡± I pointed out. ¡°At least that¡¯s how I understood your explanation.¡±


    Gurney gaped at me like a fish before he began working his mouth, but not a single sound came out.


    It was then that I got a UI message marked as urgent.


    I didn¡¯t have to read all of it to get excited. ¡°I am very sorry, Gurney. I just got a very exciting message and I have to run. I will drop in on you at the next opportunity to check whether you solved your little problem.¡±


    Turning abruptly, I ended my visit as spontaneously as I started it.


    Walking at a speed between forced marching and jogging, I rushed to the wormgate, barely remembering to inform Astra of my departure.


    From there I returned to the flagship and gathered a few things before I made my way to the cells, elated at the new development.


    Meanwhile, my sub-personalities were running hot with theories and possibilities.


    Somehow, a patrol had caught Zacharias ¨C or at least one of them. He was already imprisoned and being interrogated by Vanya.


    Not more than twenty minutes later, I burst into the prison cell where Vanya stood with the ancients Mary and Felix, facing the prisoner. Gunnar was also present and taking notes. Zacharias was strung up upside down with his hands and feet pinned to the wall. His bindings were oversized steel shackles, leaving no doubt that even someone with above-average strength would have trouble freeing himself.


    ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t miss anything?¡± I smiled and set up the folding deck chair I brought. Taking a seat and leaning back, I pulled the box with my refreshments closer and chose a cooled drink flavoured with some fruit mix. The caboose staff hadn''t been happy when I requisitioned the items on the fly.


    ¡°No, he hasn¡¯t talked too much since we got him,¡± Gunnar replied slowly. ¡°Excuse me, but what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I am watching,¡± I replied cheerfully.


    ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t Magnus,¡± Zacharias spoke, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°I wondered when you would show up. I assume you have many questions.¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡± I popped off my drink¡¯s cork cap and took a sip. It was the preferred way of bottling liquids on Tirnanog. ¡°Asking you questions is just as dangerous as allowing you to run around the ship. You would inevitably learn what we want to know since I assume you are still connected with your clones. And knowing what your enemy wants to know is sometimes just as important as knowing things about him.¡±


    Zacharias frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know what happened to your sister?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡± I shrugged. ¡°But I suppose you will tell me what you want to tell me and that¡¯s it. You are an ancient with multiple bodies, so nothing I can do to you would truly affect you. There is no way of knowing whether you are telling the truth. If Vanya could do anything, you wouldn¡¯t have allowed this clone of yours to be caught alive so easily. I have fought you, and I don¡¯t believe for a moment some random group of scouts could apprehend you if you had resisted. So you are here because you hope you can learn something, or because you want to tell us something. Either way, I will get what I want out of this.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± Zacharias looked intrigued.


    I slowly relaxed in my chair. ¡°I strongly believe you are somehow involved in my sisters¡¯ abduction. Why else would you know us by name? I don¡¯t think of myself as a murdery person. Watching others suffer doesn¡¯t give me anything, except for when they did something to me or mine. And you are too dangerous to imprison. So, even if it is just a foretaste of what is to come, I will just sit here and enjoy the sights till you croak.¡±


    Zach laughed. ¡°You are one sick motherfucker. So, should we start the meeting?¡±

 Ch 150 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    Nobody replied to Zach''s invitation to ''start the party'', which seemed to bum him out for a moment before he gathered himself.


    ¡°Okay, if you must be serious about it, let me enlighten you on the truth of our situation.¡± He drew in a deep breath as if he was about to reveal a big secret. ¡°I am not your enemy.¡±


    I took a sip from my bottle. ¡°Of course not. You are just a small gear in the great machine who only follows orders. Totally innocent.¡±


    ¡°No, no, you don''t understand. I am not your Zacharias, well, I am Zacharias, but not the Zacharias you are fighting.¡± He tried to look serious with his slightly insane claim.


    I surveyed the room, studying the various expressions of disbelief on everyone¡¯s faces.


    Zach cleared his throat. ¡°I admit this plan of mine sounded a lot better while still in my head. Walking right up to my enemies and expecting to be believed. I suppose I was lucky you decided to listen to me instead of executing this clone on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Not this again.¡± Felix rolled his eyes. ¡°Another multiple personality trip? Zach, I believe we sorted out that nobody buys that bullshit from you. You pulled that one during the last war already. I am not completely clear on how your clones work, but I am fairly certain that at the end of the day, they are all ''you''. However you call yourself.¡±


    ¡°True. At least until I found an ancient research facility beneath Thich City and encountered a mind-bending alien who twisted most of my clones and people to then build a supremacist cult bent on world domination at all costs. At least that''s what they believe they are doing.¡±


    ¡°An alien?¡± Gunner raised a questioning eyebrow.


    ¡°I call it the mindwarper,¡± Zach clarified.


    Mary massaged her temple. ¡°Zach¡­ I know I hit you as hard as I could the last time we met but¡­¡±


    ¡°This has nothing to do with me being touched in the head. I am not messing with you. At the end of the clan war, my people found a facility of non-human make beneath our capital. When we unearthed it, I encountered this¡­ thing¡­ and it was stronger than any psychic I ever met. All my defences were nothing against it. The only reason I managed to partially withstand it was that its range seemed limited and some of my clones were outside the capital at the time. It nonetheless messed me up and I have been fighting a war for control with my corrupted clones ever since.¡±


    Felix snorted. ¡°Your naming sense aside, there are no aliens.¡±


    ¡°Then call the thing I encountered one of Tirnanog''s monstrosities. You guys know as well as I do that there is intelligent competition in this world. I don''t care.¡± Zach shrugged. ¡°Anyway, as you can see, the alien had some trouble taking me over completely. An undisclosed number of my clones escaped the thing''s control and are currently in hiding. I hope you understand I won''t tell you any definite numbers. And don¡¯t tell me any secrets you don¡¯t want to get out. There is still a connection between me and my corrupted selves. Anyway, the reason I am here is to tell you that the corrupted Zachs are fixated on opening a doorway or wormhole to meet this entity again. The last time I got information on them they were close to succeeding.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t completely understand the reasons for their actions. There was no communication between me and this alien. As I see it, their actions are providing the entity with research material in the form of human test subjects. The corrupted Zachs believe their actions will get them full access to the thing''s facilities and technology, so they are happily ''sacrificing'' all the test subjects they can get their hands on. Unfortunately, it seems like only twins who mutated with the mindwarper''s DNA can control the transportation device.¡±


    So my sisters truly had an alien mutation. Well, this only confirmed Gaia¡¯s story so far.


    I wondered whether this was the right moment to involve some more people in our little cabal of those who were in the know, but after a moment I decided to talk it through with the others first.


    ¡°Transportation device?¡± Felix asked and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°The one the mindwarper used to leave their facility once we discovered it,¡± Zach explained. ¡°They can control the humans around them to a degree, but there must be a limit. So they left with some sort of teleportation device. To my knowledge, the mindwarper hasn¡¯t shown itself to more than a handful of people since it left the facility¡¯s management to the corrupted humans.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this mindwarper supposed to look like?¡± Gunner asked.


    ¡°Violet skin. The torso is on four three-jointed legs with hooves. Four human-ish arms. Two with claws and two have hands with six fingers. There are two oblong heads with three eyes on each. About two and a half metres tall.¡±


    Mary scoffed. ¡°I can¡¯t say I ever saw or heard of such a creature. And I have seen a lot on Tirnanog. Even the things which go bump in the night.¡±


    ¡°If it''s gone for most of the time, then where would its Thich servants get more mindwarper material for their mutations?¡± I asked.


    ¡°From the growth tanks in the facility,¡± Zach provided the answer happily. ¡°My people don''t understand a smidgen of how it all works, but we understand enough to tell that the entire complex is dedicated towards genetic research. Some of the equipment is automated to a degree that even we stupid humans can press a few buttons to have a new monster cooked up. My counterparts provided some of the tech to Earth in exchange for assistance and a steady supply of subjects.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I glanced at the others, wondering whether they made the connection to the psyling which attacked the flagship. ¡°So they cooked up the shapeshifter which attacked the flagship in this facility?¡±


    ¡°Ah, probably yes? I don¡¯t know which creature exactly you are talking about. They are trying for new ones all the time. I only know of a squid-thing they sent after you once Earth sent the message they needed you handled.¡± Zacharias grinned.


    ¡°How many can they make?¡± Gunner guided the topic to a more practical question. ¡°Do we have to expect more of those things?¡±


    ¡°Oh, not many,¡± Zacharias assured us. ¡°The monsters grow fairly quickly once they add the required genetic material. Two or three weeks. Thankfully, they can¡¯t control most of the monsters coming out of those tanks. It¡¯s like the creatures are pre-programmed to hate humans or see us as food. The ones who don¡¯t go nuts killing everyone around them upon waking up are the failures as I see it. In my honest opinion, the mindwarper isn¡¯t too fond of humanity. It did its best to keep things running without the risk of being revealed to the clans.¡±


    Mary shook her head, looking horrified. ¡°I have never heard such a load of bullshit, Zach. If that''s an insane attempt at inserting a spy into our ranks by pretending to be an ally, then forget it. When did this supposedly happen? Shouldn''t you have had years to warn someone?¡±


    ¡°But we have encountered people whose minds were quite obviously manipulated by a powerful psychic,¡± Vanya pointed out.


    ¡°Ah, please don''t mistake a whim of altruism for me trying to join your little community. I said we aren''t enemies, but we aren''t friends either. Whatever the alien did to split my collective, it doesn''t mean the other Zachs are acting completely against my wishes. Their intentions and desires are warped to the extreme, but on a fundamental level, I don''t disagree with what they are trying to achieve. Uplifting and uniting Tirnanog¡¯s humans is an inevitable necessity, and if the Thich become the monsters who force all of you to see reason, then I am all for it. I nonetheless dislike my clones going rogue and I believe now that you all have been shaken awake, there is a good chance to put an end to my problem.¡±


    Felix shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s say for a moment that all of this is true. I would still have you strung up for not warning the other clans immediately.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be dumber than you are, Felix,¡± Zacharias replied with a sneer in his tone.


    ¡°And you are here to...?¡± Vanya left the sentence unfinished, an obvious question.


    ¡°Obviously, to warn you of the mindwarper.¡± Zach smiled. ¡°Can''t have even more clan leaders fall victim to the thing. If you just walk into Thich City to loot the remains after a hard-won battle, that''s exactly what would happen. Can¡¯t have that. I need you to kill my corrupted selves.¡±


    The other ancients looked at each other.


    ¡°And we are supposed to believe there is something capable of influencing an ancient''s mind?¡± Felix prodded further. ¡°Gurney went to extensive lengths to safeguard us against psychic influence once he discovered the existence of such mutations.¡±


    ¡°Gurney is a genius, but he isn''t perfect. Nor can he anticipate every little detail about an ability which is still not understood to this day.¡± Zacharias snorted. ¡°The thing I encountered down in the ruins is on another level when it comes to psychic power and I had a long time to think about it. In my humble opinion, I believe it might even be one of the architects behind Tirnanog''s monstrous nature, given the facility''s purpose. This whole planet is one giant petri dish for the mindwarper.¡±


    Zacharias shrugged. ¡°I also have to say, back in the day I had little hope of someone believing me if a few of my clones came up to the clans and spun tales of growing corruption in Thich while my people denied everything. And given the threat¡¯s nature, there would have been little chance of some emissary finding out the truth without being corrupted themselves. Would you have started another war against Thich right after the clan war? Because that¡¯s what it would have taken to prove my claim since we were already on bad terms back then.¡±


    ¡°What about Nisha Dawson and the Vier?¡± Vanya asked.


    ¡°Some of Vier¡¯s diplomats were corrupted. Nisha is clean as far as I know. She has never been to Thich City,¡± Zach replied and allowed a cruel smile to escape him. ¡°And since I manipulated things to have Vier¡¯s troops at the frontline of your last engagement, most of that particular problem should be gone. Not that Vier could muster another fleet of mentionable proportions after taking such losses. No, I believe they will surrender once you show up at their gates. Though I cannot say what Nisha will do for certain. She was always a feisty one.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained your interest in Magnus,¡± Gunnar pointed out.


    Zacharias pursed his lips in thought. ¡°To be perfectly honest, neither I nor my corrupted counterparts were aware of him until Earth sent us a message that he must be dealt with. They were also very interested in acquiring his unique mutations. Something about him had their scientists mobilize all the resources and enticements they could to make us do their dirty work. As far as I understood it, he was also a personality of great renown back on Earth. It was only natural for us to acquire all the information we could get about him.¡±


    Gunnar clicked his tongue. ¡°So I was a little too late after all. I thought I cut those strings before it would get troublesome.¡±


    Zach looked at me. ¡°I must admit, the story we got told was a spicy one. To go to such lengths just to get revenge for your family. You are almost as bad as me when it comes to your methods. If it wasn¡¯t for my unique ability, I would almost be worried about becoming your next target. Tell me, Magnus, how many more people do you intend to kill for hurting your family? Will you kill me too?¡±


    I took a sip from my bottle. ¡°Everyone who was involved in the decision to eliminate them. Everyone who knew about it and did nothing to stop it. I am not overcomplicating things.¡±


    ¡°You killed plenty who just stood in your way,¡± Zach pointed out. ¡°People who didn¡¯t even know your name.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but they were part of the system supporting those who made the decision,¡± I clarified. ¡°You might claim there were those among them who never intended me or mine direct harm. When you are shot, are you worried just about the bullet? It was the bullet which harmed you after all. The gun was only the mechanism firing it. Or are you blaming the one who pulled the trigger? I see it the same way with people and organisations like Earth¡¯s government. There are those who signed the kill order on my parents, who I blame. There are those who supported the decision and looked away, who I don¡¯t particularly care about but who died nonetheless if they stood in my path. And there are those who support the system and uphold the power, who can be collateral damage.¡±


    Zacharias tilted his head. ¡°If so, you forgot the scientists who were involved in your sisters becoming a part of the experiment.¡±


    Gunnar shook his head. ¡°The research assistants suffered an unfortunate accident and were infected with their own creation. A containment breach while they were working on their modified nano-machines. According to protocol, they were immediately euthanised. And as for the dear head of research, I paid him a visit in his cell. Last time I checked, the men and women replacing them should have a far more conservative approach to handling their research and the exiling of unwanted people.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why Earth suddenly went silent.¡± Zach nodded slowly. ¡°I must admit, this organisation of yours is hard-working.¡±


    ¡°We have centuries of experience under a government controlling far more resources than we do.¡± Gunnar took another note.


    I groaned inwardly as the questioning continued. As things were going, I expected it to be a long day.

 Ch 151 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    I gave off a thoughtful snort as I studied the corpse hanging from the wall.


    Zacharias had indeed kicked the bucket after two days of being hung upside down. My second sight told me in no uncertain terms that his heart had stopped beating and whatever electromagnetic field his body generated had dropped down to environmental levels.


    From my point of view, he was dead as a rock ¨C the thought had me chuckle inwardly.


    In the end, nobody had spoken up in Zach¡¯s defence. No matter how small the risk of his fantastical tale being a crafty lie was, as long as there was a risk, nobody would take the chance of keeping him around for longer than necessary.


    I had to give it to him that he shared quite a lot of information about the enemy.


    Personally, I never got the feeling this particular clone was truly on our side. As Zach forewarned in the beginning, the whole story felt like he was trying to use us for his benefit.


    Like me, Vanya had been there most of the time and looked exhausted. Both of us had only stepped out for physical necessities. Mary and Felix shared shifts till it became clear that Zach was no longer in a state to flee even if he wanted to.


    ¡°Do you think this fantastical story he dished us was true?¡± I asked Hochberg¡¯s matriarch.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied tiredly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t read his mind, but I believe what he told us was mostly the truth. At least I can¡¯t see any obvious inconsistencies with what we can confirm. It¡¯s the only explanation for the quite strange behaviour our enemies displayed. An intelligent tool-using alien though? That¡¯s a big one to swallow. I have looked through all the records my clan has access to and we never encountered something on the level Zach described. At least nothing which can¡¯t be traced back to human origin.¡±


    ¡°There are the drakes,¡± I pointed out. ¡°They are quite intelligent and we can communicate with them.¡±


    ¡°There are also the night-terrors who display above-average reasoning capabilities. As you have seen, they also build social structures if their numbers are allowed to grow unchecked.¡± Vanya shook her head. ¡°And while I admit what I learned about the drakes baffled and concerned me, there is no known creature of pure Tirnanogian origin which uses tools. I have spent a lot of time with Loopsfast and while he is a smart creature, he also seems utterly incapable of understanding complex mechanisms or math. That part of their mind seems underdeveloped.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I nodded slowly while I studied the UI chat which had been going on between Astra, Thalia, their parents, Mark and me.


    I started it the moment Zach dropped the alien bombshell on us. Before, everyone had been wondering whether going public about Gaia was the right thing to do. Now, everyone involved was at least of the opinion that it was time to include all of the clan leaders in our little cabal of those who were in the know. ¡°It might be time for some more mind-blowing revelations.¡±


    Vanya frowned. ¡°Is this about the impromptu meeting your elders called for?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I got out of my armchair and stretched. ¡°I suggest you find a way to clear your head, because in two hours, what we have to share will widen your horizon. Oh, and I suppose Gurney will have a stroke. We should arrange for medical care beforehand.¡±


    Vanya gave me a look of disapproval. ¡°Then I will take a nap. Zach¡¯s confession was already mind-blowing enough if you ask me.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    I halted before I left the cell. ¡°If I may ask, why did you listen to the whole spiel when you don¡¯t have mutations which allow you to pull all-nighters?¡±


    The girl pursed her lips as if considering whether I deserved an answer to a stupid question. ¡°Simple. It was a unique chance to profile one of the enemy¡¯s leaders within a controlled environment. Even if my psychic abilities were of no use against him, that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t form a mental model of his persona the old-fashioned way. It¡¯s called profiling.¡±


    With that she left the room, leaving me to wonder whether the girl had ever been something other than a ruthless leader of her clan.


    Five hours later I found myself answering, as I found, inane questions about our interactions with the entity who called herself Gaia.


    We had come clean with the clan leaders of Hochberg, Aerie, and Jeng. Giving them the gist of it had taken the better part of an hour and garnered all sorts of responses. From outright disbelief to careful questioning of our sanity down to buying into the credibility of the people on our side. There was a wide spectrum among the elders of Clan Aerie, while Hochberg and Jeng had yet to voice their thoughts in a meaningful manner.


    ¡°Is there truly no possibility that Zach¡¯s clone might have some psychic ability?¡± Elder Casey Ortega asked. ¡°What if he influenced you?¡±


    As a member of the fifth strata and a stringent believer in the Church of Gaia, she was inclined to question the validity of our claims more than all the others.


    ¡°May I point out that I was the only one who visited Zacharias?¡± I replied. ¡°Astra was at Mount Aerie all the time. Thalia and Mark were also never even close to the clone¡¯s cell. Unless you suggest Zach might be able to influence people beyond the horizon, there is no chance he could have corrupted them with some imagined story to confuse us.¡±


    ¡°Still, with only four people being able to interact with Gaia, that puts you in a quite questionable place,¡± Elder Hayne Ortega pointed out. ¡°If you are right, then this Gaia might have the answers to all our questions. Not only practical ones but also of metaphysical and moral nature. It puts a lot more power in your hands than most would be comfortable with.¡±


    ¡°A problem which will naturally solve itself with time,¡± Thalia replied. ¡°As we already explained. Once more people get the ability to interact with her, our perceived status will lessen.¡±


    Ahmad Gentry, head paladin of Clan Jeng shook his head. It wasn¡¯t often that the huge bug-like man spoke up instead of Jeng¡¯s ancient, so everyone at the table turned to listen. ¡°It was made quite clear that even if this Gaia entity might have the answers to a lot of questions, her ability to interfere with our current problems is quite limited. The question we should ask is how this knowledge affects our stance towards Thich. I also want to say that we don¡¯t blame Aerie for keeping Gaia a secret. Before Zach¡¯s confession, they were unlikely to be believed.¡±


    Gurney leaned forward. ¡°So she is what is messing with my nanites? How can we stop her?¡±


    ¡°Do we want to?¡± Juliana Rumen questioned back.


    ¡°If I had to choose between Gurney no longer having control of his nanites or not, I would choose the former,¡± Mary interjected. ¡°Though, I am not clear whether this Gaia is any better. There are some deeper considerations to think about here. I will need time to digest this.¡±


    Gurney didn¡¯t look pleased about having his brainchild taken out of his hands, but it was clear nobody gave a fuck.


    Vanya raised her voice for the first time in this meeting. The matriarch had been unusually silent so far. ¡°I need to clarify a few inconsistencies in your story. First, you said that Gaia was very helpful on multiple occasions and you believe she has humanity¡¯s best interests in mind.¡±


    I raised a warning finger. ¡°So that we don¡¯t misunderstand each other. We are the hardware she runs on. Gaia should at least be interested in our well-being as we are in taking care of our bodies. If not for extraordinary circumstances, I don¡¯t think she''d care about individuals. Just as we don¡¯t care about the fate of individual cells.¡±


    The matriarch nodded slowly. ¡°What I am driving at is her ability to interact with the physical world. You said she once woke you up to warn you of imminent danger?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astra affirmed from her seat next to me. ¡°Though, the way she did it seemed to exhaust her greatly.¡±


    ¡°How did Gaia perceive that danger?¡± Vanya questioned. ¡°I simply can¡¯t imagine an entity as you describe being as limited as Gaia pretends to be. Even if Gaia is indeed a purely energy-based lifeform, an energy field which somehow gained sentience, she still needs at least some awareness of what is going on in the physical world. What I don''t understand is why she would pretend to be lesser than she is.¡±


    The matriarch tilted her head and suddenly invited the entire congregation to a UI chatroom before she began rapidly posting a complete transcript of the entire meeting so far, ending it with a peculiar message.


    [Vanya Hochberg]: ¡®The jig is up, Gaia.¡¯


    The left side of Gurney¡¯s face began to twitch at that. ¡°I have programmed the UI interface. Believe me, there is no way someone who isn¡¯t even showing in the member list in chat could post a message.¡±


    [Gaia]: ¡®Evidently.¡¯


    And with that, everyone in the room went nuts.

 Ch 152 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    I abruptly sat up and cursed silently, looking at Astra. ¡°Did you know the sneaky snake could do that?¡±


    We always suspected Gaia wasn¡¯t playing all her cards in the open. But the simple fact was there was nothing we could do if she didn''t want to cough up her secrets.


    Astra only stared off into space as she sat up a little straighter, looking livid as she concentrated on her UI. ¡°No. Evidently, our lazy, little goddess couldn''t be bothered to tell her faithful servants that there was more than one way to contact her. I will be sure to voice my disapproval of her policies as soon as we see each other in person. I''ll haunt her dreams.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bother to inform the small circle of people who could talk to you in their dreams of this ability of yours?¡± Vanya asked while she simultaneously continued to transcribe the whole conversation. ¡°I bet they would have advocated to reveal your existence much sooner if they had known.¡±


    [Gaia]: ¡®Honestly, the entire dream-talking affair was an unexpected side-effect. I still haven¡¯t made up my mind about it entirely, though it seems mostly harmless in nature. From a human¡¯s point of view, the closest comparison would be to suddenly being able to talk to your subconsciousness. An ¨C if sometimes annoying ¨C mostly beneficial ability. As for being able to hack the UI chat function, I couldn¡¯t do so until Magnus logged into the colony computers and unlocked the function with administration rights. So, one could say using the chat is an ability I only recently gained. I saw no reason to reveal it if there was no great need.¡¯


    Skye Rumen tilted his head. ¡°And why should there be a need now?¡±


    [Gaia]: ¡®Well, it was decided on the fly that the time was ripe to reveal my existence, so I deemed it necessary to hammer the point home, so to speak. I wouldn¡¯t want a political split to hamper the current efforts at ending the threat which Thich represents. And mind you, they are a threat. Not only for the clans but for Tirnanog¡¯s humanity as a whole. They are collaborating with entities whose plans they can barely fathom. Even if it works out for them in the short term, they will have to pay a steep price as soon as they are no longer useful.¡¯


    Vanya pursed her lips and frowned with a doubting expression. ¡°Are you threatened though? From as much as I understand of your nature, I very much challenge there is anything that can truly harm you.¡±


    [Gaia]: ¡®Let me clarify, there isn¡¯t much that can harm the Gestalt as a whole, but this sub-partition you are talking to who calls herself Gaia can very much be harmed. As long as there is no wormhole connecting me to Earth, information can only travel at lightspeed. I, Gaia, am on my own. Compared to the Gestalt who I split off from, I have very few resources because except for Tirnanog¡¯s humans, there are very few creatures creating energy fields I can use. If you lose this war, there is a real possibility for ¡®me¡¯ to die.¡¯


    ¡°Are you already talking to other people, now that you have made your move?¡± Felix asked with a little bit of trepidation in his voice, his gaze sweeping over the congregation. ¡°This will be such a mess if this Gaia starts messaging people all over the place.¡±


    [Gaia]: ¡®I have not, nor do I feel the desire to do so. Believe me when I say that I only decided to have this conversation because doubts about my existence are contra-productive at this point. I have no desire to interact with too many people daily, though I fear a certain amount of involvement with humans is unavoidable now that the waking-dream mutation is about to spread.¡¯


    ¡°Are you monitoring the entire UI-chat right now?¡± Juliana asked.


    [Gaia]: ¡®I could, but I prefer not to. Much like a parent doesn¡¯t desire to know everything their offspring is up to. Though I may pay attention if I see the need.¡¯


    ¡°She seems well socialized for an entity which presumably had only superficial contact with humans so far,¡± someone commented, and was mercilessly transcribed to chat by Vanya even if the speaker probably meant their remark to stay among the congregation.


    [Gaia]: ¡®I am giving my best to come across as a benevolent part of human existence. We have existed with each other since the beginning, so I hope you will be able to see past your instinctive fear response. Personality-wise, I don¡¯t think leaning onto the whole ¡®creator of all life¡¯ side of things does fit me. As far as I ¨C Gaia ¨C know, this is the first time for a part of the Gestalt to be able to interact so directly with my body. Creation? I suppose the human language doesn¡¯t have a word for what you are to me or I to you.¡¯


    ¡°Your creation?¡± someone else asked. ¡°So you created humanity?¡±


    [Gaia]: ¡®In regards to the first humans, the ones who came long before you, I don¡¯t know what came first. The Gestalt does not know who or what created it, though we know it was for a greater purpose. Whether the Gestalt came first or the microorganisms which emitted the electromagnetic field giving the Gestalt form. But those times are long past. As for the current humanity, yes. The Gestalt very much ¡®created¡¯ or at least ¡®altered¡¯ you through the process of evolution. Just like I have a guiding hand in what you are becoming right now. Though, I have to admit that using nanomachines is so much faster than the old-fashioned way of evolution. I must give my respects where respect is due.¡¯


    Ancient Mary pressed her lips to a thin line in silent frustration. ¡°So what is your role in this conflict, then? I want to hear your perspective.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    [Gaia]: ¡®Before I became aware of other energy entities, I lived contently within my little bubble. Much like a caveman who was unaware of what lies beyond the sea. Then I had to learn that, broken down to your level of understanding, existing in a world of energy isn''t so different from the physical world. There is a fight for resources. There are intellectual and moral considerations. Even ''religious'' aspects if I am allowed to call them such. The other energy entities are not like me. They don''t interact with the energies emitted from biological matter but rely on the energy fields of planets or even stars. When we became aware of each other countless aeons ago, their first reaction was to try to kill me and by extension your ancestors. But, life finds a way.¡¯


    ¡°Why?¡± someone asked.


    [Gaia]: ¡®Their reasoning can''t be broken down to a single easily understandable answer as you would understand it. I never got a real explanation from energy entity to energy entity, which is just as frustrating to me as it is likely to you. Upon our first true interaction, they stopped talking as soon as they realized what I was, but I managed to interview a few of their agents since then. One reason of their many reasons is that they despise the nature of my existence. Running on biological energy fields is something impure or parasitic to them. Another reason might be that they are afraid of my potential, of what I could become if left alone.¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Juliana stated.


    [Gaia]: ¡®The other energy entities are bound to the energy fields of celestial bodies like planets or stars. This gives them individually more power than I could ever gather in one solar system. Even if the biosphere of a whole star system is entirely at my command, it is nothing compared to the power output of a star. But imagine the Gestalt spreading over an entire Galaxy and further. While they are bound to their celestial bodies, our potential is limitless. We only need the time and opportunity to realize it.¡¯


    Gaia kept on reassuring the various clan leaders of her benevolence by answering their questions till late in the evening.


    Most of it concerned things we had already chewed through repeatedly, so I zoned out not long after it was clear that this was only part of the vetting process we had to suffer through one way or the other.


    It was an exhausting day through and through and there was no doubt there would be follow-up meetings, questions galore, and a lot of private discussions between Gaia and the various clan leaders.


    Except for the surprise of Gaia¡¯s ability to use the UI-chat, it had gone better than we had any right to expect. There was only a little hiccup when one of the doubters raised concerns that this could still be some elaborate prank. Thankfully, psychics were a thing and could quickly confirm that the few witnesses who met Gaia in their dreams were firmly convinced of her existence. It wasn¡¯t a hundred per cent proof, but it was better than nothing.


    So I was glad when the meeting was finished and Astra and I could finally return home.


    ¡°So, there is something important I haven¡¯t told you yet,¡± Astra began as we entered her family¡¯s estate. ¡°There was a little family drama while you were following the whole issue with the Zacharias clone. It¡¯s already resolved, so I didn¡¯t inform you right away, but you should probably give Isaac some breathing room for a little bit ¨C after you have a firm word with the boy.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Bring it on. What did he get himself into?¡±


    ¡°He got himself into another fight, but his reason is understandable,¡± Astra explained. ¡°Klein died.¡±


    Okay, this would probably get me into trouble, but I just had to ask. Just to confirm the happy news.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Klein died. Isaac¡¯s pet zipper. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t remember its name. I know you never liked Klein, but you were the one feeding it most of the time,¡± Astra said, exasperated before she narrowed her eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­¡±


    I raised both hands to ward off any accusations before they were spoken aloud. ¡°My stores of deathnut oil are well protected. I am following Thalia¡¯s rigorous safety regulations to the dot. It would be tremendously stupid of me to poison our kids¡¯ pet with the stuff. If I would want to get rid of the darned thing, I would have thrown Klein out the door and said it ran away!¡±


    Besides, I already tried that one night and it did not work. The cursed thing came back like some kind of dog.


    Astra nodded to herself after a moment of consideration.


    Anyway, I hated the stupid thing. Its entire species was a blight on the universe. ¡°Nonetheless¡­ that¡¯s so very sad,¡± I said doing my best to look serious. ¡°Did someone step on it accidentally? Isaac must be crushed.¡±


    Astra gave me a look. She knew very well what I thought of Klein. ¡°No. We just found him in his cage last morning. I had Kiera take a look at it. She isn¡¯t specialized in animals, but she believes it must have been some vitamin or mineral deficiency. Isaac didn¡¯t take it very well and got into a fight with that other boy at the crib and broke his thumb. I want you to be understanding, but you also have to make it clear to Isaac that fighting with the other children is no good.¡±


    Turns out, taking some wild animal and having it as a pet is not a good idea. Who would have thought? This could all have been avoided if someone had listened to me at the start.


    ¡°Would it be petty of me to say I told you so?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, and I am very much aware that you never liked the thing and are probably celebrating Klein¡¯s demise in your head.¡± Astra huffed. ¡°Try to be nice about it nonetheless.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°What are you taking me for?¡±


    We entered our abode and Astra showed me to the living room where we found Isaac brooding over his building blocks while playing with his sisters. He had his hand in a cast to make sure the thumb would heal right.


    ¡°Hello, little warrior.¡± I went over to Isaac and picked him up which was reciprocated with a hug. ¡°I heard our troops suffered losses while I was working.¡±


    Isaac sniffed. ¡°Klein died and Norbert was mean about it at the crib. He said it was my fault because we didn¡¯t feed Klein enough.¡±


    ¡°I am sure there had to be a better way to solve the issue than violence?¡± I continued in a questioning tone.


    ¡°He shoved me first!¡± Isaac replied stubbornly while Astra picked up the girls and left the room with a disapproving expression.


    I lowered my voice to a whisper. ¡°Oh, if he started the violence, that¡¯s an entirely different matter. It¡¯s not right to start a fight, but always make sure to end it. But, just how did he manage to break your thumb?¡±


    Isaac raised a tiny fist. ¡°I hit him after he shoved me!¡±


    I winced and took Issac¡¯s hand, prying his fingers apart. ¡°Now, look Isaac. If you are going to hit someone, you can¡¯t have your thumb on the inside of your fist. That is just asking to hurt yourself. You also don¡¯t hit with the entire fist but with the knuckles of your index and middle finger. See? Those have the strongest bones. And if you want to throw a real punch you pull your fist back to your body, palm up like this. Then you turn it one-hundred-eighty degrees while punching. Put your entire weight behind it and don¡¯t forget to turn the torso with the punch while doing so.¡±


    Astra poked her head back into the room with narrowed eyes. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Sometimes the woman¡¯s intuition frightens me.


    ¡°N- n- nothing?!¡± I replied quickly. ¡°Isaac and I were just discussing how to avoid injuries in future conflicts. Right, Isaac?¡±


    Isaac nodded dutifully. ¡°Fighting is not right.¡±

 Ch 153 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°So what did you want to talk about?¡± I asked while taking a seat. Gunnar''s private office was as large as it got on Aerie''s flagship, but it was already filled to the brim with documents and reports. It was proof of how involved the organisation''s top spymaster and agent had gotten in this conflict.


    I still had some reservations about my uncle, but I did my best not to let our strained relationship cloud my judgment. As long as Gunnar did his best to be professional about it, I could do the same.


    Maybe it was best to think of him as the Agent Crowford I had gotten to know over my years with the organisation.


    ¡°You are late!¡± Gunnar complained.


    ¡°I have a wife who demands my attention in the morning, a slightly depressed boy whose pet died not long ago, and twin daughters who just discovered the joy of asking ''what?'', ''what?'', ''what?'' till you get to the point you no longer know what answers to give.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Beat me. I got here as soon as I could. And as long as there is no emergency, I see no reason to speed around causing havoc.¡±


    ¡°Hmpf.¡± Gunnar aligned a stash of documents against the desk surface and handed it to me.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I asked while taking a look at the front sheet. ¡°Operation Trade Exchange?¡±


    ¡°It''s a proposal to retrieve Evanna. At least it is the best plan I could come up with so far,¡± Gunnar explained while I began rifling through the pages.


    ¡°I believe the recently announced strike against the Caravaner traitors is a unique opportunity. If we can convince the others to go through with this plan, there is a real chance to rescue your sister. The plan is to not wipe out their caravan entirely, but to take it over and use it as a means to infiltrate Thich City.¡± He stopped for a moment and massaged his chin thoughtfully before he continued.


    ¡°There is no doubt that trying to take over the caravan with the animals and their cargo mostly intact poses additional risks. Like losing more of our forces than necessary. If us holding back means they get a message out the plan is also busted. But the potential reward is not only to get a chance at rescuing Evanne but to have a small group of our people right inside Thich''s defences.¡±


    He shook his head before continuing, ¡°We haven''t seen the defences at their fortress city yet, but judging by all the reports I have gotten till now, I fear no matter how many resources the clans have at their disposal, and even if we get those Aerie reinforcements, the true problem will be breaking Thich''s defences before the coming winter. It was explained to me that there would be no fighting once the snow comes and buries everything beneath it. The wormgate allows us to bring in resources far easier than the enemy would expect, theoretically expanding our ability to wage war to the winter months, but the airships won''t be able to withstand the winter storms.¡±


    Having already witnessed the seemingly endless layer of snow covering this continent during the winter months, I could only agree. If the airships were left out in the open, they would suffer. Not to mention, I had no clue whether the glow moss would survive the cold. It was pivotal in providing the necessary hydrogen gas to provide lift. The caves of Mount Aerie provided a constant climate and hadn¡¯t Juliana mentioned the moss needed very specific conditions to grow?


    I put the neatly organized proposal back on the table. ¡°I agree.¡±


    Gunnar scoffed. ¡°You haven''t even read it yet. Just leafed through it.¡±


    There was no way I could hold back the smug expression which stole itself onto my face as I tapped a finger against my temple. ¡°You forget my mutations. I have read the entire document. Though I might suggest instead of using only elite forces, we recruit some of the Caravaners who are loyal to us. I believe the Northroutes are as loyal as it gets. They would have the easiest time impersonating their traitorous relatives. Otherwise, I am afraid the ruse would be up very quickly. While I was with them I saw them getting up to some quite ritualistic quirks. They have their way of wording things and some traditions which even the other clans are not privy to. They are quite insular. If there is even one attentive Thich guard, our replacements would be easily spotted.


    ¡°Another thing to point out is that we have to make sure taking over a saherna is as easy as you believe it is. I never witnessed how those monsters are persuaded to go where they are supposed to, but I imagine if everyone knew the trick to tame those things, the great clans would likely run their own trading expeditions. The thing I am not quite as enthusiastic about is what comes after.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say we manage to take the caravan intact and use it to infiltrate Thich City. How do we proceed from there? I know you are good, Gunnar, but this is a different culture. They have all those little idiosyncrasies like cursing on Gaia or one animal or the other. If I thought I could just walk into Thich City and get Evanne out, I would have already done it. As I see it, the real problem is not getting into the city, it is finding her. Once I know her whereabouts, I can grab her and jaunt out of there. Whether she likes it or not is a problem to be dealt with afterwards.¡±


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Gunnar nodded. ¡°I think you may overestimate the problem, or underestimate my abilities. Earth has countless cultures and I pride myself in the fact that I managed to operate all over the planet with relative ease. The clans have indeed evolved their little quirks, but they are far from insurmountable and I have decades of experience. I have been hard at work to settle in ever since I arrived. As for finding Evanne, given my particular skill set, I have yet to encounter a problem I haven¡¯t been able to solve within a few days.¡±


    ¡°Days?¡± I asked. ¡°Even if you can infiltrate the city, I doubt the rest could pretend to be Thich¡¯s Caravaning family for that long. There will doubtlessly be people who know who is supposed to be on those sahernas.¡±


    ¡°A worst-case scenario. As long as Evanne is within the city, I expect to find her within a few hours. It¡¯s not like back on Earth where I had to search an entire country for the target,¡± Gunnar replied with absolute confidence.


    ¡°Psychics?¡± Those were another big problem. I threw in my concerns, not because I was against the plan, but because poor execution could mean as much of a risk to Evanne as not trying it at all. If Zacharias got the idea that she might be an important political hostage, he would try to use her without a doubt. The fact that he hadn¡¯t already done so could only mean he underestimated how much political pull I had in this conflict.


    I wasn¡¯t completely sure of my political weight at this point. But Aerie¡¯s ancestor was practically an in-law grandma and the elders listened to what I had to say. Hochberg¡¯s matriarch owed me her life and I had some connections to the Northroute Caravaners.


    There was no doubt Evanne would be in grave danger if Zacharias got wind of that.


    Gunnar gave a surprising reply, ¡°I convinced Vanya to give me an hour of training every day. Last time we spoke, she thought I could shield myself as long as I stay away from any big shots.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were chasing after Mary in your free time?¡± I joked.


    ¡°That too, boy. You have a lot to learn when it comes to women who don¡¯t reciprocate your feelings immediately. You have to let them relax for a time and make sure to spread some bait so they don¡¯t forget you. Then, once they are on the hook, you can slowly reel them in.¡±


    ¡°Just make sure Mary never hears that. The woman might fry you to a crisp if you compare her to a fish.¡± I puffed up my cheeks, not convinced. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Gunnar. If you run into a good psychic by accident, the whole operation would be over. They are not that numerous, but I ran into enough of them to be concerned about your chances. And given Thich¡¯s social tendencies, I expect their psychics to do as they please.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a risk I am willing to take,¡± Gunnar stated stoically. ¡°You are not the only one who would move heaven and earth to get the girls back. I promised my brother to look out for his kids if something happened to him, and I utterly failed him so far. Let me do this.¡±


    I drew in a long breath and let it out slowly as I made up my mind. ¡°Okay. Then let¡¯s see what our supermind thinks about this and check with the Caravaners whether it is feasible at all. If we can¡¯t control the sahernas, there is no point in any theory planning.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°It can go more quickly than anyone would believe. Two days at home and you are already a housewife,¡± Thalia teased while I used my filaments to hand out tea for everyone. I still had to be mindful of my broken arm.


    Iv took a careful sniff of the fruit mix I had chosen while Constella and Aurora played with Iv¡¯s symbiont. The slime was bouncing around the living room like a rubber ball while the sisters chased after it as fast as they could. They were fast for children, but they hadn¡¯t mastered flash step yet ¨C thankfully. Their brother had adopted the ability instinctively, which was the main cause for all the trouble he got himself into.


    Isaac was at the crib, so the boy was hopefully not a concern till midday when I had to go and get him.


    ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha.¡± I replied dryly. ¡°Just wait till the cast is off. The moment it is, I will be out there again.¡±


    ¡°I fear I have to take a back seat for now. Had an argument with Mark and the most he allows me is to visit the flagship through the wormgate as long as there are no active combat operations.¡± Thalia patted her belly. She wasn¡¯t showing yet, but we knew what she meant.


    Iv let out a sigh while glaring at Thalia¡¯s belly. ¡°I wonder why it isn¡¯t working with Hector and me. I partnered up before you and you got to the finish line before me. Not that I am complaining. Every month I am spared that particular fate is another good month in my book. But seeing how quickly it worked out with your partners is vexing nonetheless!¡±


    I giggled. ¡°And Hector gets to live that much longer.¡±


    Thalia nodded, trying her best to look serious. ¡°Magnus assuredly threatened to cut off something important, should he dare to knock up his little sister.¡±


    Iv¡¯s expression went blank. ¡°You mean that¡¯s why Hector is holding back!? I thought he might not find me physically attractive enough to go all the way. That¡¯s why I went with you to that embarrassing shop, buying all the fancy underwear.¡±


    I blinked, not understanding. ¡°Holding back?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­¡± Iv played with the tips of her index fingers. ¡°He is pulling out before¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Thalia nodded sagely. ¡°Then it is no wonder that it isn¡¯t working out. What do you think, Astra?¡±


    Suddenly, both of them looked at me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bring me into a conversation like that,¡± I rebutted them. ¡°Magnus and I never had that problem. If I want him to jump me, he jumps me. Besides, haven¡¯t I already allowed you two to use my designs? What more help would you need?¡±


    Thalia blinked innocently. ¡°And they worked so very well for me. I was just wondering whether our master seductress had any advice?¡±


    I blew them a raspberry. ¡°How should I know what advice to give if I don¡¯t know where the problem lies?¡±


    Thalia turned on Iv. ¡°Do you have an idea?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°We have a nice evening, I dress up, and then we go to bed together. It¡¯s not rocket science you know?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Thalia looked thoughtful.


    I facepalmed. ¡°Iv, you have to get them worked up or they think way too much about it when there is nothing to think about!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I looked at the ceiling, beseeching the heavens. ¡°How do I put this? Do you know what a cat is Iv? I had a cat while I was still on Earth and it¡¯s the closest comparison I can come up with.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I know what a cat is!¡±


    ¡°Good. Then men are like cats, Iv! It¡¯s not enough to crumple a piece of paper into a ball and have it dangle on a string right in front of them. That alone is not interesting ¨C although it gets their attention if done right. If it doesn¡¯t behave right, they go right back to being bored. The whole thing is about the chase. It has to move and twitch in just the right way and once it does, they lose their marbles and there is no holding back. Maybe we should also work on the noises while we are at it.¡±


    Iv¡¯s expression went blank. ¡°Move and twitch? Noises?¡±


    ¡°You can try to jiggle too, but that''s an advanced technique.¡±

 Ch 154 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Scoutship***


    ***Magnus***


    The caravan consisted of five adult saherna and seven juveniles. However, it had to be said that the juvenile¡¯s size still rivalled buildings with four or five levels. Seeing a herd of those monsters made me question all over again how creatures of such size could even exist without crumbling beneath their weight.


    On the other hand, questioning their size went with the assumption that their body plan followed what I was used to. Too large to pump all that blood with a single heart? Just use more hearts! Regular bones can¡¯t carry the weight? Have them reinforced with ceramics... or whatever... I wasn¡¯t so savvy in biology.


    This reminded me that since my bones were using the saherna mutation, Astra and I should probably do a little research into how much punishment we could take. She went to extreme lengths with her stupid experiment to break her arm.


    ¡°If our information is correct, then this would be the Southikes,¡± Vanya commented while looking through a spyglass. Her set of mutations wasn¡¯t suited for long-range information gathering.


    That said, neither was mine, so I too had to rely on tools. In my case, it was the range finder of the anti-air gun I liberated from one of Thich¡¯s airships.


    I knew a simple spyglass would have fulfilled the same purpose while being smaller, but the range finder was so retro that I could not avoid using it when I got the chance. The thing was cool and after a bit of trial and error, I found out how to use it correctly. All I had to do was to adjust the central scale on an object with a known size, for example, a human, and done. Approximately 4.9 kilometres. It wasn''t super exact, because it was dependent on the accuracy of my reference point, but it got the job done well enough.


    Next to us, seekers Holly and Luka voiced their affirmations for Vanya.


    Luka pointed out the largest saherna¡¯s flank. ¡°See the white stripes they painted down the sides with lime? That¡¯s something only the Southikes do. It''s their signature.¡±


    Vanya lowered her spyglass. ¡°To be honest, I am still somewhat dubious about whether this will work out. If anyone at Thich uses their head for a second, they will realize there is no way the caravan reaching Thich City is legit.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°The caravan routes are well known, so there is no way we wouldn¡¯t check them once our forces reach this area. Travelling other less-known paths might be possible, but it would be very dangerous. The Caravaners paid for their knowledge with blood throughout generations. There is a reason why there are established routes. And let us be honest here, it is not like a saherna caravan can be overlooked, even if a drake rider doesn¡¯t pay attention.¡±


    Vanya pulled a face. ¡°The more time I have to think about this, the more holes I find. It might be possible for the Caravaners to hold off a group of scouting drake riders, but once their position is known, our fleet would easily catch up to them. They are hardy people, but they would have no chance against a single troop carrier. We would have to take the caravan entirely intact and pretend they had never been found. A very unlikely scenario.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we will stage a mock fight between them and a sufficiently small scouting party of ours once they are within reach of a Thich outpost. The Thich will want the resources the caravan carries, so they will send reinforcements. Once they fought us off, it will be unlikely for people to question whether the caravan is genuine,¡± Gunner explained. ¡°It would even explain possible damage and losses for the caravan. It''s all about giving them something which allows them not to question what happened.¡±


    Gunner nodded to himself. ¡°You have no clue what kind of tricks I pulled on people to get to places I had no business being in. As long as you give people an explanation, no matter how implausible, they don''t question it. Especially not if they are presented with ¡®presumably¡¯ verified evidence. Which will be the caravan itself in this case. It is sad, but the simple truth is that most people just avoid using their brain to think about stuff whenever they believe there is a chance to get away with it.¡±


    Vanya pulled a face. ¡°A single Thich scout spotting the caravan with our forces nearby or them having one of those alien communication devices and the jig is up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we have our psybomb here.¡± I clapped Mark on his back. ¡°Assuming they have one of the communication devices, they will have it on the leading saherna. So he will shut them down.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know whether I can do this,¡± Mark complained. ¡°I know Thalia said emotion-blasting is the easiest technique, but I have only done it in training so far. I am glad I can control the ability to a degree so I don¡¯t have to endure the mushy feelings of all the people around me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You are just an additional insurance measure,¡± I reassured him. ¡°I will go ahead and thrash every electronic device I can find. I will have no trouble spotting it once I am within a few dozen metres. If they even have one.¡±


    ¡°There is one,¡± Vanya said with absolute conviction. ¡°If not backup too. Thich gave one to their ambassadors at Hochberg and one to some random spy. While it can be argued that both cases have the potential for great return in such an investment, it also means they have no shortage of those things. If they had only a limited number, their priority would be airships and hidden outposts. They wouldn¡¯t allow lone operatives to carry such incriminating devices on missions where their loss is guaranteed as soon as they are found out.¡±


    We kept arguing the case as the fleet slowly caught up with the Caravaner traitors. In the end, we could only do our best and see whether something would come of it. There was a time for planning and there was a time for action.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Our drake riders had been ranging out further and further from the fleet¡¯s main body, doing their best to keep enemy scouting parties as far away as possible. Giving our scouts the order to actively engage any hostile forces they found meant losing a steady number of people, but in this case, it didn¡¯t only mean preventing Thich from finding out what we were up to, it also prevented them from knowing the exact position of our fleet. Which was a crucial point of this operation.


    We needed them to be uncertain about what was going on out here.


    Currently, we were on one of the smaller scouting vessels which was hugging the crest of a hill, so there was a decent chance we hadn''t been spotted yet.


    Being so close to the target also meant there was no more time to spare. It was time for Mark and me to depart on Loopsfast. Together with us, more teams of similar makeup and mission profiles would speed towards the enemy.


    My drake was now the proud father of several hatchlings and could leave their care-taking to his females. At least for a few hours of the day. If I understood Loops correctly, then leaving hatchlings to female supervision wasn''t ideal.


    We went outside to start our mission and I patted the drake''s head after flash-stepping onto his back. ¡°Let''s get the party rolling, Loops. The faster you get us above those saherna, the faster you can go back to your hatchlings.¡±


    ''Fast, yes. Bring rider fast and fly back home before hatchlings annoy the females. One bite and the littles are done.''


    ¡°Dude, do you mean they would eat their young?¡± Mark asked as he landed behind me with a flap of his wings. ¡°That''s dark.¡±


    ¡°They eat plants!¡± I countered. ¡°Why would they eat their babies?¡±


    Mark shrugged. ¡°Hey, some animals just do that. Have you never watched documentaries when you were a kid?¡±


    ''They will, but only if they get hungry and the hatchlings are annoying. So Loopsfast has to be back quick!''


    The drake¡¯s admission reminded me that we had a job to do.


    ¡°Right. Then let¡¯s do this quick.¡± I pointed into the distance. ¡°So let''s get goooing!¡±


    I screamed as the drake catapulted itself into the air and began a rapid, almost vertical ascend.


    The plan was simple.


    Loopsfast would fly Mark and me in at high altitude. We would then jump off and aim for the lead saherna while Mark used the psychic abilities he had gotten from his union with Thalia. He would blast the entire area with as much psychic influence as possible to confuse the Caravaners and delay their reaction. Meanwhile, I would rely on my high psychic resistance and use the chaos to search for any communication device I could find and destroy it.


    Meanwhile, Mark would give his best to induce feelings in the Caravaners which would raise their fighting spirit. Feelings of rage and euphoria. The idea was to delay rational thinking as much as possible so they wouldn¡¯t think of communicating with Thich.


    Now I will admit, involving Loops for such a short-distance flight wasn¡¯t strictly necessary for us. Mark could fly and I could teleport, but I wanted to involve my drake in something for once and there was no obvious downside. Had I known Loops needed a proper babysitter, I wouldn¡¯t have asked.


    As soon as we started the operation, our fastest airships would hurry to catch up with the caravan while an entire contingent of drake riders sped ahead.


    There was no doubt in anyone¡¯s mind that it would be a chaotic mess as soon as all those involved got moving. The goal was to engage the Southikes as quickly as possible and overwhelm them with pure numbers.


    As promised, Loops went up high and fast, giving me the feeling of riding on the outside of a fighter jet. All Mark and I could do was hold onto the drake with all our might.


    It took Loops only about two minutes to cover the distance and gain several kilometres in altitude before both Mark and I jumped off the drake.


    We fell side by side until Mark spread his wings to slow his fall while I flash-stepped ahead to cancel out my inertia.


    I headed right for the lead Saherna¡¯s head. On top, there was supposedly a form of control centre for the creature. Though calling it such was probably taking it a bit far. Saherna had a certain sensory organ there, allowing them to sense the direction of the wind. It was akin to an antennae with flappy skin. By pushing it in one direction or the other, the Caravaners could ¡®influence¡¯ the creature. Though it wasn¡¯t a foolproof method. If the saherna decided it didn¡¯t want to go somewhere for one reason or the other, then that was that.


    The method nonetheless worked well enough.


    I landed right on top of some poor guard who was standing watch on a railing. Not caring for people, I rushed into the small building while relying on my Second Sight to seek out any sources of energy. Unless there was anyone who could keep up with my speed, I decided I would ignore everyone.


    Dashing into some kind of central office, my trusty axe went through a box on a desk with many maps laid out on top of it. Several large men and women who rivalled the Northroutes in phsique stood around the table.


    Thankfully, only one of them was fast enough to react to my entry and he was a precognition type. While the white-haired woman managed to move to a defensive stance which would have likely sufficed to block me, my goal wasn¡¯t her. The box was crushed within a second, revealing innards which might have been one of the communication devices or not. It didn¡¯t matter. I was already out of the room and moving towards the next energy source by the time all the slow pokes in the room rationalized what had happened.


    I gave myself about thirty seconds to check the lead saherna¡¯s head for more potential communication devices before I had to make a decision.


    There was no question from the beginning that no matter how fast I was, I couldn''t check everything due to Second Sight¡¯s limited vision distance through obstacles. So the gamble was where communication devices could be kept. I had decided right from the beginning that checking a saherna¡¯s entire back was not feasible. Even at my considerable speed, it would take minutes which was ample time for anyone with a device to call Thich and inform them of what was happening.


    The gamble was to assume that any communication devices would be kept at the control stations on top of the saherna¡¯s heads. If this was the case, then I could reasonably check all the saherna within a few minutes.


    I flash-stepped over to the next saherna in the herd, but couldn''t find a fitting signature so I moved on.


    Less than two minutes had passed and I checked four of the creatures when I ran into a problem.


    Upon entering the fifth control centre, I found myself face to face with a woman who was fumbling with what was without doubt one of the communication devices.


    Raising my axe, I flash-stepped forward, fully intending to chop the thing out of her hand ¨C appendage included.


    But the woman moved, half dodging, half stumbling out of the way. She repeated this two more times as I followed her. She wasn¡¯t quite as fast as me, but there was an uncanny luck to her movements as she kept out of harm¡¯s way by a hair¡¯s breadth. Without doubt, it was Precognition which kept her alive.


    I growled at the delay. As long as I kept hunting her I couldn''t look for more devices, but I also couldn¡¯t let her be.


    She leapt over a table and passed one of her comrades whose head went flying as he took the axe which was intended for her. Within moments she was running out the door and slammed it in my face as I barrelled through it, relying purely on my armour and brute strength.


    Splinters went flying as I caught up to her and she finally realized what I was after.


    With a shriek, she threw the device to her left, out of a window, while she dodged to the right.


    For a moment, some of my sub-personalities wanted to go after the woman before the majority won out and cursing, I followed the device out of the window to ensure it was taken care of.

 Ch 155 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°This is so horrible. I can''t believe I allowed myself to be talked into this,¡± Seeker Linda complained while she and her partner, Elijah, steered the saherna herd towards Thich City. She gagged and waved her hand, trying to get rid of the smell that permeated the room in the summer heat. Her heightened senses took offence at the undeniable remains of a hard-fought battle.


    I could only thank Gaia for having only a good, old ¡®Version 1.0¡¯ olfactory organ, not considering the slight improvements that came with my initial injections to allow me to survive on Tirnanog. I smelled the stench too and couldn¡¯t wait to get out of here.


    We had given our best to clean up after taking the caravan, but we could only do so much in an area with limited water supplies. The forcibly rushed nature of our attack had turned messy, as was to be expected. A battle tended to leave behind dead bodies with all the blood and other nastiness which came with it.


    ¡°I am sure you will survive,¡± Elijah encouraged his partner while he looked out of the window with a wary expression. Above us hovered an airship patrol of seven Thich ships, which had been dispatched for our protection as soon as we staged a desperate escape from an Aerie raiding party.


    Truth be told, there hadn¡¯t been much to it from our perspective. Just a few shots from the 12mm which was mounted on the back of every saherna to take care of flying critters. Of course, the other side shot back and even killed one of the smaller saherna which had been a predetermined sacrifice to make the whole affair more believable.


    Soon after, the Thich ships arrived and ¡®heroically¡¯ drove off our attackers while we watched, surprised it had worked. Well, I felt a little bit bad for the sacrificed saherna, which was one of the few animals in this world which didn¡¯t attack humans on sight, but I had already done much worse to achieve my goals.


    Elijah wasn¡¯t overly fond of our plan, but after lots of explanations, his people had agreed to help with the impersonation of their renegade brethren. The various Caravaner families had see-sawed back and forth a lot in their private meetings. The question was what to do with the survivors of the Southike family.


    On one hand, they were Caravaners and the families valued this fact greatly. After all, if the Caravaners didn¡¯t hold together with fervour, they would be nothing more than some trading groups commuting between the great clan settlements. Hardly worth mentioning in one sentence with the great clans.


    On the other hand, the great treaty between the clans had given them the trading privileges they had enjoyed for so long under the assumption that they would ¡®blow the whistle¡¯ if they ever learned that one of the clans was up to no good. It was what their entire lifestyle was built upon and the Southikes had kicked these foundations with their feet when they collaborated with Thich and Vier.


    In the end, this was the deciding factor to declare the Southikes a renegade family. The surviving adults were to be cast aside to seek their survival by foot and without their saherna. For most people, this would be a certain death sentence, but if the Southikes were still worthy of the name Caravaner, then they would be able to traverse the wilderness and maybe join one of the smaller settlements.


    Those too young to take care of themselves or to be sent on such a journey were taken in as refugees and split among Aerie, Jeng, and Hochberg. Either way, they were never going to be Caravaners or carry the name of one of the families.


    It was a harsh ruling, but probably one of the milder judgements they could have come up with.


    Elijah voiced his utter surprise when he explained the decision to me. As he and many other Caravaners saw it, executing the entire family was up to serious debate. They had weakened the Caravaner¡¯s standing among the rest of the clans for years to come. Given the circumstances, it was questionable whether the Southikes¡¯ actions hadn¡¯t already caused irreparable damage.


    The Caravaners had enjoyed trust, exclusive trading rights, and other privileges among the settlements of the great clans. Like being allowed a winter shelter wherever they went, or permanent trading posts with protections that came close to diplomatic immunity.


    Southike had proven to the great clans that no matter the amount of preferential treatment, corruption was not impossible. So it stood to question whether the Caravaners would still enjoy their autonomy once everything was said and done.


    While Aerie, Hochberg, and Jeng were still upholding their pact with the Caravaner families and treating them no differently, those who thought ahead knew that the current balance of power would be a thing of the past once the war with Thich was over, no matter the outcome. The three clans would certainly re-evaluate the treaty and make changes, possibly ending the Caravaner¡¯s lifestyle as they were used to. Many liked not to talk about such things, but despite their perceived power, the families depended a lot on the great clan settlements as safe havens. Maybe this was the exact reason for Southike¡¯s fall, with their trading route being caught between two powers who had no scruple to pressure them.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°It was certainly a factor,¡± Elijah admitted when I asked the big fellow about it. ¡°With their trading route being stuck between powers which were working together, there was a lot of pressure on them. While we can give the saherna suggestions of where to go, they cannot truly be steered. They are commuting animals who get used to their routes and changing them takes months if not years of subtle influencing. It is not like the Southikes could have decided to suddenly travel to Jeng or change their route without anyone noticing.¡±


    He shrugged and shook his head. ¡°But that is only a part of the problem. They could have sent messengers to the other families. Instead, they allowed themselves to be slowly influenced step by step. At least that is what we could pick up from the survivors. The leaders, those who should be in the know, didn¡¯t survive the battle.¡±


    ¡°If many of the Thich warriors were under psychic influence, then why would it be any different with the Southikes?¡± I suggested. ¡°It may explain why their leadership fought to the last.¡±


    Elijah only gave me a nod.


    Gunnar, now in the very convincing guise of a Southike Caravaner entered the bridge. ¡°Fellows, things are about to get real. The outlook reported that there is a group of those bat-riders coming in. She thinks we are up for an inspection.¡±


    I sighed and adjusted the linen cloth and leather armour I was wearing, feeling strangely naked after I had gotten so used to the iobeetle armour which had become almost like a second skin to me. Not using the armour weave also left my filaments strangely itchy.


    Alas, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Aerie armour weave and treemonae filaments were highly suspicious features, as nobody but clan Aerie made wide use of them. There were some oddball travellers here and there who managed to get the mutation, but not enough to draw no attention. At the very least, openly displaying my filaments would mark me as someone who had been to Mount Aerie, and that was the kind of attention we could do without.


    The patrol of ten bats landed on our lead saherna. Each was carrying two Thich warriors in full armour and they quickly spread out once their mounts settled down.


    It was my first time seeing one of the bats up close and they were ugly things. Stinky too, though I had to amend my earlier judgement. On a second, closer look, their features were less bat-like and had more of a dog in them.


    Linda and Elijah took care of talking to the Thich leader, a gaunt woman with a no-nonsense expression and a militaristic gait. Funnily, as Caravaners, they were the best for impersonating Caravaners.


    While Linda spoke with the Thich, Gunnar and I carefully observed the remaining members of the patrol. They were spreading out, questioning the other disguised operatives who joined our operation.


    Seeing an opportunity, Gunnar stepped closer and nudged me.


    I followed his gaze and saw two of the Thich following one of our men to the cargo area in the back. Falling in behind him, Gunnar and I followed the small group until we caught up to them.


    ¡°Show me the manifest,¡± one of the Thich demanded right as we arrived. She was a stout, grumpy-looking woman.


    Our Caravaner brought out a bloodied booklet. ¡°Some of this is hard to read. The previous warehouse keeper was killed during the attack. Lost many friends that day. Your guys saved our asses there.¡±


    The Thich grunted and took the booklet, checking it against a small list of her own while her comrade stood by, glaring at us. He was an average-looking guy with roughly the same build as Gunnar.


    ¡°We only need to make sure the salt delivery from Vier is there. The city stocks have to be replenished before the expected siege. You might want to get your caravan as far out of dodge as possible before the enemy¡¯s main fleet arrives.¡±


    ¡°Is the situation so dire?¡± Gunnar asked.


    ¡°Not dire, but expected, if the commanders are to be believed,¡± the Thich grunted and gestured for her comrade. ¡°Check warehouse seven. It should be full.¡±


    Gunnar gestured down the corridor and eagerly rushed ahead. ¡°It¡¯s this way.¡±


    He and the Caravaner vanished with the second Thich inside one of the doors leading to the indicated warehouse.


    Before the grumpy Thich could follow, I addressed her with a question. ¡°Do you have a suggestion where the caravan should head next? We cannot exactly run off into the wilderness to avoid the airships.¡±


    The Thich regarded me for a long moment before she answered. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest here. That might be the best thing you can do. Command is assuring us that we will win, but I know a few people in the fleet and none of them thinks this won¡¯t be a fucking mess once everything is over. If your people fuck off into the wilderness you will have a hard time. If you stay at Thich City you will be caught up in the crossfire.¡±


    ¡°So no good choices there,¡± I summed up.


    ¡°Afraid not.¡± She shook her head before she turned down the corridor. ¡°Raja, get your slow ass going! Why does it take so long to check whether the salt is there or not?¡±


    I threw a nervous glance over at the two remaining energy signatures inside the warehouse. Just a few more moments.


    Following the Thich, I intentionally tripped over my own feet and face-planted as spectacularly and loudly as possible. ¡°Fuck Gaia, damn my clumsiness!¡±


    The woman turned around and glared at me with an incredulous expression.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry!¡± I quickly got back up to my feet. ¡°I bet they just opened one of the barrels or something.¡±


    The Thich tilted her head and turned around, storming off to the warehouse just as her companion and the Caravaner stepped outside.


    ¡°What took you so long? And where is the other guy?¡± the Thich questioned.


    ¡®Raja¡¯, cleared his throat. ¡°Ah, just had them open a few of the containers to make sure. The other one stayed behind to close them up again.¡±


    The grumpy Thich grunted and checked something on her list. ¡°You knew we should be quick about this. Don¡¯t take so long next time.¡±


    ¡°We should be diligent too,¡± Raja countered and gave me a wink while the grumpy one had her eyes on her list. ¡°Just means we have to fly faster on the way back.¡±


    The Thich growled and returned the manifesto to the Caravaner before she stalked back the way we came, followed by Raja.


    The Caravaner and I exchanged a meaningful glance before both of us looked back into the warehouse with a half-closed barrel and a cooling body inside it.


    That had been a close one. If all of Gunnar¡¯s plans had such a tight timetable, I had to wonder how he was still in business.

 Ch 156 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Gunner***


    Getting into Thich¡¯s inner city was easier than expected. Simply being flown in as one of the scouts was the best idea I ever had. The only problem I had now was that the situation I found myself in was slightly different from what I expected to encounter. But it was nothing I couldn¡¯t deal with.


    After going through Ivona¡¯s description of her life with the Thich, I had gotten the impression there would be some serious safety measures in place. Not only against foreign intrusion but also against Thich¡¯s own citizenry. In fact, I was prepared to violently bust my way out of a military complex to go into hiding among a suppressed population.


    Things weren¡¯t quite so totalitarian.


    It seemed like all the safety checks I feared were aimed purely at newly inducted exiles who had yet to be vetted. This academy Ivona described must be mainly meant for teaching and indoctrination, providing a double-door system before the newcomers receive citizenship.


    It was a vetting process which didn¡¯t apply to the rest of society.


    I hummed and scratched my cheek while watching the street. Admittedly, the Thich as a whole were without doubt a militant and hierarchical society.


    At a glance, it looked like any other city with people busily moving here and there. There were differences to Earth, like the predominantly linen clothes which were wide and flabby, similar to the other clans¡¯ fashion preferences. From time to time I noticed some leather armour mixed in. Thich¡¯s preferred colour was a sandy brown compared to, Aerie¡¯s blueish grey, or Jeng¡¯s leaf green which meshed well with the forest they lived in.


    It suddenly struck me that most of the clan civilians I encountered so far seemed to prefer colours which camouflaged well with the environment they were living in. A thought I would have to keep in mind.


    Nonetheless, the overall practical fashion sense among the clans was the same ¨C wide trousers and jackets which were easy to move around in. In most cases, they were simple clothes that could be easily discarded.


    I couldn¡¯t help but notice that while the overall style was similar for everyone, there were people with better and worse clothes. The stern expressions of those in less fancy outfits became only obvious on a second look.


    After watching their behaviour for a while, I also noticed people changing the side of the road when someone in military garb used the same side as them. Clearly to avoid becoming the target of scrutiny for someone in a higher social position. In some cases, it even looked like the higher-ranked party expected this behaviour.


    And then there were those who were off the worst, marked by iron collars around their necks. They usually followed someone who didn¡¯t have a collar or took care of the wagons which came down the road from time to time, drawn by some type of lizard.


    Menial labour in the form of slavery. Just as I had been warned.


    The houses and the streets were made from concrete. The entire city was built like some madman had stacked building bricks on top of each other whenever more living space was needed. With each brick representing a container-like housing space. Or should I rather call it living space?


    Just by looking at the effort put into building this, it was apparent that Thich City was the oldest colony in Tirnanog.


    Surrounding the hive-like central structure was an impressive wall which would have no trouble repelling adult sahernas. Judging by what I had seen when flying in, it was at least a hundred metres in height. There was also a large structure of similar construction on the outside of the wall, presumable this academy of theirs.


    In case the wall was breached, the citizens could easily seek shelter inside their insane hive city. Any pursuers would have no easy time if they were forced to fight an angered population among the convoluted brick structure.


    Above it all towered something akin to a medieval castle or palace, though modern building considerations had flown into the structure.


    Any general tasked with assaulting this city would either have to pay a high price in lives or consider pounding it with artillery till none but dust remained. I wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that there weren¡¯t underground bunkers. Maybe a tunnel system too? Those were features I would add if I were in charge of designing things.


    My eyes locked onto a pair of drunks who were hollering while they swayed into a side alley which disappeared inside the labyrinthian hive city. Nodding to myself, I leisurely followed them making sure not to look too eager.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    After landing, I had dodged out of the hangar which housed about two dozen of those stinky bats. It was a large structure built into the outer wall. Thankfully, my uniform and acquired rank allowed me to leave unchallenged. Meanwhile, my fellow scouts were without doubt already questioning why ¡®Raja¡¯ had shirked his duties and ran off instead of reporting in like the others.


    Oh, threatening to piss oneself always worked wonders when it came to leaving without permission.


    I had to get rid of this incriminating uniform, urgently so.


    While impersonating someone of high rank was sometimes the best solution to get access to high-security places, it also required detailed knowledge of the organisational proceedings which came with the job. Something I simply did not have ¨C not yet at least. I nonetheless had the firm intention to acquire this knowledge at the next opportunity. The prisoners back at the fleet had already given me a good idea of how to pretend to be someone of high rank, but I didn¡¯t want to risk my neck on purely theoretical knowledge.


    First, I needed to observe one of the ¡®big bads¡¯ in the field to copy their mannerisms.


    So for the moment, it would be best to ditch my current uniform and disappear among the nameless masses of low-ranking workers and service providers. What most people didn¡¯t realize was that some of those unseen masses had access to places which were normally reserved for the highest of generals.


    Whistling good-naturedly, I caught up to one of the wasted revellers just as he fumbled with the lock of a downtrodden door. The wood was scratched and withered, not giving the impression it could hold off the meagrest of this world''s monsters. The other reveller had continued down the alley once delivering his much more wasted companion to his home. They looked like drinking buddies who destroyed the alcohol stores of a nearby pub. At least the generous sway in their steps told me they couldn¡¯t have gone far in their current state.


    While watching the guy¡¯s efforts of fumbling with his keys, I shifted my sensor suit to his living arrangements, sensing no other people inside.


    Nodding, I took off my scout¡¯s jacket and put it on backwards to hide the military insignia on it. Meanwhile, my facial features shifted subtly, making me look more like a close relative of Raja¡¯s than the man I impersonated. Which was another reason to ditch this identity. If questioned, I knew nothing of the man. Thankfully, the strong winds on the bat had discouraged my riding partner from holding a discussion which would have easily revealed the ruse. Just as anticipated.


    Like I always said, the key to becoming a good spy was the ability to improvise and to switch identities as often as possible.


    If someone gave me a closer inspection now, they would question what I was doing with my clothes. But a glance from the main street would mark me as an indistinct guy leaning against a wall, not a military scout who was clearly out of place.


    My bat-rider¡¯s clothes were still made out of leather, making me stand out somewhat, but it wasn¡¯t like there were no people in leather at all.


    Thankfully, it was already getting dark and there were no street lights. Belatedly, I wondered what to do about being caught outside when the monsters came. The inner city didn¡¯t look like it was especially protected against a monster breach. None of the doors looked like they could hold back a night terror.


    Maybe the wall and the soldiers provided enough protection to be lax about safety? Or the local critters didn¡¯t cause the same level of trouble as in the other regions.


    I gave it an hour, patiently waiting while watching whether the traffic on the nearby main street would decrease. If people suddenly started disappearing inside their houses or some bunker system, I wanted a heads-up about it.


    In my opinion, an hour was a generous amount of time to allow that drunkard to fall asleep.


    There was always the danger of him having some mutation which allowed him to sense me or recover quickly from his delirious state. But if he still could get drunk in the first place, there was little chance of it being the case. According to my research, most mutations to one¡¯s metabolism made it either impossible to get drunk or they kept things the same. The guy also hadn¡¯t looked like he was partnered, so even less of a risk there.


    After a quick glance up and down the alley, I crossed over to the door the man had disappeared in. All I could sense inside was one sleeping man. Standing right at the door, I could even hear him snoring without my enhanced senses.


    A look through my X-ray vision told me that the lock on the door was rudimentary. Nothing like the stuff I was used to. A roughly engineered deadbolt with a normal handle having primary control over the locking mechanism on the other side. Which meant picking the thing would be a waste of time.


    I pulled one of my universal keys out of the hidden skin pocket on my forearm, a wire with a loop at the end, which did a marvellous job of getting in between the doorframe and the door to open the lock from the other side. I only had to slip the loop onto the handle and pull.


    Three seconds were all it took to have me standing in a poor apartment with the drunkard sleeping on a sofa. I wrinkled my nose at the sight and went straight for the lockers where I started my search for suitable clothes.


    I moved quickly, but silently, so I wouldn¡¯t wake the man who would provide me the outfit for my next identity.


    Ten minutes later, I was out the door and dressed as an average Thich citizen, with the nice donor of the clothes being none the wiser. He hadn¡¯t woken up, which thankfully spared me the trouble of doing something about him reporting a stranger stealing his clothes.


    It would have been troublesome if I had to kill him to hide my traces. Or if he had reported some kind of robbery. Ideally, he wouldn¡¯t even notice the missing clothes.


    My uniform ended up set aflame in one of the dirtier side streets and a newly minted member of Thich society ended up strolling back onto the main street while I wondered which problem I should tangle next.


    There had to be a recruitment office somewhere. Authoritarian regimes were notorious for keeping detailed records of their citizens. From there, it should be easy to find the first trace of Evanne.


    If I found the time, paying a visit to a weapon stockpile or some other highly flammable installation would be nice. Fire made going to places so much easier. I liked it when everyone was screaming while the dumb sheep lost their heads in a panicked evacuation attempt of normally strictly secured buildings while the spy from next door took his time perusing some classified documents.


    Yeah, I should probably stick to the classics on a mission like this.

 Ch 157 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Magnus***


    The Thich guard ran down the street towards me, screaming for me to stop. For the last ten minutes, they had been tracking me by smell or some other sense. I had no clue how. Worst case, they had some stupid psychic ability which allowed them to follow the path I took no matter where I went.


    Whatever they did, it was bullshit overpowered and I was getting tired.


    ¡°Curse Gunnar and his stupid plans!¡± I lamented, hissing as I flash-stepped five times in a row.


    Carrying a dead body while doing so wasn¡¯t easy and it made my muscles burn. The spacial distortion field which allowed me to ignore air resistance had some restrictions in size and shape, meaning carrying an unshapely mass as large as myself went with exponentially more effort. And a dead body was an excellent example.


    I just hoped Gunnar wouldn¡¯t get too used to me coming running whenever he used the UI to call for help. He was already giving me the feeling that he was using this option much too liberally.


    My final flash step brought me onto the roof of one of those living cubicles which looked like the fever dream of an architect from the eighties. Though on second thought, there must have been some serious drug usage at play. Otherwise, I couldn¡¯t imagine how someone could cobble together a setup as disturbing as Thich City.


    Dropping the body, I ducked and turned around while narrowing my eyes to prevent the faint glow which was emanating from them to give away my position. It was night and I had skipped approximately fifty metres ahead of the guard, hoping it would be enough to throw them off my trail.


    While I watched what they would do, I reached for the axe at my side, firmly intending to dispose of two bodies tonight if I had to. The stupid guard had been on my tail ever since I left the living compound where Gunnar deposited the body whose identity he stole for his next excursion.


    Of course, I ran as soon as I left the compound and realized a guard was coming my way. They kept following me with uncanny precision ever since. They just didn¡¯t know when to give up.


    The guard ran to the spot where I had been running down the street just moments ago and stopped. For a moment, they looked confused while they surveyed the street. Then the guard made a decision and kept running straight ahead and around the corner of the closest alleyway. A few seconds later they returned and tried it with another side-alley.


    I let out a breath of relief and turned to pick up the body which Gunnar wanted me to dispose of. I had it wrapped in a carpet for easy transportation and to not look all too suspicious while carrying around a dead body.


    Turning around, I watched the guard for a few more moments to make sure they were just trying random streets to pick up my trail once more. Thankfully, it looked like flash-step threw them off their game.


    With the body back on my shoulders, I used Second Sight to check the area for potential witnesses before I flash-stepped to the next roof. It was a blessing that most people tended to stay indoors at night even if the city was supposedly safe.


    Despite the short distance, it took me a good hour to sneak the body out of the city where I disposed of it in one of the many crevices which scoured the rocky landscape. It wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, but I doubted it would be found all too quickly. My solution just had to suffice for a few days and it would be fine.


    Once I was done, I returned to the Caravaners with haste.


    I could have jaunted the body out, having it gone in a second, but that would have taken even more energy out of me. It was power which I didn¡¯t want to waste in case our cover was blown.


    While I had already created a jaunt point at Thich City, using jaunts was still something I couldn¡¯t be frivolous with. If push came to shove, I could get Gunnar out and maybe two more people. I was relatively sure I could do two people, I told myself. Three if I pushed it. So if the Caravaners were found out, we would have to leave behind several good men and women.


    I could save Gunnar, Elijah and his partner Linda, but that would be it. And if I was too tired and had to leave behind any of the people I cared about because I wasted a jaunt to dispose of a body, that would be just stupid. Well, I admittedly didn¡¯t care all too much about Linda, but there was no way Elijah would leave her behind.


    My return trip was blessedly uneventful and once I was back at the saherna where Elijah and Linda had set up the provisional command centre for this operation, I let out a deep sigh and allowed myself to fall into one of the very sturdy chairs.


    Elijah turned from the planning table which was littered with documents. The papers had been liberated so far by Gunnar. The man was collecting them like street litter as he infiltrated Thich¡¯s administrate system.


    And he had been at it for only three days. Yesterday, he brought in a genuine trash bin filled with detailed documents on Thich¡¯s military distribution. I think he masqueraded as cleaning staff and just emptied some offices. I still had no clue why the city wasn¡¯t already being searched for a spy, but Gunnar assured us those were stored papers from a double-accounting system. Nothing which would be regularly checked for consistency.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Everything went well?¡± Elijah asked when he noticed the deep frown which had stolen itself onto my forehead.


    I waved him off. ¡°Just one guard who had a tracking sense like some bloodhound. I believe I lost him, but we should be on the lookout nonetheless. At some point, the Thich will become suspicious no matter what we do if people keep disappearing.¡±


    Elijah let out a grunt and nodded. ¡°Gunnar is careful not to take out anyone too important, but you are right. I don¡¯t believe the Thich will start an inquisition because five or six menial workers and slaves disappear. But once we get to ten I would recommend we stop this mission and pull out.¡± He gestured at the documents before him. ¡°We already got more than I ever hoped for. Plus, it will become harder to explain any delay in our departure the longer we wait. Detailed city plans, locations for weapons and ammunition depots as well as bunker systems. Defensive capabilities and troop composition. If we had approached with Aerie¡¯s fleet from the get-go, those long-range anti-air missiles the Thich are still holding back would have gotten us cold. I must admit, I didn¡¯t believe your uncle at first, but the guy is good.¡±


    ¡°And more annoying than a zipper that sniffed out a rotting body,¡± I added grumpily. ¡°He will be insufferably smug if the mission goes just as planned.¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Astra***


    I winced and adjusted Constella in my arms. My injury was already a lot better, but I still felt the bone fracture when pressure was applied at a bad angle. Maybe I should have allowed Constella to run around around freely, but she had just discovered crayons and if I didn¡¯t pay very close attention to her the living room¡¯s furniture would suffer the consequences.


    The twins were growing so quickly. Soon I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry them around as I pleased. Aurora was the more relaxed of the two and strapped to my back, asleep, thank Gaia. And Isaac was¡­ well¡­ he was Isaac, clinging to my thigh. He had been a bit of trouble in the early days, but he was nothing compared to the destructive force Constella was turning into. He was the most well-behaved of all my kids.


    ¡°Is there a reason why you requested such an urgent meeting, elder Casey?¡± I asked, trying to stay polite while I fought Constella¡¯s attempts to escape. ¡°I don¡¯t want to turn you away, but I am on sick leave and slightly stressed because our nanny used my prolonged presence at home as a good reason to bail on us. And my parents are slightly busy with the war, so I don¡¯t know what I could do for you.¡±


    I still couldn¡¯t believe that Kiera simply walked out on me once she learned I would be at home for a week or two.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Casey assured me while she watched the squirming child in my arms. ¡°You will be able to deal with the problem from home. Once you go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I am afraid I don¡¯t understand.¡± I frowned. There was only one reason why sleeping would be a requirement for this issue. ¡°Did Gaia do something wrong? Why aren¡¯t you using the UI to contact her directly if there is a problem? I am sure Gaia wouldn¡¯t refuse to talk with an elder. We discussed this with her.¡±


    ¡°Then there was a miscommunication. Though she talked to me at first, she isn¡¯t answering my messages now,¡± elder Casey replied, sounding slightly miffed. ¡°So I decided to send you after her to clear this up. I figure your ¡®dream ability¡¯ will not allow her to turn a deaf ear to you.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the problem?¡± I asked, getting tired of hedging around the core of the matter.


    ¡°Gaia began chatting with all our churchgoers and is giving them relationship advice,¡± Casey grumbled. ¡°As soon as they enter a place of worship, they get bombarded with all those suggestive messages! It¡¯s creating a ruckus, which we don¡¯t need at the moment!¡±


    My expression went blank and my attention slipped away from Constella¡¯s wriggling body, allowing her to slip from my arms. It was fine though, since I caught her with my billowing filaments and wrapped her up tight so she wouldn¡¯t get up to mischief while I was distracted.


    ¡°She did what?¡± Why would she begin messaging random people? The last time we spoke at length, she didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the general population.


    ¡°She is giving our faithful relationship advice once they visit one of our shrines!¡± Casey clarified the problem.


    I gaped at the elder. ¡°She is some unknowable energy entity. Aside from choosing a female name and form in our dreams, she doesn¡¯t even have a gender as far as I am aware. Nor is she interested in such things. How, for all that is holy, can someone like her give relationship advice? She is like some shut-in who experienced human lives from an outsider¡¯s perspective!¡±


    However that wasn¡¯t the true problem. ¡°No! Forget all that. What shocks me more is that people are listening to her! Didn¡¯t they climb on the barricades as soon as the first ¡®suggestions¡¯ inevitably went down the drain?¡±


    Casey looked slightly embarrassed. ¡°To be clear, she isn¡¯t giving that kind of advice. Nothing concerning personality, or life experience, or even whether one person would like the other.¡±


    ¡°So what kind of advice is she giving then?¡± I asked, becoming slightly confused.


    The elder waved her hand. ¡°You know¡­ compatibility stuff. Who is the most likely to successfully partner up with who and have babies? She just lists off potential matches with a high likelihood of success.¡±


    I stared at the elder with a blank expression. ¡°While having a near-omnipotent entity like Gaia looking into such a topic may be embarrassing for some, I don¡¯t see how that is a bad thing. Gaia may be the best-suited entity in existence to advise on that particular topic. Now I don¡¯t understand the problem.¡±


    The elder¡¯s gaze swept to the three children hanging off of me before her attention returned. ¡°While that may be true, I don¡¯t want our chapels to turn into dating sites! The Church of Gaia is about more than who can be with whom! We are about enlightenment and bringing out the best in people.¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°I see the problem and I promise I will talk to her as soon as I fall asleep. Though, I have no idea how to sell this to her.¡±


    Casey brought out a sheet of paper. ¡°I am not only here to complain. I am not blinded enough to deny how much good Gaia could do with this as long as we don¡¯t find a way to switch off the nanites. Everyone knows we need to increase the birth rate. Here are a few suggestions on how to manage the situation. Mainly by shifting her ¡®service¡¯ to dedicated localities or times so that other worshippers aren¡¯t bothered by those who are searching for a partner.¡±


    ¡°Bothered?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Bothered!¡± Casey emphasized with a meaningful glance at the kids, implying this wasn¡¯t a topic to be discussed in their presence.


    Oh boy! What had been going on in those chapels for Casey to be so upset? I could only imagine the kind of discussion I would have with Gaia.

 Ch 158 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Magnus***


    I blinked as I returned to consciousness in Gaia¡¯s familiar dream world. The bungalow had already turned into a second home away from home as far as I was concerned, so I gave myself a few seconds to relax and acclimatize to the dream. Always waking up right after falling asleep was always a little disorienting.


    Once I felt okay, I rose from the deck chair on the bungalow¡¯s terrace. Then I turned and headed into the bungalow, hoping Astra would already be present to receive the daily update on what was happening at Thich City.


    The dream was a welcome opportunity to stay up-to-date with my wife. The military aspect of our mission was already handled by the communication devices which the organisation brought with them when they left Earth.


    I smiled when I heard familiar voices upon opening the glass door, leading inside.


    ¡°And I am telling you, I can hardly be held responsible if a few humans start an orgy,¡± Gaia exclaimed right as I entered the living room. ¡°All I did was give them compatibility advice. It¡¯s not like such services weren¡¯t already offered by the local doctors. The only difference is that I am doing a much better job at it. Am I truly being criticized for improving the previously atrocious success rate?¡± The avatar rolled her eyes. ¡°Humans are ridiculous.¡±


    Astra tore at her hair, clearly frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s not like we are not thankful for what you are trying to do. But don¡¯t you see that¡¯s exactly the problem? Those people believe in you religiously and then what¡¯s essentially their goddess tells them with whom they can do it, then what do you expect to happen among a population of people who have been living in enforced celibacy for their entire lives?¡±


    ¡°They could have always just taken the risk and fucked anyone they met on the street!¡± Gaia defended herself. ¡°How am I to blame for them being afraid to try? As I see it, those early excesses are just the natural consequence of some nutjobs allowing it to go too far. It will sort itself out if you give it time.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Astra exclaimed. ¡°You got it! Previously, they were too afraid and you took that away.¡±


    Gaia huffed. ¡°You mean just because my advice drastically increases their chances, I am to blame for them committing a social taboo? I still refuse to take any blame for some freaks going at it where they shouldn¡¯t. They could have always just taken my advice and gotten a private room for themselves. Instead, they went and broke a social taboo. Bohoo.¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I had no clue what the two women were arguing about, but it sounded like something I wanted no part of, so my attention drifted to Isaac and his two sisters who were sitting on the floor and playing cards.


    ¡°What are Mum and Aunty Gaia talking about?¡± Constella asked with a curious expression on her face.


    ¡°Adult stuff. They forgot we are sitting right next to them,¡± Isaac replied gruffly, deeply concentrated on his cards. ¡°We are too young for that, so it doesn¡¯t matter right now.¡±


    ¡°They are talking about sex!¡± Aurora flaunted her superior knowledge.


    ¡°What is sex?¡± Constella asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Mom and Dad are doing when they lock the door and Mum starts screaming ¡®Yes, yes! Deeper! Harder!¡¯¡± Aurora described to the best of her abilities. ¡°And then Dad goes ¡®I love you baby!¡¯ and then both of them grunt like the molerats in front of the carriages when the driver whips them.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the icky baby-making thing.¡± Constella¡¯s interest waned slightly at her sister¡¯s vivid description. ¡°Will we get more siblings if they do it often enough?¡±


    ¡°Likely,¡± Isaac admitted. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already read all this in the biology book? Second row on the bookshelf in the living room.¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± Aurora replied smugly.


    Constella puffed out her cheeks. ¡°Well, sorry that I didn¡¯t get the multiple personality disorder mutation! I can¡¯t just rifle through all the books and remember them like you two.¡±


    ¡°You still have perfect memories,¡± Aurora pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s not an excuse.¡±


    ¡°But I have to read everything slowly,¡± Constella argued. ¡°So I got just to the end of the first row on that shelf.¡± Then she thought for a moment while looking at her cards before asking another question, ¡°So if Mom and Dad have more kids, won¡¯t they have even less time for us?¡±


    ¡°They will!¡± Aurora exclaimed as if the thought only just occurred to her. ¡°You are not as stupid as I thought, sis. What do we do? They are not paying enough attention to us as it is.¡±


    Isaac lowered his cards. ¡°Is that a problem? If there are more kids, we have more people like us to play with. People who understand what it is like to be born with a fully functioning mind and no life experience while being caught in bodies like this.¡± He gestured at himself.


    ¡°I still want more hugs.¡± Constella pouted. ¡°And more time to draw with my crayons.¡±


    ¡°I thought so too,¡± Aurora admitted. Then she hummed and hemmed around, caught up in her thoughts. ¡°Admittedly, after having Mom at home for the entire day, day after day, I can honestly say there is such a thing as too much parental attention! She doesn¡¯t let us go anywhere without supervision! I want to go out and explore! I wanna see the treemonae forest the adults mentioned.¡±


    Isaac shuddered. ¡°Be glad she looks out for you. There are things outside the mansion we aren¡¯t ready to meddle with.¡±


    ¡°You are just a big coward, big bro,¡± Aurora complained.


    ¡°Then ask Dad to show you the treemonae. Or the molerats!¡± Isaac huffed. ¡°They eat something our size with a single bite! And technically I am just as old as you, so don¡¯t call me Big Brother. Mom laid all three of us at the same time.¡±


    ¡°It counts when you hatch, not when you are laid,¡± Aurora stated, sounding quite sure of herself. ¡°So you are ''big bro'', no matter what you say.¡±


    ¡°Does not!¡± Isaac rebutted.


    Constella frowned. ¡°But seriously, from when do we count our age? Does the hatching or the laying date count? Do we get to celebrate two birthdays?¡±


    That intrigued Aurora. ¡°Now, that¡¯s actually worth consideration. It would mean the adults have to give us twice as many presents...¡±


    I slowly took a step backwards and softly closed the door until it went shut with a ¡®click¡¯.


    Having escaped everybody¡¯s attention, I cracked my neck and turned around to enjoy the sight of the peaceful jungle paradise outside. Staring ahead with a blank expression, I shook my head and rubbed my face. Sometimes, being alone was preferable to whatever was going on inside that house.

 Ch 159 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°Ah! Finally found you!¡± Gunnar pointed at me as he entered the communal dining hall. The hall was located on the lead saherna''s back and, if my Caravaner friends are to be believed, was a Caravaner family''s social centre.


    ¡°Did you find something, Gunnar?¡± I asked and took another sip from the swill the Caravaners had dared to declare one of their traditional beverages. A great sin as far as I was concerned. The stuff tasted like rum mixed with a copious amount of vinegar.


    If the woman in charge of our food supplies hadn''t threatened me not to waste the ''precious'' beverage and was watching me even now while cleaning glasses, I would have tipped away the atrocious stuff already¡ª maybe into one of the decorating plant pots outside, which would have surely resulted in the plant''s early demise.


    ¡°How...?¡± Gunnar halted at my table and looked down at himself as if his attire had to be blamed for something.


    He wore the guise of one of the local message runners, parading as a gaunt guy with rather androgynous features. He hadn''t worn this particular appearance so far, so maybe that was the reason for his surprise.


    ¡°I can see all your little implants with my second sight,¡± I pointed out, gesturing my drink at him and ''totally not'' accidentally spilling some of the heinous liquid.


    ¡°I know you can, but I was assured many people have mutations which could be responsible for looking different in Second Sight,¡± Gunnar protested. ¡°If it is that easy to recognize me, then I have to make a much bigger circle around anyone with that particular mutation!¡±


    I pursed my lips. ¡°Well, you are almost right. But first, I don''t know any Thich message runner who would point me out so casually. Secondly, that artificial heart which is pumping right next to your original one is rather distinctive in combination with a few other knick-knacks of which I am not sure what they do. I wouldn''t worry too much about being recognized on the fly. It''s just that I have already seen you often enough to tell. If I were you, I wouldn''t spend too much time in the presence of someone with Second Sight and then approach them with a different identity. That would be a tad bit suspicious.¡±


    Gunnar relaxed. ¡°Oh, if it is like that then it is fine. I already acted like a paranoid lunatic anyway in case some sensor-type can sniff me or something on that level.¡±


    He shook himself as if the mere thought of people seeing through his disguise was offensive to him. ¡°Forget it! I have news! Good ones and bad ones. Which do you want to hear first.¡±


    I looked down into my bottle and sighed. ¡°Well, after the night I had and since drinking doesn''t work for me, why don''t we start with the good news?¡±


    ¡°I found her!¡± Gunnar proclaimed as he took a seat across from me. ¡°Just as I promised! And she is right here in Thich City! I already staked out the location and came up with a plan to extract her.¡±


    I sat up a little straighter, preparing myself for the bad part. Though, the news that Eve was alive in itself was already great!


    ¡°But there is a problem?¡± I asked.


    Gunnar put on a serious expression. ¡°Darn right, there is! She was slated for partnering a week ago. So we have to think about how to deal with that... little issue. Plus, I think it might be a trap since the information was a little too accessible for my tastes. At least once I found out where to look.¡±


    I groaned. She was partnered, probably with some dude she didn¡¯t like. We had hoped to prevent that from happening, but I guessed it wasn¡¯t to be. ¡°It sucks, but does it change anything? I go in and once I see her, I grab her and jaunt her out. It is just about knowing her location. Abduction first, mushy feelings second.¡±


    ¡°But what if she likes the guy?¡± Gunnar asked. ¡°What if she thinks of us as her enemies?¡±


    ¡°How much can she like someone after a week?¡± I returned the question. ¡°And as much as I dislike the thought, I happen to know two of the best psychics there are.¡±


    ¡°How much did you like Astra after a week?¡± Gunnar asked, spreading out his hands. ¡°And I hope you aren''t serious about having her brainwashed.¡±


    ¡°If there is no other choice. It is better than having her dead.¡± I scratched the back of my head. ¡°And I liked Astra a lot. But that is neither here nor there. First, Astra and I joined up voluntarily,¡± admittedly semi-voluntarily, but voluntarily nonetheless, ¡°and secondly, the both of us are thankfully very mercenary about our relationship.¡±


    ¡°Well, if Evanne is anything like Iv, then she either likes the guy or hates his guts,¡± Gunnar explained. ¡°Though, I admit I have no clue how this partnering business works for the Thich. From the documents I read it sounded more like an assignment than anything else.¡±


    I pressed my lips into a thin line, imagining what to do with a second Hector whose loyalties likely lay with the enemy.


    ¡°Let''s just slit his throat and be done with it!¡±


    ¡°Is that what your parents taught you!?¡± Gunnar gasped and then frowned. ¡°Wait, why am I trying to be the voice of reasoning here?¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Don''t ask me.¡± I got up from my seat. ¡°Let''s inform the others that our mission is about to end and then we go and get her!¡±


    ¡°Shouldn''t we at least try to talk with her first?¡± Gunnar asked.


    ¡°Hey, you forgot your drink!¡± the woman who had given me the drink protested from the other side of the room.


    ¡°Make a salad with that swill!¡± I shot back and quickly ran out of the dining hall, figuring I wouldn''t need any brownie points with her since the mission would end soon. One way or the other.


    It was a trivial matter to inform the others of our next move, so the Caravaners began organising our departure with the local authorities. All according to regulations.


    The only thing left to do was wait for the night and visit a certain apartment in the inner city which supposedly had been assigned to the new couple as a celebration gift for their partnership.


    Gunnar used the time to walk me through every detail of the plan he cooked up.


    As we walked down the street later that night, careful to avoid any undue attention, I could already see why Gunnar suspected it to be a trap. Just walking up to an apartment door to extract my sister sounded too easy.


    On the other hand, how else was this supposed to be handled? If the Thich wanted those they welcomed into their society to stay loyal, there had to be some benefits at some point down the road. How likely was it for them to expect someone would be brazen enough to abduct one of theirs from their capital city?


    And even if this was a trap, I highly doubted the Thich knew anything about my ability to jaunt. If this was a game, nobody would have scoffed at the main character''s ability to take a ''town portal''. In reality, jaunting was broken as fuck.


    The only problem was getting back to rescue Gunnar, but we already had a plan for that.


    Gunnar stopped in a side street and gestured at a downtrodden door with an unmistakable sign above it, a public outhouse close to our target. Together, we checked each of the cubicles before Gunnar went to stand watch at the entrance.


    It took me half a minute to set up the jaunt point. Normally, I would have done it with Astra''s help, but in the meantime, we had trained to do this on our own. It didn''t require a lot of power, but skill at warping the local space.


    A minute later, I joined Gunnar outside and we went on to the apartment where Evanne was supposed to be.


    There was an awkward moment once we reached the apartment and looked around for any watchers.


    Since we found nothing obvious, Gunnar gestured at me and I knocked on the heavy, wooden door.


    We decided I would take the lead. Gunnar wasn''t certain he would be able to match a partnered human when it came to violence. My uncle was as heavily modified as anyone could expect from Earth, but his enhancements focused on infiltration and reconnaissance. Physical combat was a distant secondary consideration for him.


    When the door opened, I was greeted by a large, but thin man in a bathrobe ¨C and the fact I had to look up at him irked me. For some reason, the sub-personality who was in charge of combat reared its ugly head, instilling in me the urge to kick this guy.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he asked while looking down at me.


    ¡°I need to speak to Evanne,¡± I stated, not breaking eye contact.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Her brother,¡± I replied matter of factly, watching his face very carefully. If he did so much as-


    And he did.


    His face showed first surprise, then turned to a sneer as he tried to close the door on me.


    Of course, he was much too slow, so I kicked him.


    Between the legs ¨C while aiming for his chin.


    He folded with a strange, whimpering sound and I pushed him back into the apartment with Gunnar entering right behind us, closing the door very carefully.


    ¡°Didn''t we agree we would try to talk?¡± my uncle asked.


    I gestured at the guy who was now folded over on the floor, groaning with a strangely withdrawn expression. ¡°He tried to close the door on me. And I swear he was drawing breath to scream. I could see his muscles flex!¡±


    Gunnar knelt in front of the large man, waving a hand in front of his face. ¡°I think he is somewhere else. No way we can talk this out now. Didn''t you hold back at all?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I aimed for his chin, just like the self-defence classes taught me.¡± It may be counterintuitive, but if you wanted a guy to shut up all you had to do was to give him a good kick to the nut-sack. If done right, the pain was so excruciating that the whole body simply locked up. There was no screaming for at least a minute after that.


    Gunnar shook his head. ¡°You could have electrocuted him to take him out.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Probably, but this was less obvious to any possible bystanders on the street than a lightshow!¡±


    And way more satisfying for me.


    ¡°Lukas?¡± the voice of a young woman interrupted us and a violet-skinned woman in a bathrobe stepped into the apartment''s entrance hall. ¡°What?¡±


    She looked at us. Then at Lukas who was winding himself in agony down on the floor. Then back at us.


    I sighed as she drew breath to scream.


    Flash-stepping forward, I embraced her before she could do anything and jaunted.


    The world rippled and swam, and then we stood in a secure room at the wormgate facility in Mount Aerie.


    ¡°Aaaah!¡± The woman screeched like a maniac and shoved me away, but I couldn''t care less as I turned to Ivonne and Thalia who sprung up from where they had been idling on chairs, waiting for exactly this to happen. Hector was also there, leaning against the wall.


    ¡°Did I get the right one?¡± I asked Ivonne and pointed at the woman who was stepping away from us to huddle up against the wall.


    Ivonne smiled and rushed over. ¡°Evanne!¡±


    ¡°I will take that as a, yes,¡± I jaunted again, appearing back at the public outhouse. Then I tried my best not to run as I made my way back to the apartment with measured steps.


    The street outside still seemed calm, but I didn¡¯t dare to waste time in case there had been some kind of silent alarm.


    Once I returned, I found Gunnar in the process of gagging Lukas to the best of his abilities.


    Taking a deep breath, I gave Gunnar a nod and steeled myself before I grabbed Lukas.


    My uncle was already out the door as I jaunted again, dropping the guy on the floor in front of a surprised Evanne who was being hugged by Iv. However this was supposed to turn out, I felt perfectly happy at that moment with laying the entire Evanne/Lukas debacle at Ivonne''s feet.


    Then I jaunted again, feeling slightly dizzy by now, so I had to lean against the closest wall once I returned, taking a few deep breaths. Taking so many jaunts in a row wasn''t exactly exhausting. It was more like a power workout where you tried to do as many repeats as possible in the shortest amount of time.


    The noise of running water drew my attention to a guy who was washing his hands at the washbasin and staring at me with an open mouth.


    I sighed and flash-stepped forward, placing my palm on the back of his head. Then I introduced his face first to the wall and then to the washbasin ¨C which broke out of the wall and resulted in spraying water making a big mess.


    The guy slipped to the floor right as the door opened and Gunnar stepped inside.


    My uncle only took a single glance at the body and then at me. ¡°There is something wrong with you. You don''t just incapacitate people at the first sign of them opening their mouths or moving a muscle.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and spread my arms for a hug. ¡°Let''s just get out of here.¡±


    ¡°I still think this ability of yours is weird as fuck!¡±

 Ch 160 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Isaac***


    ¡°I still don¡¯t believe this is a wise idea,¡± I hedged as my sisters giggled like the stupid little hussies they were being right now. They both hushed me with quick gestures while we waited for the plan to come to fruition. What we were up to was truly brain-dead, but supposedly entertaining if my sisters were to be believed.


    I was sure if we just talked about this rationally, everyone would agree that there were better ways to deal with our boredom. But just like it had taken me some growing up to approach the world more consideredly, my sisters were now going through the same phase. They had yet to come face to face with the possibility of dying for real.


    So why was I now hiding with them on one of the ceiling¡¯s support beams for the molerat stable? Instead of telling our mother what we were up to? I began to question my stupidity for going along with this. Actually, why was I even here? There was no way this plan of theirs would end well.


    On one side, getting caught by Mom or Dad would get us in a lot of trouble. They told us in no uncertain terms that the molerat stable and the treemonae forest were strictly off-limits.


    On the other, my sisters¡¯ little game had the potential for going sideways in all kinds of horrible ways. Wasn¡¯t it better to just be seen as a boring snitch? I really should have run off and told Mom about this, but doing so now and leaving Aurora and Constella alone seemed a little bit late.


    Maybe I should fire off a quick message through the UI and hope that Mom would keep it between us. She was almost assuredly already searching. The messenger who required her attention and allowed us to slip away was at most a temporary distraction.


    Not caring for my inner lamentations, Aurora lowered the life-sized doll she made out of sewn-together kid¡¯s clothes and pillow stuffing into the molerat pen. She had the handmade doll on two strings so she could puppet it around in a mockery of the real thing.


    The idea was to ¡®play¡¯ catch with the molerat as if it was some boring, old pet. Maybe even train the beast to let us ride it. Which was most certainly not happening as far as I knew. While the molerats were supposedly tame and widely used as beasts of burden, I had yet to see an adult stupid enough to turn their backs on one of those things. Not to mention riding one of them.


    As I watched Aurora, all kinds of bad scenarios went through my head. My secondary personalities had a field day coming up with ever more bad things which could happen. What had Dad called it? Murphy¡¯s Law?


    Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.


    I winced at the thought of the molerat snatching the puppet and pulling Aurora off the support beam and down into the pen, so I readied myself to grab her by the short bloom of filaments which was visible at her neck. They had just begun growing out, but I figured they would be enough to hold her. She wouldn¡¯t like it, but it would be better than allowing her to fall into the reach of that monster.


    Meanwhile, I used my filaments to anchor myself to the support beam. They were longer than my sister¡¯s because I had a head start in hatching earlier.


    Thankfully, it looked like the molerat wasn¡¯t too interested in the offering which was dangled in its pen, but Constella whistled while Aurora twitched the stuffed puppet around to get the molerat¡¯s attention.


    The animal hesitated and sniffed the air, unsure of how to deal with this new thing which had entered its home. The creature also looked up at us, clearly aware of our presence. But the moving object proved to be more attention-grabbing in the end.


    It took a little tentative probing, and then the creature¡¯s small brain sorted the puppet into the prey/enemy category and the molerat charged forward with a screech.


    Aurora tried to pull the puppet back out of reach. She would have been more than fast enough, but none of us had considered the animal¡¯s reach as it lunged upwards, rising onto its hind legs to snatch the upper body of the puppet between its more than large enough jaws.


    The entire torso disappeared, leaving only the stuffed trousers with the sewn-on shoes to be shaken around in a wild display of dominance as the molerat tried to incapacitate its perceived prey. The strings were simply ripped out of my sister¡¯s fingers, causing her to call out in pain as her palms were scratched from the strong tug.


    Seeing the molerat go at it was nothing new to me. Dad had already shown me live feedings when he gave me a reality check on the dangers of life. Aurora was nonetheless horror-stricken at the quick and abrupt end of all the work she put into making the puppet. Constella was similarly dismayed at how fast the game had gone awry.


    Inwardly, I smirked, resisting the temptation of pointing out that I had told them this would happen.


    As luck had it, or bad luck in our case, this was the exact moment when Mom walked briskly into the stable, calling for us, ¡°Kids!¡±


    Mom looked into the molerat pen.


    The molerat we had been playing with looked back with the puppet¡¯s feet hanging out of its closed maw. It would have been funny if it weren¡¯t for the implications Mom drew. Her expression quickly went from surprise to horror and then rage.


    Before I could call out to her, Mom let out a dismayed shriek and disappeared. The gate to the pen exploded in a shower of splinters and Mom appeared next to the molerat in a flash, her hand already raised for an overhead chop, arcs of lightning arching over her entire body.


    My mind refused to process what happened next as the hand went down with a thundering flash loud enough to deafen me. It was all too fast to truly process what happened and the discharge of power blinded me. I barely managed to close my eyes to shield myself from the light before a spray of a hot and slightly metallic-smelling liquid hit my face.


    Maybe I just blinked at the wrong moment. I wasn¡¯t certain.


    Nonetheless, when I opened my eyes again, the molerat below us looked like its front half had been put through an unholy mix between a meat grinder and a spark welder. It was treemonae food now.


    But to me, neither the now very dead molerat, nor the gore, nor blood which was now everywhere ¨C including us ¨C was the most terrifying thing about all of this.


    No.


    The most terrifying thing was Mom who was now glaring up at us with the molerat¡¯s head in one hand, the creature¡¯s jaw creepily unhinged, and my sisters¡¯ torn puppet in the other. I hadn¡¯t even seen her dismantling the damned thing to get to the puppet!


    Mom grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes at us, visibly fighting to keep her cool. ¡°Come¡­ down¡­ here.¡±


    ¡°Nah-ah,¡± Constella replied, now clinging to the support beam as if it were a life raft.


    ¡°We are fine.¡± Aurora squeaked and shook her head, also not too keen to enter the beast¡¯s reach. She turned and whispered to me, ¡°Can we stay up here till Dad comes back and she has cooled down?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    For my part, I was feeling like my soul was about to leave my body. ¡°We are so dead,¡± I whispered, already imagining being sent on a second tour with Dad. Those little fools had no idea he would be worse if he had the mind for it.


    Mom looked down at the head and the puppet she was still holding, and then she dropped them. Slowly, she smiled up at us in a way which caused a shiver to run down my spine. ¡°I will count to ten. And who isn¡¯t down here by then¡­¡±


    Her filaments spread out from behind her back, and it only belatedly dawned on me that she had more than enough reach to get to the ceiling twice over if need be.


    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Magnus***


    I hummed, feeling like I was on cloud number nine after Evanne¡¯s rescue. As for integrating her into Aerie society? I felt perfectly fine leaving that headache to Ivonne, Gunnar and Thalia. And her suitor ¨C also not my problem. In fact, I had already decided to only enter the scene well after everything was sorted out. Else I may do something I would come to regret. Like popping off that dude¡¯s head.


    Eve would tell me if there was something I could do.


    Just the thought of that guy and Evanne partnering up because some prick gave an order made my blood boil. The best outcome in my book would be if it turned out she didn¡¯t like him and we could just feed him to the treemonae.


    Lost in my thoughts, I was entirely unprepared when I arrived home and took a look into the living room.


    Astra was on the sofa, reading a book while the three kids were sitting in Seiza style and facing the wall with Math books in front of them. They were silent and utterly concentrated on their work ¨C which was a little bit atypical for them. Normally, they had too much energy for even Astra to contain them. For them to sit still and concentrate so dutifully on schoolwork was¡­ odd.


    Also, thanks to their increased mental abilities they should have an easy time doing their assignments quickly and efficiently ¨C unless Astra was upping the game somehow.


    I probably shouldn¡¯t ask, but, ¡°Did something happen, dear?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yes. We are currently cultivating the virtue of patience, so such a thing will never happen again. All of us are reflecting on our errors,¡± Astra answered cryptically while the kids didn¡¯t even dare to greet me, so concentrated were they on their work.


    ¡°Okay then.¡± I waved at her. ¡°If it is nothing important, I will go and rest. Maybe do some meditation in the garden. I feel a little wiped after successfully rescuing Evanne.¡±


    Astra beamed a smile at me. ¡°That¡¯s so wonderful, dear! I will come right after the kids are done with their homework so we can talk about it. Should we go and see your sister?¡±


    ¡°Uh, how much work do they have to do?¡± I asked. ¡°Should I even bother to try some meditation? And I don¡¯t think it''s necessary. Ivonne is taking care of her right now and she has Hector and Thalia for support. Since I practically abducted her, I feel my presence would be a hindrance at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then you can take all the time you need. Although, I insist on meeting her as soon as she is situated,¡± Astra replied and glared at the kids. ¡°The plan is to get the kids at least a month ahead of schedule ¨C and keep them there. And if I ever notice them having too much ¡®playtime¡¯ we will increase the work. And then again till the stupid ideas leave those small brains of theirs! Are you drawing doodles again, Stella!? Need I remind you little shits that I will double- and cross-check every page once you are done?¡±


    Stella gasped and quickly turned her pencil around to use the eraser in order to get rid of any evidence.


    I winced. Sheesh, what did they do? ¡°Then I will be in the garden.¡±


    ¡°Take your time.¡±


    I left the living room and walked over to the estate¡¯s underground cave garden where I found myself a silent spot to train my sub-personalities. It was an exercise Thalia had shown me some time ago to strengthen my mental resolve and gain control over my fighting instincts.


    Sitting down in a lotus position, I concentrated on this strange, mental ability of mine. Ever since starting these regular exercises, my self-control issues got a lot better. By now, I was also far beyond the stage of simply tasking random sub-personalities with various problems.


    Before this, the best I got was the affirmation that some subconscious part of me was working on a certain problem. Or looking out for something. Then, when the duty was done, the answer simply popped into my head.


    But Gaia had hinted a long time ago that there was so much more to this ability. No, all psychic abilities in general since they somehow reached into potential alternative realities. They weren¡¯t mere parts of boring old me, but alternate versions of myself from whom knowledge could be gleamed. No, versions made them sound like actual people, which wasn¡¯t the case. They were more like shards or very rudimentary AIs.


    As I sunk into a dream-like state, I mentally ¡®called out¡¯ to my sub-personalities, seeking a very specific one. I imagined my sub-personalities like a pool I had to dive into. It was the best I could come up with which worked for me.


    According to Thalia, there was no such thing as a guidebook for psychics. Beyond the very basics like meditation and relaxation to get one¡¯s emotions under control, everyone had to find their path. Whatever worked for your brain ¨C worked.


    So far, I managed to make easy contact with what I called the scientists, who dwelled close to the surface of this pool. They were sub-personalities who preferred purely mental tasks, like counting or observing something in my environment. It was interesting to contact them and talk about Gaia¡¯s physics lessons. It was a little bit like picking someone else¡¯s brain ¨C only that I was talking with myself.


    Although, it wasn¡¯t truly like talking to a real person. It was more like talking to an idiot savant, someone who was extremely good at one single thing at the cost of other competencies. For example, trying to get one of the scientists to help with a social problem was futile. Either I would get an answer which was obviously wrong or no answer at all.


    If I told this to anyone from good, old, Earth, they would probably accuse me of multiple personality disorder. It was no wonder that Vanya had a small mental breakdown every time she tried to peek into my or Astra¡¯s brain.


    My call was quickly answered by the scientists, but what I sought today was much harder to contact, so I dove deeper until I was surrounded by what I called the warriors. Personalities who revelled in the physicality of things and who were responsible for taking actions for me in what came close to reflexes, actions my body took without conscious consideration.


    Taking a deep breath, I gave it my all to push even further down, seeking that one sub-personality whom I believed had to teach me something truly important. The one who was responsible for my mental resistance and my mood swings when it came to fighting. The one who bested the psyling, a creature whose mental power was enough to make psychics like Vanya fear it.


    As for the concept which worked the best so far, I was seeking the one who was sitting at the very bottom of this pool.


    And then I reached it. I had been here a few times, but so far I hadn¡¯t gotten any meaningful answers. Whether conversations with my sub-personalities brought any tangible results was a bit like a coin toss. Sometimes they didn¡¯t speak to me at all.


    Sitting across from me with closed eyes was, another me. One with countless scars on his face and clad in a grey robe. He was old and had a white goatee, but his body looked like he could wipe the floor with me. It looked like it belonged to one of those Greek gods.


    I simply waited, knowing this other me knew exactly why I was here. If it decided there was some deeper truth to be revealed, it would do so. Just like the other sub-personalities had done. Or at least I thought so.


    ¡°I am not here to clean up your messes,¡± the other spoke. ¡°Begone.¡±


    I winced at his words which seemed to echo all around us and almost made me lose control of the dream state. ¡°I just want to know how you are doing what you are doing.¡±


    ¡°Do you also need to be taught how to breathe?¡± He opened his eyes and regarded me coldly, calculating, and with a hint of disdain. ¡°For me, there is no such thing as ¡®how¡¯. I just do! In my world, those things are natural. Before you master your body, you have to master your mind.¡±


    ¡°Back then, you said you are used to fighting worse things than the psyling. I need that kind of power, or at least to be put on the right path. What kind of mental training do I have to take so I don¡¯t have to give up control to you?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing to be trained if it comes to mental attacks from the kind of creature you speak of. Either your mind burns bright enough to overturn the enemy, or it does not. Like two weights on a scale, there can only be one winner and loser in such a contest. I am just that part of you which represents your innermost flame. Your raw emotions. Your hatred and your anger. Your love and your determination. Wield those emotions against your enemies and there is nothing they can do to deter you. For the only thing they can do to you is to break your will to act.¡±


    ¡°So I have to control my emotions?¡± I asked. ¡°Like in Dune? Control my fear and all that?¡±


    ¡°No. Do not control that which cannot be controlled. Hate your enemies with every fibre in your heart, love those close to you and despise those who deserve no better. Use your emotions to fuel the fire in your soul. Revel in the fire as it burns brightly, but keep it contained within you or you will be no more than a beast. As long as your flame burns, if someone seeks to touch your mind, they will have to endure the same you endure or flee like prey. And just as you will either succumb to your inner fire or endure it, so will they.¡±


    I blinked, trying to make sense of it, but I was slowly losing touch, drifting back to the surface of my pool until I opened my eyes again, wondering how to interpret the other¡¯s words.

 Ch 161 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Thich Fortress City***


    ***Zacharias***


    ¡°I didn''t believe anyone would be incompetent enough to fail this little operation quite as badly as you did. All you had to do was to watch the subject. Right here, at the seat of our power,¡± I commented and shook my head while I watched the tech crew set up their equipment. Their time was valuable, so I almost hadn''t allowed their deployment. ¡°Now, I would have understood if you had lost her in that confusing airship battle or during a mission¡­¡± I let my voice trail off, seeing no need for detailed explanations.


    But, for one, there was this nagging feeling called ¡°precognition¡± in the back of my neck, so I had to know. Plus, the rate of strange reports of missing personnel had shot up in the past few days. In itself, it could be explained away with a dangerous critter which made its way into the city. However, given our current situation, I needed certainty.


    The nervous priestess of our ¡°One True Faith¡± rubbed her clammy hands together. She stood next to me and looked quite concerned at my casual comment. ¡°Please, grand leader, nobody could have known that our enemies have access to small-scale wormhole technology!¡±


    She babbled. ¡°We noted their arrival the moment they entered the subject''s accommodations. The only reason we didn''t take immediate action was that we wanted to track them back to their base of operations to achieve maximum efficiency! I promise we had our eyes on their movements the entire time! Two people of unknown origin entered the apartment. Only one of them left and came here where he disappeared. As did the two subjects at the apartment and the other person. There is no other explanation for their disappearance unless there are impossibly well-hidden secret pathways at the apartment and here! We had everything under observation.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and surveyed the ''public toilet''. ¡°And what a fine base it is indeed. Truly a hideout we would expect our enemies to use. If you hadn''t come up with an ingenious explanation for your failure, I might have decided to execute you on the spot. This can still happen if it turns out that I drew away the techs without reason. Their work is quite important, as you should know.¡±


    Her only reply was a frightened choke, so I turned my attention to the body on the floor ¨C some nobody who got his head smashed in¡­ on the washbasin of all things. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the body, I would have assumed your team is just trying to hide a colossal fuck-up. Luckily for you, it looks like this random passers-by was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he shouldn¡¯t have. Do we already know who he was?¡±


    The priestess nodded eagerly while fumbling with a report she had gotten from one of her underlings. ¡°He was a clerk, working at a nearby warehouse. There is no mentionable contribution to the clan. Unpartnered, and without enough combat power to be a soldier.¡±


    ¡°What is stored at the warehouse?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe there was some other reason for expediting his end?¡±


    If it turned out his death was entirely unrelated, I didn''t want to waste my time on this matter.


    She shook her head. ¡°It is just a holding area for mined calcium ore. Nothing worth to be killed over. He didn¡¯t have access to anything vital.¡±


    Calcium ore for cement production. We had that stuff indeed in abundance, I admitted mentally. Except for trade with the other clans, the calcium was practically worthless to us.


    I was nonetheless still prepared to make an example out of the woman. Her failure robbed us of the opportunity to have a quite heavy bargaining chip should it come to any negotiations. When I found out about Magnus''s standing in Aerie society and us having his sisters in our hands I believed myself lucky. Unfortunately, one was lost before I could do anything about it. Well, at least the remaining one seemed eager enough to work her way up through the ranks.


    Had I known it would turn out this way, maybe I would have killed Magnus when I had the chance. I didn''t know how, but after going through all the intelligence reports we had I was convinced he was somehow responsible for the drastic shift in Aerie''s political stance. If they had just kept sitting on the asses until later this year, we would have been done with Jeng without anyone being the wiser. Then Hochberg would have been forced to join us or suffer the consequences, no matter whether their new child regent preferred the alliance with Aerie.


    I regarded the dinky room, disgusted by the lingering smell of piss in the air. Who could have assumed our enemies could enter our city and extract two people who were placed under strict observation? A task I deemed impossible until now unless undertaken by an ancient like Nisha.


    Her involvement was still a definite possibility, given her skill set.


    On the other hand, she was still missing ¨C which would be a convenient excuse to deny her involvement.


    Nonetheless, if I would have to take a bet, it smelled more like my rebelling original had his hands in Nisha''s disappearance.


    No, I was convinced the Aerie were responsible for this. Nisha would have either failed to hide her presence or achieved her goal without anyone having seen anything. Nisha¡¯s operations weren¡¯t handled so crudely. Once she went cloak and daggers, all we would have had would be a suddenly empty apartment. Maybe some traces hinted at a short fight, but that would be all. Oh, and not to forget, our dear priestess and her team would have been found piled up dead on a rooftop or some other short-term hiding spot.


    Nisha would have never left witnesses behind, no matter how well they hid themselves.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Of course, if the enemy had access to wormhole technology, even if the idea sounded fantastic, it would explain quite a lot, including things that were more distantly related.


    For example, why the Aerie advanced with their fleet so quickly after the encounter at Jeng? All of my military advisers were of the firm opinion that rendering humanitarian aid to Clan Jeng would bind most of their fleet for at least the rest of the year.


    Instead, they continued their campaign after a week and all our spies could report was that Jeng¡¯s refugees had disappeared. And any spy who went with the refugees also just vanished.


    I growled at the infuriating miscalculation we had allowed ourselves. Without a wormhole, Aerie''s airship fleet would have been busy shipping refugees between Jeng and Hochberg. It would have taken them months! The only other option would have been an intolerable loss of life. It would have also been a lot easier for a spy to slip off an airship and return useful information to us.


    But! If the refugees and our spies had gone through a wormhole to Hochberg or even Mount Aerie, getting any message back would be next to impossible. I was also sure security around such a device would be as tight as possible.


    Then there was the confusing fact that wherever the Aerie flagship arrived, they seemed capable of dispensing resources and manpower in abundance. Never enough for it to be obvious that something like a wormhole was involved, but by now it was quite evident that they must have a quite effective resupply line. Too effective in fact to be explained with transport ships.


    As if on cue, one of the techs brought a tablet over and handed it to me.


    I took a few extra seconds to look over the results of their scans, just to let her stew, before I turned to the priestess and grinned. ¡°It looks like you get to keep your head ¨C for now.¡±


    ***Aerie Flaghsip***


    ***Vanya***


    ¡°You want me to do what?¡± I blurted out, feeling slightly excited by the surprise request. A day ago, Magnus requested an hour of my time. I assumed it had something to do with Gaia, so I did not anticipate he wanted mental training.


    Only those who shared at least some of my abilities understood how precious it was to be surprised by anything these days.


    There were a lot of scenarios and developments I deemed ¡°unlikely to happen¡±, but their happening nonetheless would not surprise me. I was always playing mind games with countless fictive scenarios in my head, even if they were unlikely to become a reality. So, within this context, something happening I hadn''t considered ¨C at all ¨C was quite refreshing, to say the least!


    Well, if it wasn''t for the nature of this request. Which was a letdown.


    ¡°I want you to try to influence me,¡± Magnus repeated. ¡°I want to test my mental defences against you. There are several training regimes I tried recently, but without someone testing me I do not know whether my training is effective. Thalia helped as much as she could, but she pointed out that psychic abilities can differ wildly from each other.¡±


    He gestured to illustrate his point. ¡°So if I want to fortify my mind against any attack, training with different psychics is a must. Fighting a boxer is an entirely different experience from going up against a judo practitioner. Going at it alone is like trying to become good at hand-to-hand combat when all you do is practise a kata all day. Doing just one thing might prepare me for other situations in some marginal way, but it will never be as good as diversifying my training.¡±


    ¡°Well, Thalia isn¡¯t entirely wrong, but from what I have seen she is at least close to my level. If she trained you, you should be able to withstand any psychic attack I know of. Don''t you think your mental resistance is already quite impressive?¡± I hedged, remembering the two or three times I touched Magnus''s and Astra''s minds. The memory was vivid enough to avoid a repeat if possible.


    The thought sent a shudder down my spine.


    Everyone who underwent the full set of mutations was forced to endure at least some mind-altering changes. The human brain wouldn¡¯t be able to handle enhanced speed or some of the more drastic bodily changes otherwise. Not to mention some of the more extraordinary additional senses.


    But most of those changes kept the recipient very close to the human baseline, making it hard to ascribe psychic abilities to most people.


    Not so in Astra¡¯s and Magnus¡¯s case.


    They were quite obviously not ¡®projecting¡¯ psychics ¨C psychics who could use their mental abilities to influence others. From what I knew, their mental abilities were focused entirely inward, allowing them to manipulate their minds to a degree I had not thought possible before meeting them.


    Magnus shook his head. ¡°I want to be able to battle creatures like the psyling without losing myself. I stopped it the last time one showed up, but it felt a little too close for my tastes, so I am doing my best to improve on that front while there is still time. Aside from myself, you are the only person I know of who withstood the creature¡¯s psychic outburst.¡±


    I sighed.


    Every bone in my body told me not to do this, but Magnus had a point.


    We had been told it was unlikely for another psyling to show up, but if one did, Magnus and Astra were the only ones who had the potential to fight such a creature. While I could withstand the creature¡¯s psychic attack, the both of us were on an equal playing field. If I happened to be in the same room with a psyling without help, there was no question it would rip me apart because my physical abilities couldn¡¯t touch it even if I was grown up.


    So, the only logical conclusion was to ensure that our known working ¡®counter¡¯ to such beasts was the best it could be.


    ¡°I assume you made this appointment so we could start right away,¡± I asked.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Magnus smiled and wriggled his fingers like some evil mastermind.


    I rolled my eyes and waved for Tianna and my bodyguard to give us some space. ¡°Would you make sure we aren¡¯t disturbed for an hour or two? I figure if we do this, we should do it properly.¡±


    Tianna nodded and stood up from the table she had been working at. ¡°I will make sure the guards at the door know.¡±


    Meanwhile, my bodyguard retreated to a corner so she wouldn¡¯t interfere.


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked Magnus and he nodded.


    I closed my eyes and concentrated, feeling no reason to hide the use of my abilities. Instead, I went all out.


    Using my psychic powers on a person¡¯s mind was a little bit like trying to break into a locked room with a single door and a single lock¡ªat least it felt that way to me. If the person was trained well, undoing the lock could be tricky¡ªtaxing even.


    It was no different in Magnus''s case, except for the problem that it was a little bit like trying to connect to multiple people at once. They were all Magnus, but different.


    I figured that, maybe, trying to connect to all of them was the wrong approach. Instead, I had to find the right one, so I took my time evaluating each of the possible connections until I found one that felt like the one in charge.


    Then I decided to just go for it, entering his mental landscape. Only to find myself on a rock no more than a few metres across, surrounded by a writhing sea of people seemingly fighting for a spot on top¡ªall of them Magnus.


    Turning, I found a version of Magnus sitting at the highest spot of the rock, having one leg swung up on his knee and grinning.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I exclaimed as I stepped away from a Magnus who tried to climb onto the rock, just to be pulled back down into the sea of doubles.


    ¡°I call it, the king of the hill defence,¡± the grinning Magnus explained, even as another version who managed to climb the rock shoved him down into the writhing mass to claim his spot.

 Ch 162 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Astra***


    ¡°It feels so good to be back!¡± I joyfully pumped a fist. My arm was healed, though it still felt a little stiff. Nonetheless, Thalia had finally attested to my full recovery.


    ¡°I swear, one more day at home with that damned brood of mine and I would have gone nuts,¡± I continued. ¡°Two weeks of watching them twenty-four-seven was exhausting. Please remind me to pay Kiera back for her efforts. I don¡¯t know how she does it. She is an angel.¡±


    Despite the woman''s somewhat eccentric view of how human reproduction should be handled.


    ¡°I remember them looking at least as relieved as you are right now when you said you would return to work,¡± Thalia giggled. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about Kiera. Firstly, watching and studying the kids coincides with her chosen field of study. And secondly, while she might have some strange ideas, Kiera loves working with children. As far as I know, she had her current job for decades now and I have never heard her even mention changing occupations. Even though that is something most of the old folk do without a second thought when they get fed up.¡±


    I sighed and nodded. In truth, I couldn¡¯t be mad at Kiera for taking the opportunity to go on a vacation. She surely thought I should take care of the gang of little rascals when I was already on sick leave. If Kiera ever bailed out on me permanently, I would be in real trouble.


    ¡°Those brats, they are so smart and yet they can¡¯t be bothered to consider the consequences of their actions!¡± I retorted, the molerat incident still very vivid in my memories. ¡°Either Kiera is not telling me about half the mischief they get up to under her supervision or they hold back when they are with her.¡±


    I swear, I almost had a heart attack when I saw those damned puppet legs hanging out of the molerat¡¯s maw and thought it to be one of the kids. I lost ten years of my life at that moment!


    ¡°Children tend to be a lot more restrained when someone other than their parents is looking after them,¡± Thalia pointed out. ¡°When it is ¡®Mom¡¯ and ¡®Dad¡¯, they have the confidence to test their boundaries. Just as much to see where their parents draw the line, as to get their attention.¡±


    Oh, they got my ''full'' attention. ¡°Hopefully they learned where I draw the line!¡±


    ¡°So what about Magnus¡¯s kidnap victims?¡± I changed the topic. Magnus hadn¡¯t talked much about Evanne when he was at home. And when asked, he always said he would hold back and leave it to Ivonne. ¡°Is there anything positive to report?¡±


    Thalia let out a dejected sigh. ¡°Hector and Ivona are trying their best to sway them the ¡®traditional¡¯ way, but Evanne bought into the Thich ideology when she thought she was on her own. Ivonne¡¯s disappearance triggered an ¡®I am on my own¡¯ kind of mindset. Now she blames Iv and Magnus for taking so long. And Lukas, her partner, well, he is a socialite of Thich society through and through. If you had met him on the battlefield without any context, I doubt you would have wasted a second thought on sticking a dagger into his guts.¡±


    ¡®More like death by high voltage or spear¡¯, I thought to myself. Maybe I would have used my filaments to strangle him to death.


    Thalia shook herself and let out a sound of disgust. ¡°If they weren¡¯t already partnered, I would just get rid of him and concentrate all my efforts on Evanne. Thankfully, Hector pulled some strings with his family so they get some time to figure out what to do about Lukas. Iv is certain that she can turn Evanne around by talking but judging by the few glimpses I had, I am not so sure.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I hummed. ¡°So you are voting for psychic adjustment, but Iv still thinks she can get through to Evanne?¡±


    ¡°Essentially,¡± Thalia admitted and tapped an index finger against her temple. ¡°Those two are messed up. Lukas more so than Evanne. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to find out that one of the Thich psychics had their way with them. While the conditioning is not as obvious as with some of the other victims I looked at so far, I have a feeling they went the extra mile to influence Evanne in more subtle and permanent ways.¡±


    ¡°Why would they go so far if they haven¡¯t bothered with the other victims?¡± I asked. ¡°They can¡¯t have enough psychics to do this on a whim judging by everything we have seen.¡±


    ¡°If you ask me, they had her on a fast track up the social ladder to encourage loyalty,¡± Thalia elaborated. ¡°As for the reason, isn¡¯t it obvious? They knew who she is related to. I have no doubt their spies had plenty of time to find out how much pull Magnus has in this coalition of ours. He walks in and out of the offices of Aerie¡¯s and Hochberg¡¯s leadership. And he joined your family, who are essentially Aerie''s elite warriors. Once the Thich could be sure they had Evanne¡¯s unquestioned loyalty, there would have been a myriad of ways to use her against him. At the top of my head, double agent or sleeper assassin immediately comes to mind.¡±


    I nodded slowly, though I wasn¡¯t entirely certain whether this kind of blackmail would work with Magnus. He invested a lot of blood and effort to see both his sisters safe, but even more of that effort went towards taking his revenge. Best case, anyone threatening him with his sibling¡¯s life would land on the blacklist.


    ¡°That¡­ unfortunately sounds like something the Thich would have no qualms about,¡± I admitted hesitantly. The general idea was sound ¨C if someone didn¡¯t know Magnus very well. ¡°So you are sure Magnus got her out before the Thich psychic could do anything truly insidious?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°It looks like it, but you can never be a hundred per cent certain when it comes to psychic abilities,¡± Thalia replied and gestured helplessly. ¡°I have done everything I could without messing with Eva¡¯s head too much. Though, I have to point out that my abilities are more on the emotional side of things. If it was up to me, I would take a leap of faith and ask Vanya to straighten out their heads like she did with that bodyguard of hers. She is much better when it comes to mental manipulation.¡±


    ¡°Empath and Telepath, I understand you might not be perfectly suited for the job. But...¡±


    She raised her hands to stop me. ¡°And please don¡¯t point out the amorality of my suggestion. It¡¯s just that I believe it is either that, a few years of house arrest till Evanne gets over her trauma, or execution. Please don¡¯t tell Ivonne I said that.¡±


    ¡°So you think I should talk Ivonne out of the idea of bringing her sister around by cajoling her?¡± I asked. ¡°And what do Hector and Mark think? I heard they helped you with them.¡±


    Thalia blew a raspberry. ¡°The guys are not helpful when it comes to things other than restraining this Lukas fellow when he gets ideas. Other than that, both of them think Iv and Magnus should shoulder such a decision. But Magnus doesn''t want anything to do with the issue and Ivonne is her usual stubborn self.¡±


    I hummed along. Magnus always desired to rescue his sisters, but he was someone who put logic before feelings. He already explained to me several times that rescuing the children he knew as his sisters and rescuing the young adults they were now were two different things. If his adult sisters turned out to be enemies, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to treat them as such.


    Thalia gestured in a so-so motion and sighed as she continued, ¡°It has already been a few days. Give it another week and Iv will give up on her own. Or she might even succeed. I cannot claim to be infallible. Maybe resorting to my psychic powers is just an unhealthy impulse of mine. I nonetheless think that if we go the psychic route, we should do it earlier rather than later. You know how it is with mental intrusion. Once Evanne builds up enough resistance, correcting her might no longer be possible. And from what I can tell, she already has enough resistance to withstand anyone weaker than Vanya or me. Which on its own is a concerning hint that she was messed with.¡±


    I nodded slowly and thought for a moment. ¡°So here is an idea. If their conditioning was purely aimed at making them perfect members of Thich society, can we use that somehow?¡±


    ¡°Use it?¡± Thalia wondered.


    ¡°You know, if they were taught to blindly follow strength and authority, then all we have to do is to demonstrate our power,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Give them a new hierarchical order to follow.¡±


    Maybe all Ivonne needed to do was give her sister a good beating. Or use that slime of hers to demonstrate the true terror of symbionts.


    I shuddered, glad that Magnus and I hadn''t taken that route. I also bet Magnus had still no clue what horrible monster Ivonne had managed to tame. The small slime looked sweet and cute as long as it was firmly under her control, but those things did not have a reputation for nought.


    Thalia looked doubtful. ¡°You are aware that a part of Thich ideology is to challenge those who are in power? Even if it works, those two would become an entirely different type of problem. Especially Lukas. That one is ambitious from what I can tell.¡±


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°Then I vote for locking them in a room with Magnus for a few days.¡±


    The problem would solve itself quickly and we wouldn¡¯t be to blame.


    Thalia laughed. ¡°We can¡¯t do that after Magnus got so good at holding back his impulses. It would ruin all his efforts. His obsession with rescuing his siblings like some grand protector lessened a lot and his attitude towards Iv improved. And I think he still doesn¡¯t know what to do about Gunnar and instead votes for wilful ignorance. If you lock those three in a room for any length of time, Magnus might opt for a permanent solution. And then Iv will be mad and¡­ no¡­ let¡¯s not do that.¡±


    I pursed my lips as if I hadn''t already anticipated the potential outcome. ¡°True enough.¡±


    We stayed comfortably silent from then on until we reached the flagship''s bridge, which was a lot livelier than I remembered it. Lots of people from Aerie, Hochberg, and Jeng were buzzing about, but most of the action seemed concentrated on the central table with the large strategic map.


    Of course, I wasn''t entirely out of the loop. Magnus had informed me that the fleet was in a stand-off with the remaining Thich forces who were using Thich City as a fortress.


    So far, nobody had dared to suggest we should pay the blood price a direct attack on an entrenched enemy would surely require.


    Either this turmoil meant the Thich were moving out, or someone had come up with a plan of assault.


    Though, I wondered why we should risk an attack without our reinforcements. If my information was correct, then the second fleet should still be a week away.


    I found my father standing at the planning table and gave him a wave. ¡°Etan!¡±


    He turned and smiled in greeting. ¡°Oh, it looks like you have returned to the living.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why is everyone in such a hubbub? Are you planning on attacking Thich City?¡± I asked.


    He pursed his lips and gestured at the map. ¡°Not directly. The cost would be far too high. But the strategists think we can use our time more productively till the reinforcements arrive. The scouts investigated this hilly region to the east and identified a lot of cave entrances with defensive structures around it. It¡¯s a fortified position, but much less so than the city itself. The defences are aimed at the mindless local wildlife. The Thich didn''t have people in mind when they built them, so overcoming them is nothing compared to attacking the city. If we attack there, we can draw their air fleet away where they can¡¯t rely on ground support. That¡¯s why our fleet is currently circling to the north.¡±


    Thalia frowned, not understanding. ¡°Why would they be forced to defend an area when they have the city? Don¡¯t they just have to hover above the city to keep us in a stalemate?¡±


    Etan raised a finger and grinned. ¡°Ah, you see, our airships are in dire need of glowmoss to stay afloat. Glowmoss doesn¡¯t grow in bright environments, so we are doing our best to keep it in suitable conditions, but no matter what you do there is always a loss when you don¡¯t have a perfectly sealed space or a cave at hand. I doubt the Thich airships are any better than ours. And since they didn¡¯t have them for as long as we have, Vanya thinks their loss rate might be even higher. There is an argument to be made that two decades of building up their fleet in a rush must have forced them to take some shortcuts. Meanwhile, we have been in the business for two centuries. I talked to the Rumens, and they share the opinion that the Thich airship designs are of lesser quality than ours. The only thing putting them on an equal footing are the old Earth weapon stocks they dug up and those must run out at some point. In fact, we believe they should have used up most of them during our recent large engagement. Holding back in such a situation wouldn''t have made any sense.¡±


    I nodded along. ¡°You believe those caves are where the Thich grow the glowmoss for their fleet. And that many ships need at least some to stay afloat.¡±


    He nodded, showing a wolfish expression. ¡°And if we cut off their supply, they either have to send out their airships to fight us on our terms, or we can wait and watch them as one airship after the other gets grounded.¡±

 Ch 163 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°I have better things to do.¡± I crossed my arms in front of my chest. ¡°If you haven''t noticed, we are fighting a war.¡±


    There were better topics to discuss when the fleet besieged one of the enemy''s capital cities.


    At first glance, our current tactical situation looked very good. Despite some losses, we won two major engagements and survived the trap which devastated Vier''s remaining forces. A testament to Aerie''s over-engineered airships which withstood the nightstalker attacks long enough to allow the defenders to do their job.


    But we shouldn''t forget that Vier''s capital was still completely untouched. A mistake during the siege could mean the difference between a decisive victory in the near future, or a long war of attrition nobody could afford.


    And not to forget, the true enemy behind Clan Thich had yet to show itself. Aside from some nebulous explanations from Gaia, we knew next to nothing about the true nature of the threat.


    ¡°True, true, but it isn''t like you couldn''t spare an hour of your time to talk with your sisters,¡± Astra continued, seemingly unimpressed by my posturing. Her insistence on pushing the topic was slightly aggravating. ¡°As I explained, your input is necessary. And it isn''t like any of us will be needed right away. Assuming everything goes to plan, the fleet will arrive at its destination tomorrow ¨C at the earliest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I want to be there in case one of those psylings shows up,¡± I replied and added mentally ¡®and have some fun fighting¡¯. ¡°It isn''t like I paid Ivonne any special attention except for keeping her safe. Why should I go out of my way with Evanne?¡±


    What had brought this on? Why was Astra suddenly so determined to have me intervene with Evanne? Ivonne was adamant about Evanne being her problem, so I saw no reason to get my fingers burned, given how everyone had reacted to me trying to protect Ivonne.


    ¡°I remember the situation very differently,¡± Astra answered quickly and started counting on her fingers. ¡°You talked to Ivonne about your relationship. You took care of Ivonne''s continued education. In fact, you were very concerned about all aspects of her new life at Mount Aerie as a Frost. You were very vocal about her hooking up with Hector. You-¡±


    Whatever I did, it was wrong.


    I threw up my hands. ¡°And everyone kept giving me grief about being on Ivonne''s case. Back then nothing I did was right. Now I am keeping my distance from Evanne to give her time with Ivonne and it is also not right! What am I to do?¡±


    Since we were already at it, I started making my own list, beginning to find a wicked sense of pleasure in this little argument of ours.


    Getting into a little lover''s spat was a rare occurrence for Astra and me. ¡°I am not allowed to have fun while fighting, because laughing while killing things is creepy. When I throw someone ¨C deservingly ¨C off a high place, people get a fit. Nobody thinks anything of my genius social manipulations, despite them working out every time. I have to start questioning whether I should do anything ''people related'' with all this push-back I get.¡±


    Astra frowned at my temper tantrum. ¡°I am sorry, but you should go and talk with your sisters.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Insisting on a point without having logic to stand on is used by those who are weak of mind. You haven''t explained why doing the ''presumably'' previously wrong thing is now the right thing to do!¡±


    I hoped I hadn''t gotten into some kind of circular logic here, but all my sub-personalities were on the same page.


    ¡°Just because you don''t see the logic doesn''t mean it is not there. Besides, social interactions and feelings hardly rely on logic.¡± Astra crossed her arms.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°If you don''t, we are not going to have sex for a week,¡± Astra threatened with a blank expression, sounding utterly serious. ¡°Taking action in this matter may not have any logic to you, but it does to me and the girls.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± I baulked at the threat. ¡°What does my relationship with my sisters have to do with the two of us!? You can''t threaten me with taking away our fun time!¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course, I can. Your sister is my friend, so I don''t want to see her hurt. Just go and talk with them. If it gets to ''fun time'', I believe I am the one with more impulse control.¡±


    ¡°I will just endure it!¡± I threatened. ¡°Besides, you are the one with the baby craze between the two of us!¡±


    Astra raised an eyebrow, looking seriously irritated. ¡°I just had a two-week long, twenty-four-seven re-convalescence treatment with being the kids'' sole supervisor while you shone with absence because of that secret mission of yours. And even when you came back, you only showed your face in the evening. I believe I would be perfectly fine with holding off on trying to make more till the current batch is over their attention-seeking phase.¡±


    I lifted a warning finger but thought better of it once Astra seemed utterly unimpressed by my posturing. ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Very.¡± She shrugged and allowed her filaments to loosen ever so slightly. The effect was immediate, making her look less appealing. ¡°I can set you on ice for years if I have to.¡±


    I stared at her in horror as I considered my chances of ever having sex again if I mishandled the situation.


    Feigning defeat, I gave in. ¡°Then I will warn you, I don''t believe this Lukas guy will get out of the affair unscratched.¡±


    Astra looked slightly conflicted about her answer. ¡°I don''t particularly care about Lukas as long as he keeps breathing. Taking a partner is still for life as long as we don''t find a way to switch off the nanites and the virus. Killing him would end any hope for Evanne to have a normal relationship.¡±


    ¡°I will do my worst if he gives me the smallest reason,¡± I clarified, taking a step towards the door.


    She shrugged. ¡°Do what you have to do, within reason.¡±


    Taking another step, it was now my time to frown. ¡°Is this some kind of trick?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Astra replied, allowing me to take another step.


    I quickly walked the rest of the way towards the door but turned back before actually leaving the room. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Very.¡±


    Turning, I left the room we had taken over on the flagship.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I walked quickly but tried my best not to seem too hasty. Only once I was halfway to the wormgate, did I allow a happy skip to enter my steps. Then I began to grin like a maniac.


    My plan had worked! And there those poor fools thought I was bad with social issues! None of them had anticipated how patient I could be. By giving Evanne the cold shoulder, I had earned myself a blank cheque to deal with this Lukas guy.


    Now I could go nuts with Astra''s sanctioning ¨C which was the only permission I cared about, to be honest.


    ¡°There is nothing better than sanctioned violence!¡± I claimed as I approached a guy who handled the wormgate passengers. This earned me a strange look from him.


    He quickly shifted his attention away when he noticed my expensive armour and the various insignia announcing me as a high-ranking member of the 12th strata, a juggernaut, and a high diplomat with the protector title.


    Nowadays, the wormgate between the flagship and Mount Aerie was running almost permanently, allowing a small but steady stream of people and equipment, but those of my rank could cut the queue as they pleased.


    On a different topic, I wasn''t a person who got off on violence or hurting others for the fun of it. Far from it!


    On the other hand, I also had no problem with applying force to a problem if there was a logical reason for it.


    But the thing with my brothers-in-law was a little different. There was just some strange satisfaction in making sure Hector would do his utmost for my Ivonne. Which was the least he could do after getting into the sheets with her.


    Now, the question was what to do about this Lukas fellow and Evanne. Should I keep playing the unhinged brother? Judging by everything I heard about Lukas, he wouldn''t be as easily ''conditioned'' as Hector.


    I kept going through various scenarios as I made my way to the hospital at Mount Aerie, where Evanne and Lukas were currently under house arrest. It was the best way to describe their current status. Any prisoner of war of a similar rank would have been summarily executed or sent to the wilds, which would end in the same fate for most.


    Maybe once Tirnanog''s humanity united and managed to subjugate all the monsters, there would be room for moral considerations and something like the Geneva Convention, but that day was still far away.


    When I reached the closed-off hospital section where they were held, I found Hector sitting in front of the door and staring off into space.


    ¡°Hector! What are you doing?¡± I greeted him.


    He blinked before he turned his attention to me. ¡°Reading a book on old Earth laws. The UI allows access to the colony''s entire remaining database. There is also the stuff you brought with you. It''s all there at a single thought, given you know the right terms to search for.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°This is the first time I have heard of this. How does it work? I can''t remember seeing the UI having any functionality other than personal control over the nanites and the chat interface.¡±


    ¡°It''s relatively new,¡± Hector admitted while scratching the back of his head consciously. ¡°Gurney unlocked some of the UI''s source code and there is already an entire community of people who are programming and adding new functionalities. Some of it is still very flawed, but it is getting better rapidly. If I were you, I would go to the Hall of Law and pull a UI update. For the first one, you have to unlock it directly at the supercomputer ¨C for safety reasons.¡±


    ¡°If it is that new, I will wait.¡± I waved a hand dismissively. ¡°I was never in the habit of playing beta tester.¡±


    ¡°Well, I would still do it. If only because once you have the function for drawing updates unlocked, you don''t have to be physically at the supercomputer to draw new updates.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I hummed. ¡°Maybe I will swing by with Astra when there is time.¡±


    ¡°You should.¡± Hector raised a finger. ¡°Gaia got interested in the idea and the functions she supports are mind-blowing. Like the library of practical knowledge which I used to read the book and the virtual map. She is really helpful when she thinks a topic furthers her goal of improving humanity.¡±


    I pressed my lips together. Was Gaia trying to become Tirnanog''s Google and Wikipedia? What a frightening idea.


    Shaking my head, I gestured at the door. ¡°Are Evanne and Lukas available? I was told I should talk to them and Ivonne.¡±


    ¡°They are in, but Ivonne is currently not here. Should I call her?¡±


    ¡°No. No.¡± I waved him off. ¡°I would like to have a chat with Evanne before I talk to Iv. Just to see for my own how Evanne is.¡±


    Hector nodded. ¡°I suppose I should pretend I haven''t heard anything should there be loud noises?¡±


    I was genuinely surprised. ¡°Hector! I am beginning to believe you are slowly becoming a real part of the family!¡±


    He returned a forced smile, showing he wasn¡¯t quite committed to our philosophy.


    I patted him on the shoulder and entered the hospital area which had been sectioned off for incarcerated patients.


    What I found was a short corridor with a spacious room at the end. It wasn¡¯t quite an apartment. The design and layout still gave priority to clinical needs, but it was without doubt of higher quality than what the average citizen might have to expect from an elongated stay at the hospital.


    Evanne and her partner were sitting at a small desk when I entered, causing them to quickly get to their feet.


    Lukas narrowed his eyes in suspicion. ¡°What do you want, soldier?¡±


    I glanced down at myself and pursed my lips. Given my armour, it was understandable for someone to get the wrong idea if they couldn''t identify the insignia on it.


    ¡°I am here to talk with my sister.¡± Gesturing at a nearby door which presumably led to the bathroom, I indicated for him to get out of the way. ¡°You may wait on the toilet.¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Lukas clenched his fists, recognizing me now. ¡°What gives you the right to-¡±


    ¡°I have every right,¡± I interrupted. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t partnered with my sister, you would be dead. So off to the toilet with you or I might not settle for ramming a steel-toed boot up your privates.¡±


    Stepping forward, Lukas raised a fist and I sighed, having a hard time hiding my relief. Well, I tried my best! Even warned him.


    Leaning to the side, I dodged the fist quite easily.


    Lukas was definitely not a speedster.


    Aiming low, I tried to repeat the previous take-down, but having anticipated the counterattack, Lukas was already in position and blocked, tanking the hit without flinching.


    Continuing onwards he tried to use his momentum for a tackle.


    His fighting style probably meant he was some kind of tank.


    Flash-stepping to the side, I allowed him to charge empty air except for a foot in his path, resulting in him tripping and landing on all fours.


    Jumping high enough to touch the ceiling, I used both arms to push myself off for some added momentum and brought my knee down on his lower back, which was quickly followed by a satisfying crunch.


    Lukas screamed like a stuck pig ¨C which was the reason why I didn¡¯t hear Evanne charging me from behind.


    My precognition nonetheless gave me enough of a warning to make me flash step on instinct, dodging the chair she was trying to break on my head.


    Having no target to hit, the swing went through unimpeded and clipped Lukas¡¯s legs, eliciting more screams.


    I rolled my eyes. It was just like with Astra and me in the beginning. The simple act of partnering up didn¡¯t magically turn Lukas and Evanne into skilled combatants. They might have been proficient at combat while using their personal mutations, but getting accustomed to their partner¡¯s skill set would take weeks or months of dedicated training.


    Evanne turned, readying the chair once more, so I poked her with a finger, tasing her.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    She shrieked and the chair went flying, but she didn¡¯t back down, so I kept poking in rapid succession until she finally got the point and half jumped, half stumbled out of my reach, looking for another weapon.


    Raising my finger threateningly, I cleared my throat. ¡°I can do this all day. It isn¡¯t a question whether I get my way ¨C only how.¡±


    Evanne finally got the point and backed off to the wall.


    I returned my attention to Lukas, who was by now trying his best to turn around while using only his upper body. Who knew jumping on someone¡¯s back was so effective at immobilising them?


    ¡°I will kill you! Do you understand? I will¡­¡±


    Ignoring the tirade, I aimed a palm at him and a moment later the room was illuminated by a Lichtenberg arc of lighting, eliciting a different sort of screaming. To not kill him, I only slowly dialled up the power till he was properly immobilized.


    He would heal in time.


    While he was still regaining his wits, I bent down and collected both his legs within a loop of my filaments. Then I dragged him off to the bathroom and tossed him inside, using a little more force than necessary given his state.


    He smacked into the wall and I followed leisurely until I stood over him, making sure he wasn¡¯t out cold.


    Bending down, I made eye contact. ¡°Lukas, I would be very silent from now on if I were you. If you give me a reason to come in here to make you shut up, I will get inventive. Currently, my best idea at silencing you would be to stick some of my filaments down your throat and rip out your vocal cords.¡±


    The curse which was on his lips faded away once he realized that I was serious.


    Once I was sure the meaning of my words had made it into his battle-crazed brain, I left and closed the door behind me. Then I made a point of waiting for a few seconds before I nodded. There wasn¡¯t a single noise coming out of the bathroom.


    Turning, I smiled at Evanne who was still at the far wall and gestured at the table. ¡°Evanne! It¡¯s so good to see you. Why don¡¯t you take a seat? How have you been the last few years?¡±


    My wide-eyed sister quickly went to the table and sat down. ¡°B- bad, M- Magnus.¡±


    I nodded gravely and took the seat across from her. ¡°I can imagine. You have to tell me everything.¡±

 Ch 164 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***


    ***Ivonne***


    ¡°I was so afraid!¡± Evanne shook while kneading her fingers, her eyes flicking nervously back and forth between me and the door as if she were afraid our brother could pay her another surprise visit. ¡°Magnus is a psychopath! He might not remember, but he almost killed me during that airship battle! I recognized him when he broke Lukas''s back! He wore a helmet back then, but that armour... and his speed. How could I ever forget!¡±


    She shook when I touched her shoulder. My heart ached because of the obvious distress she was in. I bit my tongue, hoping Magnus hadn¡¯t done too much damage with his visit. Couldn¡¯t the idiot have warned me before visiting? I would have been there to prevent this mess.


    ¡°Evanne, you have to snap out of it. Magnus might be scary if you don''t listen to him, but at the end of the day he is trying to protect us in his own ¨C screwed-up ¨C way,¡± I argued, not feeling it. ¡°Once you talk with him a little more-¡±


    ¡°More!?¡± Evanne shrieked. ¡°Please don''t let him come back in here. He will kill Lukas right in front of me! And he may continue with me! There is something wrong in his head. He casually gave us a beating, broke my partner¡¯s spine, and then he sat down to have a chat with me as if nothing happened! He forced me to discuss every little detail of our lives on Tirnanog. Even the embarrassing stuff.¡±


    I massaged my forehead, feeling like I was getting a migraine. Although the situation differed greatly from my personal reunion with our brother, there were some frightening parallels.


    Like violence being the first go-to solution, though I had to admit much of the initial animosity between us was on me.


    Well, going by her recount, if Lukas had not attacked first, but who was I lying to?


    If Magnus was in the right mood, he would kill Lukas without a second thought. Still, laying the whole fault at Magnus''s feet didn''t seem right in this case. ¡°If Magnus wanted to kill Lukas, he would be dead. So I can only assume Lukas behaved like the asshole I came to know him as and Magnus did what Magnus does.¡± Which meant finishing the argument by having the final punch. ¡°You don¡¯t reach with your hand into a fire, expecting not to be burned.¡±


    I quickly glanced at the groaning man who was lying on the nearby bed, shackled in a full-body restraining harness so he wouldn''t hurt his spine any further with accidental movements. Thanks to the starfish mutation he would recover, but it would still take some time for the nerves to reconnect correctly. If Magnus had cut something off it would be a much bigger problem and I was certain brother was capable of doing it.


    I shuddered, remembering the first weeks after we arrived at Aerie as I mentally recounted the various infractions which happened almost every time he left the estate. Ripped off Hector¡¯s finger, knocked a priestess unconscious, and threw some guy off an elevator. I feared we wouldn¡¯t get through the first month before the clan elders decided we were more trouble than it was worth keeping us alive.


    Still, I had to get Evanne out of her downward spiral and having Lukas''s interference out of the picture did not hurt. To me, there was no question our future was with Clan Aerie and with Magnus.


    ¡°I am sure once the two of them get used to one another, slowly and under supervision, Magnus will abstain from using violence,¡± I laughed in a vain attempt at lightening the mood. ¡°I could tell you stories about how long it took him to accept Hector. We had a lot of arguments over that.¡±


    Well, we came to blows too. More than once and I hadn¡¯t beaten him a single time, but I shouldn''t mention that. Having super speed was just bullshit and unfair when matched against someone as slow as a normal human. And my skill with Precognition wasn''t anywhere good enough to be of much help.


    Evanne slowly turned, glaring at me. ¡°Can you hear yourself talking? Evanne, you sound like someone with Stockholm syndrome! Have you been for so long with the Aerie that you have forgotten Thich? This isn''t our home, Ivonne. You even took one of them as your partner! A partner!¡±


    I pressed my lips together, irritated at having my relationship with Hector questioned. ¡°I have left you to fend for yourself and I am sorry for that, but you are an adult woman. Get your act together, Evanne. Before you accuse me of mental problems you should look at yourself. You behave like someone with PTSD!¡±


    The door clicked, and both of us turned to find Thalia standing in the doorway.


    The psychic furrowed her brows and glanced back and forth between Evanne, Lukas, and me. There was no doubt she was sensing the agitated atmosphere in the room.


    Then she looked up at the ceiling and put her hands together as if she was praying. ¡°Gaia, please help me. Why was I this stupid? I promise I will never again profane your cleavage. I know I should be the last person to do so. So give me a sign if you can hear me?¡±


    A second later, her expression turned to a frown and then devolved further to a deep scowl as she, judging by her body language, received an unfavourable answer from the goddess.


    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    I scratched the back of my neck in a vain attempt to get rid of the tingly sensation which came with Precognition. Following the itch, I also turned around to check whether someone suspicious was ogling me from behind, but nobody was paying the slightest bit of attention to me. Everyone on the bridge was focused on their task.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Is something wrong, Magnus?¡± Astra asked, studying me with a curious expression. ¡°You are fidgeting around like one of the kids. Concentrate, we have to be ready in case we are called upon.¡±


    It did not look like the Thich were all too eager to defend the caves, but she was right. The Thich fleet had moved to intercept, even if they were keeping their distance for now.


    ¡°It''s nothing,¡± I deflected. ¡°Just a nervous itch. Like precognition, but I can''t find the reason.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± She shrugged and grinned. ¡°Maybe someone is talking badly about you behind your back. I wouldn''t be surprised.¡±


    ¡°Would that be enough to trigger precognition?¡± I asked, sceptical. ¡°I had this itch from time to time since we partnered up, but I never connected it to someone talking about me.¡±


    Astra gestured with a wave of her hand to not take her too seriously. ¡°Don''t take my word for it. Of course, there is no definite proof that precognition can be triggered by someone gossiping about you. However, the rumour is persistently running circles. I bet if you asked Thalia, she would say something like: It is not about people talking, but having ill intent directed towards you.¡±


    I thought about it. ¡°Wait, so precognition doesn''t work if the source of the threat isn''t alive? Then why don''t we try to trap people like Gilbert!¡±


    The forge master was always a menace during our sparring sessions. He was fast, but he would be nowhere fast enough to stop me if he didn''t seem to know my next move before me.


    Astra blinked. ¡°That''s not exactly how precognition works, but it is an adequate description for lesser-skilled individuals. The more intention there is behind the attack, the easier it is to sense. But don''t get your hopes up. Those who mastered precognition, like Elder Gilbert, would sense even the minute intention behind a trap. Even if it hadn''t been aimed at him directly. Plus, what kind of trap would you need to take out an elder?¡± She shook her head. ¡°It is just not feasible in most cases. We should aim to develop our precognition to that point someday.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit sixth sense,¡± I complained and thought for a moment. ¡°So, solely out of curiosity, precognition wouldn''t help me at all if the source of the threat is a purely ''natural'' accident? Like me slipping? Or a rock breaking off a cliff and hitting me by accident?¡±


    Astra pursed her lips in thought. ¡°Yes, and no. You know how strange psychic abilities are. There are rarely two of the same type. Even those which are fairly well documented, like precognition, are hardly understood completely. How would you try to set up a test for such a circumstance? Even if you list all the rare recounts of such events, could you put any significance to them? Did the ability not trigger because there was nothing behind it, or because the individual did not have adequate skill? Did the ability not trigger because the pebble which hit you had no hope of causing an injury? You would have to rely on witness testimonies, likely most of the time incomplete ones, instead of a proper test.¡±


    I scratched my temple. ¡°I see. Though there should be a statistically visible tendency once you have enough data.¡±


    Astra raised an eyebrow. ¡°What of the missing information? What of the various skill levels at using precognition? Most things in the wilds which do not trigger precognition are either harmless or leave you dead. No data from those who do not return to give their recounts.¡±


    ¡°Survivors bias.¡± I grinned, reminded of an old story about the Second World War. The military surveyed the damage to their returning planes. They concluded that the most damage was done to certain areas of the planes ¨C which therefore had to be reinforced. The thought behind it was that those would be the areas where planes were most likely to be hit. Nobody thought about the fact that those areas having no significant relevance to flight was the very reason why those planes returned at all. After all, the planes which were hit everywhere else were the ones which crashed and therefore were not part of their statistics.


    Our musings were interrupted when the bridge turned more active.


    The Thich fleet was now actively moving to intercept us. They had realized where we were going and what our plan was.


    Faced with the threat of being cut off from an essential resource to keep their airships afloat, they decided to throw everything they could at us.


    Astra¡¯s father, Etan, nodded once he and the other commanders had listened to the entire report. ¡°Someone over there did the math and decided to hurt us while they still can.¡±


    ¡°Can they? Hurt us, I mean,¡± Astra asked.


    Etan shrugged. ¡°Their fleet still rivals ours in numbers, sans the reinforcements we expect in the next few days. We didn''t come out of their trap completely unscathed at the last engagement, even if they threw away their allies to do as much damage as possible. If we are lucky, they have no clue about the second fleet. And our airships are better. Judging by their reaction to our course, the assumption about those caves containing their glowmoss farms was likely right. It comes down to the question of whether they have more of those rockets. If they don¡¯t, I would be inclined to take the fight now and begin the siege on their city as early as possible. But if we wait and join up with the reinforcements, we could reduce our losses.¡±


    He looked down at the tactical map with a conflicted expression. ¡°I would rather give them as little time as possible to prepare their city for a siege. Every day counts and judging by their strategy so far they rushed their blitzkrieg tactics and failed, meaning they might not be properly prepared for having a war at their doorstep. Their glowmoss farms being so poorly defended is a strong indicator for that.¡±


    ¡°What could they do within a few days?¡± I asked. ¡°Would it make that much of a difference?¡±


    ¡°It might be the difference between Thich City folding within the year, or holding us off till winter,¡± Etan explained. ¡°Right now, we can¡¯t move our forces around freely to prevent them from leaving their city. Which means each day their fleet remains active is a day they can funnel resources into their city.¡±


    ¡°But then¡­ shouldn¡¯t they hold their ships back?¡± I wondered, confused.


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Etan shook his head. ¡°Those ships are another drain on their resources, in particular, their crews. The maintenance staff eats and drinks while providing relatively little combat power. If they hold those ships back till their glowmoss runs out, they keep the crews. Someone must have run the numbers and decided throwing away those people and doing as much damage as possible is worth the risk. And it is entirely possible that they can do enough damage to prevent us from taking Thich City. We will have to fight smart.¡±


    So it was a gamble. ¡°How do you see our chances?¡±


    ¡°As I said, those rockets they got from the old Earth ammunition depots are the deciding factor which levels the playing field with our forces.¡± Etan shrugged. ¡°If I knew for certain that they have no more, I would take the fight without hesitation. Although everything hints that they used up most of their stock, I learned long ago to never fully trust in things I haven¡¯t verified with my own eyes.¡±


    ¡°I say we take this chance and go for the win,¡± Vanya inserted herself into the discussion. ¡°If we want to make sure we can use the little surprise Gunnar left behind, we can¡¯t waste time. Each passing day increases the chances of discovery.¡±


    I nodded, reminded why Gunnar had taken his sweet time with locating Evanne.


    Etan turned to Skye Rumen, who was currently in charge of the fleet. ¡°I suppose we need a slight course correction if we are going to meet them.¡±


    Skye regarded the map for a few more moments before he gestured at one of his adjutants to relay the order.


    The clans would fight one more battle.

 Ch 165 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t much Astra or I could do about the impending engagement unless the commanding officers called upon our skills. So I found myself polishing my gear, bored out of my mind while I listened to the latest scout reports.


    The rangefinder I liberated from one of the Thich anti-air cannons was still one of my favourite toys. I had used Gilbert¡¯s workshop to modify it when I found some spare hours, so it would be easier to handle. Still, it was never intended to be handled freely, and it was very noticeable in its design.


    I did my best, but the device still looked like one of those bulky spyglasses that were occasionally shown in old documentaries and there was nothing to be done about it. Rebuilding the entire device from the ground up would have been the only other option. It would no longer be the same tool, which would defeat its purpose as a trophy taken from the enemy.


    Then all the little bits and bobs that were beginning to leave Aerie¡¯s workshops had to be mentioned. Adapting creature cores on a semi-industrial scale instead of producing unique prototypes had taken a lot of time, things like semi-industrialized flashlights and lighters were slowly becoming available to the masses. Currently, the focus was entirely on survival gear, but I had no doubt the situation would rapidly improve once the mess with Thich was over.


    Grinning, I checked out the new gyroscopic compass that was another hit with the second strata¡¯s manufacturers.


    Admittedly, most of the bulk-wares that were becoming widely available were the simplest of devices. Nonetheless, the more complicated tools leaving Gilbert¡¯s workshop showed that regaining some of Earth¡¯s technology using Tirnanog¡¯s resources was possible. The wormgate was the best proof.


    I pocketed the compass and turned my attention to the ongoing tactical situation.


    Fleet command had decided that invading the cave system would be of no benefit to us. The main goal was to cut Thich¡¯s fleet off from their glowmoss supply. There was no need to fight our way into an easily defensible tunnel system, when blocking the cave entrances would achieve the same effect.


    We would take the necessary time to deploy Hochberg¡¯s ground troops who were experts with quick earth-movements. They would cave-in every entrance they could find while the rest of the fleet bought the necessary time against the approaching airships.


    The ideal situation would be to seal off most of the caves and then make a run for it. If the job was done well, it would likely take months to reopen the caves. Time the Thich wouldn¡¯t have before a sizeable part of their fleet was grounded.


    Alas, this wouldn¡¯t happen since such operations took time and the Thich were expected to fight tooth and nail. They had no other choice.


    Unlike the previous time, the two fleets engaged directly this time around.


    Our people had to hold position so that the ground troops wouldn¡¯t get pounded from the air. Meanwhile, the Thich had every incentive to finish the battle quickly, for good or ill. They couldn¡¯t give us the time to do significant damage to the caves, or we would pack up and play tag with them till their airships ran out of glowmoss.


    This was the only opportunity they would get to force a straight fight with us.


    I reached for the handle of my axe when the first serious reports on contact with the enemy came in.


    For now, Thich¡¯s bat-things and our drake-riders were the main combatants, but it was only a question of time until the airships would get involved.


    To see it for myself, I detached the rangefinder from my belt and walked to one of the metal-grilled windows. The flagship¡¯s architects had given some rudimentary considerations to the view, always keeping in mind that Tirnanog had its share of flying monsters which had no business on the bridge.


    Thanks to the magnification, I could see some of what was going on.


    For now, there were no details visible. Just indistinct dots swarming around each other in a chaotic mess as Thich¡¯s bat-riders tried to get close to the fleet while the drake-riders did their damnedest to intercept them. Sending the bat-riders ahead was a suicide mission, but the Thich likely hoped to soften us up before the airships clashed with each other.


    A well-placed incendiary device had the potential to heavily damage or take down an airship.


    I was only glad that Loopsfast wasn¡¯t anywhere near this battle. The stupid drake was still busy with his brood and despite his antics, I liked him well enough to not wish for his demise.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Judging by the amount of falling drakes and bats, there would be a lot to mourn no matter how this battle ended.


    I kept watching as the outskirts of both fleets came in contact with each other. They were mostly composed of the smaller vessels, but even from this distance I could tell that neither side held back.


    Battles on Tirnanog were mostly fought in close quarters or with bows and crossbows. Guns were too loud and ammunition was expensive. Doubly so when it came to larger calibres. Another complication was that most of the more dangerous critters deemed a gunshot as nothing more than being poked with a needle.


    Not this time around.


    Both sides used their carefully stockpiled supplies of ammunition liberally.


    I watched as one of our ships dissolved into pieces as it got caught in the concentrated fire of three enemy airships.


    In turn, one of Thich¡¯s vessels lost most of their ballast tanks and began rising uncontrollably, quickly followed by most of the crew abandoning the ship. Their choice was to either stay on board and find a way to get the airship under control before it was too high to breathe, or to get off. Judging by the numbers of sailors who chose the latter, I had my doubts that all of them had the necessary mutations for such a manoeuvre. It was a panic move, most of them likely hoping their starfish mutation would give them a chance at survival.


    As I swung the rangefinder from ship to ship, I found similar scenes repeating themselves.


    When an Aerie airship went down, it was due to extreme damage in most cases.


    In turn, the Aerie wisely used the knowledge gained by studying wrecked Thich airships. After winning a major engagement and staying in control of the battlefield, we had more than enough construction examples to identify weak points in Thich''s designs, such as the ballast tanks on the bottom of their airships.


    Or their relatively vulnerable engine compartments.


    Aerie¡¯s strategy of targeting vital spots seemed to work for the most part. By my count, each of our ships took at least two or three of Thich¡¯s airships out of the picture, even if they weren¡¯t completely destroyed. Unfortunately, it also meant we were paying with one of ours.


    Given Thich¡¯s numbers, we would lose a third or even half of our fleet if this went on.


    Was this a too high price to pay?


    I didn¡¯t know, but when I glanced back to the planning table with the commanding officers, their determined expressions showed no sign that anyone considered disengaging from the enemy.


    Minutes slowly turned into an hour as the methodical carnage went on.


    Airships weren¡¯t fast by any means, despite the people of Tirnanog taking the concept further than Earth ever did. And despite Thich¡¯s determination to force the confrontation, the number of involved ships meant we had more than enough wriggle room to draw out the battle.


    Unfortunately, Thich¡¯s commanders wisened up after the first half hour of seeing their ships getting dismantled. They fought back doing their best to copy our tactics, although to a lesser degree of expertise.


    The feared rockets that had dominated our first engagements with the Thich never made an appearance. The previous times there had been something demoralizing about being hammered by long range weapons without having a chance to fight back. Suffering significant losses right at the beginning of battle was never good for morale.


    This wasn¡¯t a factor this time around, and it seemed like elder Skye and Juliana Rumen took a perverse satisfaction in seeing Thich¡¯s fleet go down one by one, regardless of whether their strata was paying the highest price to achieve this goal.


    The frontline of this confrontation was a confusing mess, but the active battlefront had crept continuously closer as I observed. By now, there was no magnification necessary.


    Astra joined me at the viewing window, having given up her spot at the planning table. ¡°They are saying it is drawing to a close, but we may see some action yet.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I hummed. ¡°Good. Doesn¡¯t feel right to see others do the fighting and dying while we watch doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°I hope you only want to do the fighting part. Not the dying,¡± Astra said.


    I smirked. ¡°Of course, the dying we can leave to our enemies.¡±


    ¡°Joke aside, I get what you mean.¡± She sighed. ¡°Skye says we are down to between sixty and seventy percent of the fleet¡¯s original strength. Won¡¯t be a reason to throw a party, even if we win. He wants to take the main force into the thick of it, since we lost an entire battlegroup when they engaged Thich¡¯s core fleet. The report says they got some pretty strong juggernaut-classed people on the other side. People who can bring down an entire airship on their own once they get inside. We can¡¯t keep sending weaker soldiers against them and expect a different outcome.¡±


    She sounded a little put out, so I decided to improve the mood. ¡°Does that mean I get to throw some people over the railing? Have them walk the plank and plummet to their demise?¡±


    Astra smacked my shoulder. ¡°You would do well to kill them beforehand. The people we will be up against won¡¯t be killed by something like a fall.¡±


    ¡°Harr!¡± I confirmed in a playful tone. ¡°I will chop off their heads with my trusty axe. Let¡¯s crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentation of their women.¡±


    Astra rolled her eyes. ¡°I know you are citing some old movie or the like, but I have no clue what you are referring to.¡±


    ¡°Do not worry, dear.¡± I swiped out my hand before us as if I was drawing a grand picture of the future. ¡°Once this is over, we will have all the time in the world to catch you up on culture. Did you believe I had Jakob transport that home cinema set to this world just so you could listen to music while we dance a little? No! We are going to watch all the old classics! The entire Babylon 5 series, all three Star Wars movies-¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Thalia say there are fifteen movies?¡± Astra interrupted.


    ¡°Only for heretics! The prequels and sequels were made by bumbling buffoons who tried to cash in money by trampling on the grave of a masterpiece.¡± I pumped a fist, showing there was no discussion in this.


    ¡°You know what?¡± Astra rubbed her temples. ¡°I already feel a lot better about going to battle. You don¡¯t have to threaten me with having to watch those old movies from the dark ages.¡±


    ¡°You had me watch that theatrical play about us!¡± I countered. ¡°The least I can ask for is for you to spend the same length of time watching movies with me.¡±


    She slumped. ¡°I already regret it.¡±

 Ch 166 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Magnus***


    ¡°I believe this is going to get ugly.¡±


    I studied the densely packed group of ships which managed to bypass the last of our defence line after punching a wide hole in the formation.


    The remaining escort vessels, which were supposed to prevent our flagship from getting involved in the fighting, were caught out of position when the Thich split their forces for a final, desperate assault.


    Whether our ships were faster or not, they were unable to turn and catch up in time. And even if, there were not enough of them to halt this self-sacrificial onslaught. Not to mention, most of them still had their own battles to fight.


    ¡°I believe the big one in the lead is Thich¡¯s flagship,¡± Astra commented and pointed out the largest vessel. ¡°It was at the last battle but stayed in the back.¡±


    It was the biggest ship I had seen in Thich¡¯s service, but Aerie¡¯s flagship was in the same weight-class.


    The way they were steering towards us with all their engines on full power meant they were looking for a fight.


    ¡°They seem determined to take us down together with them.¡± I clicked my tongue at the sight of the approaching flotilla.


    ¡°It is likely they finally realized why we were pushing them back so easily,¡± Vanya¡¯s voice drew our attention away from the approaching ships. The girl and her bodyguard had sneaked up behind us while we were distracted.


    ¡°They want the flagship because it is the most likely location where we would keep a mobile wormhole generator.¡± The girl shrugged while her creepy bodyguard looked over her head, glaring either at us or the approaching ships ¨C I couldn''t tell for certain. The woman''s new persona always seemed moody for no reason.


    ¡°It was only a question of time till they found out,¡± Vanya finished.


    I returned my attention to the girl, deciding not to question how she had secured the former Thich diplomat''s loyalty. If I ever decided I needed Vanya''s help with Evanne and her ''partner'', I should not point fingers.


    ¡°But how?¡± Astra asked, drawing Vanya''s thoughtful gaze away from the approaching airships.


    Vanya raised an eyebrow and looked at me pointedly. ¡°Extracting Magnus''s sister from Thich City with your teleportation ability was likely the final hint. There are no other explanations. A plethora of people have the necessary skills to extract a person who is under heavy surveillance, but none of them could whisk away the target without so much as a hint at how it was done. Anyone with a few working brain cells would have thought of a wormhole. And once the idea is in the room it explains many other things. Like our seemingly non-existent supply issues or the amount of troops we left stationed at each retaken settlement.¡±


    She gestured with her hands, indicating the logical conclusion to the story was a given.


    I winced. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Do not worry,¡± Vanya interrupted. ¡°They already had all the clues they needed, given how much pressure we put on Thich and Vier during the campaign. Under normal circumstances, our alliance would have never been able to push back their troops so quickly and decisively. Without the wormgate, our efforts would have ceased at Jeng¡¯s mother tree for a long time. It would have taken us months to manage that mess with a normal supply line. We would have been stupid not to use such an advantage to its fullest once your elders revealed it. To me, it is surprising that none of Thich¡¯s strategists realized sooner what was happening.¡±


    She glanced past us at the approaching ships. ¡°But enough of this. I came over to relay some important orders to you.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Astra tilted her head questioningly.


    ¡°As soon as the fighting starts in earnest, it will be your job to take down that big ship,¡± Vanya said and pointed at Thich''s flagship.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Us against an entire airship which is probably filled to the brim with their best warriors? And what does ''earnest'' fighting mean?¡±


    The Matriarch rolled her eyes. ¡°I never said you should fight them head on, numbskull. It means you wait with your mission till most of their heavy hitters are distracted. There are plenty of ways to sabotage an airship. You two are our best speedsters, so avoiding combat shouldn¡¯t be an issue. And on a side-note, I am questioning whether classifying you two as traditional speedsters is the right thing to do. We should probably invent a new category if there are ever more of you.¡±


    I pouted at the suggestion of sabotage. ¡°Boring.¡±


    ¡°Smart,¡± Astra countered. ¡°Though, easier said than done. That airship is huge.¡±


    I set some of my sub-personalities to the task. ¡°Engines, maybe. A ship that size will have large energy needs. There are at least forty propellers on that thing. I can¡¯t imagine that each of them has a dedicated combustion motor. They must be electric with a central combustion engine for power. Anything else would be inefficient. Too much mechanics. Though, I can¡¯t be certain whether they were concerned about efficiency when they designed the thing.¡±


    Astra turned her attention to the big ship. ¡°What about their elevation controls? Our flagship was put out of commission for a week when the psyling attacked. If we get there and start pressing random buttons, we could cause all kinds of havoc.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°I like the way you think, but flight control would be close to their bridge and if it is anything like on this ship, then there will be plenty of strong people nearby.¡±


    ¡°I am not so sure about that,¡± Astra countered. ¡°Elevation controls are a very important thing on an airship. If there is ever a problem with the buoyancy or the ballast, you need to adjust immediately. Just on this ship, there are four linked stations to respond as quickly as possible. You are too heavy? You drop till you kiss the ground. Too light? You rise till you suffocate.¡±


    Seeing that we had gotten the message, Vanya shrugged and left without a word. Apparently, she saw no point in giving us overly detailed instructions.


    ¡°Do you think fire would work?¡± I continued brainstorming.


    ¡°Unlikely, unless we get ourselves some of the firebombs the drake riders are using. The ships may be made mostly out of wood, but we need to get a big blaze going to achieve anything.¡± With just a few words, Astra poked a big hole into my idea. ¡°And those bombs are big, unwieldy things. We wouldn''t be able to carry more than one.¡±


    For a moment, I played with the thought of recruiting Vanya''s bodyguard as a human torch, but that probably wouldn''t fly with the matriarch.


    ¡°Poison?¡± I just went down the list of ideas. ¡°It has been a while since I got to use-¡±


    ¡°Magnus.¡± Astra looked deep into my eyes and placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping it tightly. ¡°We are not going to spread around deathnut oil in a confined space like the hallways of an airship. Especially not when there are potentially allies nearby. Do you understand? I will not puke up my breakfast again because you want to play with your favourite extinction toy.¡±


    ¡°Aw...¡± I pretended to be properly reprimanded. ¡°I promise it gets better the more often you expose yourself to the poison. I can already stomach small amounts without foaming at the mouth. It''s just a matter of building up immunity.¡±


    She shook her head, looking exhausted. ¡°I still don''t get how you managed to convince Thalia or Etan to sign off on handing you an entire barrel of a heavily restricted substance.¡±


    ¡°I think that''s one of those cases where the less you know the better it is for everyone,¡± I suggested. ¡°Just be assured that neither was your friend stupid enough to give out her supplies, nor did your father try to kill me by handing me a highly volatile poison.¡±


    ¡°Then where...¡± Astra''s eyes narrowed. ¡°Elder Bruce Patel. He is the only person who would have the connections to... but why would he? He doesn''t like you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you are way too sharp, my dear.¡± I gestured at the approaching ships. ¡°Why don''t we concern ourselves with the problem at hand?¡±


    ¡°I have more than enough sub-personalities to spare. Don¡¯t believe I will stop thinking about it because we have other urgencies right now,¡± Astra pointed out. ¡°Why don''t we try to find an ammunition depot on that ship and blow it up?¡±


    ¡°Wise, but where to find one?¡± I asked.


    She shrugged. ¡°Anything we could plan for right now boils down to entering that ship and running around till we recognize some vital installation.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°What a brilliant idea!¡± I clapped my hands together. ¡°We can play catch with the defenders while we look for something important.¡±


    ¡°I thought about splitting up to maximize our chances,¡± Astra interjected.


    ¡°Nah, I don''t like that.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We stay together. Anything we are after is bound to be well defended. If we stay together, we can go right to work upon finding something of importance.¡±


    The airship shook slightly as it was hit by some kind of artillery shell.


    ¡°You know, you don''t have to be here,¡± I pointed out wistfully as a sudden bout of sentimentality hit me. ¡°It''s my fight. You could be with the kids.¡±


    Astra shot me a glare. ¡°Did you forget the deal we made when we hooked up? We are in this together! Besides, this has gone far beyond your vendetta. What Thich had planned for Aerie obviously would have been set into motion whether you intervened or not. So don''t give me that bullshit about not involving myself or you get to sleep on the couch for the next week.¡±


    I blinked. ¡°Why is withdrawing your affections always the first thing you come up with?¡±


    ¡°Because you are like a love-deprived puppy and I know that''s the only thing working on you.¡±


    Sighing, I slipped a hand around her hips and pulled her closer even as another impact shook the ship. ¡°You know me all too well. So, how are we going to do this? Just... flash step over there and find ourselves an entry?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± She gestured at the nearby exit to the observation platform. ¡°I will let you take the lead because I am the faster one between the two of us. You couldn¡¯t run away from me even if you tried.¡±


    ¡°You may be faster, but I am stronger,¡± I teased.


    ¡°That''s why I am using you as the blunt instrument you are,¡± Astra replied in a good natured manner.


    The fighting already seemed well under way, having ramped up in intensity while we bantered. Seeing no point in further delays, I made my way outside the ship and flash-stepped.


    The sky between both vessels was already filled with drakeriders and Thich''s strange bats. In between, combatants from both sides who had no need for flying mounts zipped back and forth. Some were relying on wings and a scant few on other means of propulsion.


    One of the stranger ones seemed to copy the drakes'' breath-jet method to great effect as they dominated the sky like a flying superhero. Or a rocket, depending on how you wanted to take it. Their main strategy was to ram the batriders off their mounts with nausea-inducing flybys.


    I didn''t pay the battle around us any more attention because my eyes were on our target. Though it would have surely been interesting to watch because some of the more powerful mutations made the combatants look like superheroes from some old movie.


    Flash-stepping again, I avoided the combat zone and moved to a less active area beneath the approaching ship, hoping this way our entry wouldn''t be contested too much. Trying to gain entry from the direction where everyone was looking at would be akin to busting in the front door.


    Our means of movement thankfully allowed a relatively secretive approach except for the short moments of free fall we needed to reorient ourselves for the next flash step.


    Once I was sure I had identified a gun turret of similar design to the ones I already encountered at the last battle, I went in. The little flashes and exhaust fumes from the two barrels were easily recognisable.


    The rotating domes which protected the anti-air guns were a weak point allowing easy entry. Anyone else would have trouble approaching such an entrenched position, but flash-step made it a non-issue.


    I landed on the dome and immediately punched my fist through one of the protective glass plates which allowed the gunner a good view of the skies. The construction was a trade-off between giving the best possible field of view while still preventing easy entry for flying predators.


    Since I was approaching from below, all I got to grab this time was the gunner''s foot, who was sitting suspended in a small cockpit.


    The inside of the cabin lit up like a light-bulb when I discharged as much electricity as I could into the gunner. The firing gun stopped immediately and I wasted no time, bending the metal frame apart and breaking more of the viewports which were connected like the Gothic windows of an old church.


    Astra joined me a moment later and the hole was soon wide enough for me to reach in with my filaments and pull out the smoking corpse of the gunner, who I dropped without much fanfare.


    Astra took the lead and wriggled her much longer filaments into the opening before she disappeared inside, her thinner frame allowing her to do so with elegant ease.


    I followed as quickly as possible, but it took a little bit more metal bending before the hole was wide enough for my armour.


    Once I climbed up the tight confines of the cabin, I found myself on a corridor where Astra just pinned a Thich crewman to the wall, shaking him like a ragdoll. From the way he flailed ineffectively against her armour, there was no doubt he had no strength enhancements.


    ¡°Where is the closest vital installation?¡± Astra questioned. ¡°Energy generators, flight controls, ammunition depots?¡±


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Was the wrong reply, because a freshly electrocuted body hit the floor just a moment later.


    ¡°We are going that way!¡± Astra pointed down the corridor to our left.


    ¡°Did you guess that random?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t adverse to any direction we chose.


    ¡°No,¡± Astra replied, starting to dash down the corridor. ¡°That¡¯s where his eyes went when I asked. Do you have a problem with my choice?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I planned to run around like a headless chicken until we find something that looks important.¡± I shrugged while running next to her. ¡°And if that didn¡¯t work, I thought of simply going in the direction where we encounter the most resistance. Anything important would have a lot of guards.¡±


    ¡°We can try that next,¡± Astra said as we entered a broad hallway, not too dissimilar from the ones on our flagship. If they fulfilled the same purpose, then they were intentionally wide to allow for quick traversal of the entire length of the ship.


    We didn¡¯t waste time and simply chose a direction. Our biggest asset was our speed and simply not being in the location where we had been last reported to any security forces. Dashing down the corridor, we caused mayhem under the crewmen who weren¡¯t enhanced with combat mutations.


    But that could only go on for as long as we had the element of surprise and our time ran out when we encountered an entire troop of soldiers. It was a very quick security response, so we changed directions, heading up one of the ladders which allowed everyone to switch floors quickly. They were installed in convenient intervals along the main corridor, so avoiding a single group of security guards was no issue.


    I had no doubt their commanders would dispatch a lot more soldiers once they realized they had two enemy speedsters running around on their ship.


    We continued our game of tag with the guards, choosing corridors seemingly at random to avoid heavy resistance. Though Astra made sure we were exploring the general area.


    Coming around a bend in the corridor, we came across five stationary guards who were without doubt protecting a heavy, iron door.


    So far, we already encountered several guards patrolling the corridors in pairs or standing guard at a door, but except for what looked like the office of an important person, we found nothing. We weren¡¯t here for documents.


    But the higher number of guards and the unusual door meant there was something important here.


    We fell on the poor soldiers like armoured hurricanes and it was over in an instant. The normal soldiers had no chance against two juggernauts.


    Astra was the first at the door, but it didn¡¯t budge when she tried the handle. The thing was designed with people who had enhanced strength in mind.


    I gestured for her to step aside and placed both hands slightly above and below the lock without touching the metal. Then I grit my teeth and created one of my signature Lichtenberg arcs, allowing the plasma to dance over the metal until it began to glow red.


    Astra understood without needing explanations and rammed her shoulder against the door. The first time it bucked only a little, bending the now softened locking bolt. On her second attempt the metal gave way and the door sprang open, revealing a storage room.


    ¡°Are those grenades and shells?¡± I grinned like a little boy upon seeing what was stacked on the shelves. Forgetting about safety, I ran into the room and grabbed what was without doubt a hefty mortar shell.


    ¡°Magnus, no time!¡± Astra warned me, looking down the corridor where screams were coming from.


    I pulled the safety pin off my fun-device and rejoined her outside, taking a pitcher¡¯s stance right as a group of Thich soldiers came around the bend in the corridor.


    Astra realized what I intended to do and dodged into the ammunitions depot, which was probably not the wisest thing to do if she feared what was coming.


    The soldiers saw what I had in my hand and did a U-turn, running the other direction. They had the right sense for survival, but they were still too slow.


    I launched the shell down the corridor and was thrown back against the doorframe when the concussion of the blast and a shower of splinters pushed me back and down onto my butt. Slightly dazed, I got back up. That would have hurt without my armour. ¡°What the fuck are they packing into those shells?¡±


    ¡°Firehorn glans, you moron!¡± Astra pointed at a warning label above the shells. ¡°Are you trying to kill us?¡±


    I squinted at the big, red label which somehow¡­ completely escaped my attention. Admittedly, my focus had been elsewhere. In my defence, this storage room ¨C while small ¨C was a pyrotechnic''s wet dream. I never failed my duty during New Year¡¯s Eve, and it had been a long time now that I thought about it!


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Hahaha.¡± I laughed madly and grabbed another shell. Then I looked around the storage room as my sub-personalities feverishly catalogued what we had to work with. ¡°This is going to be a big badaboom!¡±


    ***Tirnanog, Thich Flagship***


    ***Zacharias***


    The ship suddenly shifted beneath my feet as it was rocked by a mighty explosion, causing one of my clones to lose his balance. I managed to catch myself on a nearby table which had been wisely bolted to the floor.


    ¡°What was that?¡± I demanded. The explosion must have been huge to affect the ship to this degree.


    One of my adjutants looked up sheepishly from his communicator. ¡°That was ammunitions depot ¡®9-F¡¯, sir. It was blown up by two speedsters who infiltrated the ship on the lower floors.¡±


    ¡°Why am I hearing about this only now?¡± I wondered whether I should throw this idiot out a window for his incompetence, but that would probably cause more chaos at this point. The plan was to board the enemy¡¯s flagship or take it down. Not for us to be boarded!


    ¡°They- they just infiltrated four or five minutes ago and they kept avoiding our security teams,¡± the adjutant tried to explain his reasoning. ¡°I didn¡¯t think they had enough combat power to overwhelm a vital area so quickly.¡±


    I growled. ¡°Then correct your mistake and dispatch someone who can counter them!¡±


    It was only good that the ammunition was split into smaller stashes so a single mistake couldn¡¯t end the entire ship in one fell swoop.


    ¡°I have nobody who can, sir.¡± The man looked desperate. ¡°All the higher-classed combatants are already engaged outside.¡±


    I hissed and gestured for one of my generals to take over. ¡°If you want something done, you have to do it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Sir?¡± the general asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I go?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied, resigned. ¡°You are needed here and your skills are not suited against speedsters. Besides, I have an inkling who those speedsters may be.¡±


    I left the bridge, already coordinating this body with a second clone who I left on the flagship. Catching a speedster wouldn¡¯t be an easy task if I was alone, but Zacharias Regulus was never alone.


    There was the one who was still holding position at Thich City. And the two clones who were fighting amidst the air battle outside. And the three who were already on Aerie¡¯s flagship.


    No, Zacharias was never alone.

 Ch 167 - EVO

    ***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***


    ***Felix Wolf***


    The Thich were going all in. I eyed the hundreds of soldiers who were leaving Thich¡¯s ships.


    Bat riders carrying warriors and everyone who could move through the air thanks to their mutations were bridging the last gap between the two flagships. The gloves had come off.


    ¡°Ancient, please retreat into the airship. We will hold the line,¡± Savannah Gentry, Head Paladin of Jeng stepped forward and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°We cannot lose you to a stray shot.¡±


    My antennae swivelled and I flicked her hand away. ¡°You may be Head Paladin, but I already knew where I had to be when your mother was nothing more than a babe. So far, we could rest thanks to Aerie and Hochberg coming to our aid. But this is different.¡±


    I pointed at the incoming wave of enemies while my antennae tingled, warning me of countless threats thanks to precognition. ¡°There are many powerful ones among them and Zacharias is leading the charge. This is not a battle to be won by holding back our most powerful combatants. And we will pay them back for what they did to the Mother Tree!¡±


    Steeling myself, I looked down the row of Jeng¡¯s finest who had been tasked with holding the flagship¡¯s upper deck. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back, warriors of Jeng. Fight as if the Mother Tree itself was on the line. Pay them back for all our brothers and sisters who will never see the forest again!¡±


    Savannah and her partner Ahmad let out cries of courage with the others and readied their weapons.


    My faceted eyes surveyed the approaching enemies once more, singling out those I deemed the most powerful among them.


    I also noticed the departure of our two speedsters Vanya had tasked with sabotaging the approaching airship, but I had no time to pay them any more attention. I could only pray for their success while Thich¡¯s attention was on us.


    Zacharias was going all in with his clones. A glance was enough to find three clones splitting off from the rest of Thich¡¯s combat force. They lead a small group of warriors off to the side, probably intending to enter the ship from a less defensible angle.


    They were shooting straight for one of the side entrances as if they knew the ship¡¯s layout exactly.


    For a moment, I considered abandoning my position to stop them. But doing so would leave the upper deck undefended. My paladins were strong, but they couldn¡¯t hold the line against an ancient like Zacharias without assistance.


    While I felt confident to win against a single clone, handling two at the same time would be a problem, and three would almost certainly mean my demise without Mary at my side. Unfortunately, she was still out of the game.


    Closing my eyes, I resigned myself to trust that others would stop that group. When I opened them again, I fully concentrated on the two Zachs who were heading right for the upper deck. Each of them was leading an entire group of juggernauts.


    Unfortunately, they decided to split up right before engaging us.


    While one Zacharias stayed on course, the other clone swayed off towards the flagship''s bridge, which was positioned further ahead. An entire contingent of warriors followed him.


    It was infuriating to stand my ground a second time, but at least this time I knew Zacharias would have a hard time going there. While they had no ancient at hand, the flagship¡¯s bridge was still protected by most of Aerie¡¯s elders ¨C each at the very least at the juggernaut level or above.


    It would be akin to sticking his head into a night-terror nest.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Ahmad asked. His eyes were also following the group which veered off.


    ¡°There is nothing we can do except trust in our allies,¡± I answered stoically. ¡°If we abandon our positions, the enemy can do as they please here. We were tasked with holding the upper deck and that is what we will do.¡±


    Then there was no more time for talking because our attackers unleashed a volley of gunshots with weapons which were probably also pilfered from one of those weapon stashes.


    But there was a good reason why Jeng had long since abandoned all small calibre weapons, except for hunting monsters. The iobeetle was the first mutation all Jeng Paladins underwent, granting them the strongest known natural protection.


    My Paladins held their positions without saying a word while bullets pinged off their armour. Only some moved their heads to protect their eyes when their precognition warned them of an impending lucky shot.


    ¡°Now!¡± Savannah called out and several paladins began hauling metal javelins at the approaching bats. Their force was more than sufficient to take down the large animals thanks to strength mutations. The range of such an attack may be reduced compared to guns, but the destructive force was a lot higher.


    I hefted the long metal rod I had been using as a weapon for decades.


    Then the bat on which the Zacharias clone rode got unlucky. One of the javelins hit it right in the shoulder.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The animal heaved heavily with its wings, doing its best to stay in the air, but it was to no avail as it disappeared beneath the railing. Zach abandoned his mount without a second thought and jumped, landing on the upper deck with ease.


    Some of his people had gone down with their mounts, but many made it onto the ship.


    I pointed my metal rod at the man. There were no more words necessary as my paladins charged.


    Ahmad was in the lead, almost ignoring the smaller Thich soldier who tried to stop him. It was akin to a toddler trying to stop an adult. There was no competition as Ahmad kneed the woman in the chest and trampled over her, going right for Zach.


    Zacharias smiled and easily dodged the swing of Ahmad¡¯s heavy war axe.


    The clone slid past the paladin, relying on his precognition as he left his attacker to be dealt with by his men.


    Ahmad turned and cried out in dismay at the disregard, but there was nothing he could do surrounded by enemies.


    ¡°Overconfident, just as you, Felix,¡± Zach said while drawing two long, thin daggers. They were more like spikes, to be honest, intended to be slid into the weak points between two iobeetle plates.


    ¡°Ahmad is young and enthusiastic,¡± I replied slowly. ¡°He will learn.¡±


    ¡°Not if he is dead!¡± Zacharias charged forward while the two groups around us collided.


    Some of the Thich were still relying on their guns, but being used at close range they had much more of an impact and my people began receiving wounds when a splinter or rebound bullet got lucky.


    I aimed my rod at the clone¡¯s eye and charged forward, intending to end it right then and there. Once the clone was gone, I could leave my people to deal with the rest while I hunted down the other clones. There was no way I would stop before all of the clones were dead and I could gloat over Zacharias'' final body.


    My opponent stepped from side to side, searching for an opening while throwing off my aim, but thanks to precognition the tip of my weapon impeccably stayed on point while I prepared myself to deflect the daggers. Just as long as Zacharias died a moment before his daggers could reach a lethal spot, I could take a wound or two.


    I was about to stab Zacharias right in the eye when he suddenly sped up and slipped to the side faster than I had ever seen him move. It was¡­ impossible!


    One of his daggers scraped over my carapace without doing much damage as Zacharias sped right towards Savannah who had been protecting my back.


    She swung her club but missed as the clone jumped and stabbed right at the joint between her chest carapace and her head. Jeng¡¯s paladins were widely regarded as the most sturdy of warriors, but a hit in the right place could fell even them in an instant.


    ¡°No!¡± I hauled my rod after the clone, clipping his shoulder just enough to prevent a lethal blow as he sped up again and slid to the side, laughing.


    ¡°You have been too confident, Felix.¡± Zacharias grinned as he circled us and came to a stop next to me. ¡°You never considered I could have a trump card.¡±


    I grunted, bending over backwards more spryly than my old bones wanted to move so I could dodge the dagger coming right for my eye as Zacharias tried to return the favour of what I tried with him just seconds ago.


    Then the clone had to roll to the side, dodging Savannah¡¯s club. She was injured, bleeding heavily from her neck, but thanks to my intervention she was still in the fight.


    ¡°You took on another mutation!¡± I exclaimed as the truth dawned on me. ¡°Just like Mary.¡±


    What insanity! Gurney loaded our genetic code to the maximum when he designed our mutations. Each additional mutation was an incomparable risk compared to anyone else.


    ¡°Not like Mary!¡± Zacharias spat with an insane glint in his eyes. ¡°She risked her life when she took on that worm mutation. I only risked a clone. And when it didn¡¯t work out, I killed it and made a new one to try again!¡±


    I ground my teeth and drew the combat knife I had at my side. ¡°Still takes years for your clones to grow up. We just have to take them down one by one as you run out of hiding spots. Not even you can survive indefinitely in the wilds.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Zacharias raised a finger. ¡°That may be so, but I had years to assemble the perfect team of clones, each a perfect counter. For you, for Mary, and some other high-value targets. And the difference between you and me is: you don¡¯t come back.¡±


    And with that, Zacharias sped up again, going right for Savannah as the reality of this battle dawned on me. I could only throw myself against the paladin to divert the perfect angle Zach¡¯s dagger had on her chin. It still scraped over the soft tissue, leaving another deep wound bleeding red.


    Then I struggled to keep up with the speedster clone, giving it my all to keep Savannah alive ¨C only to realize that I couldn¡¯t keep up with Zacharias.


    He hadn''t been fighting us seriously at the Mother Tree. The clone he used back then was utterly normal, but now he was fighting to win.


    Many battles between enhanced humans were not a matter of who had the most courage and ability. More often than not, pitching the right mutation against an enemy would almost guarantee victory.


    Jeng¡¯s paladins were the perfect tanks, but all of us were comparably slow. Even I, although Gilbert had ensured that I wouldn¡¯t lag too much behind the other ancients.


    And for this clone, Zacharias had gathered the perfect mutations to fight against us. I doubted that he had only added a speed mutation to his kit. His movements were too smooth and his situational awareness seemed perfect, so there had to be some mental augmentations in the mix.


    I could only guess how many years and attempts it had taken to improve just a single clone to this level.


    If I didn¡¯t do something, he would slaughter us as soon as I fell. Or worse, once he decided to kill all the others and leave me for last.


    I could only protect Savannah as long as she was next to me. Even with me protecting her, he was slowly chipping away at Savannah, despite my best efforts. There was only one thing I could do.


    I stopped protecting myself as Zach danced around us with ease, intentionally leaving myself wide open. This made it a lot easier to keep Savannah alive. If someone made it out to keep Jeng going, then it had to be Savannah and Ahmad, not some old revenge-driven idiot like myself.


    The dagger slipped into my side just a moment later, finding a weak spot beneath my arm. Zach hadn¡¯t been able to resist taking the opening.


    I grunted and clamped my arm down, holding onto his wrist with both hands as I brought both legs up and clamped them around his thigh. There had been no intention to hurt him, so Zach¡¯s precognition didn¡¯t warn him of his impending doom as intensely as it should have.


    He tried to pull away, but I stubbornly held on. Now I was the one who was grinning.


    ¡°No speed-up with an old geezer hanging onto you, eh?¡± I let out a deep breath despite the pain and relaxed slightly, utterly confident in my strength. ¡°Why don''t you carry me over the street, old friend?¡±


    The truth finally dawned on Zach¡¯s face and he manically stabbed his dagger at me, trying to kill me so he would get free. I only dodged to a small extent, trying to stay alive for a moment longer while I held onto him. All I had to do was to avoid the instantly lethal blows.


    It was only a moment, but it felt like an entirety.


    Then Ahmad and Savannah were finally there, grabbing Zacharias and pulling him away while they tore him limp from limp like maddened animals. Once caught, the clone was no opponent for the strength augmentations of Jeng¡¯s two Head Paladins. Even as Zacharias screamed, they didn¡¯t let off till he was silent and lay in pieces.


    Seeing the clone¡¯s end made me smile as I slid to the ground, kneeling as I tried to take another breath. At least one¡­ last¡­ breath.