《The Egg Guardian》 Prologue Author''s note: I''ll be releasing chapter oneasap and I plan to release chapter two not long after, but for everything after that I''m not going to promise any schedule. I''m writing this mostly for the concept and I''m not really happy with my style yet, but enjoy anyways and please comment your thoughts and suggestions. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ¡®Ah, so it is. That time has come at last.¡¯ Thought Berrick as he lay on the ground. ¡®Who¡¯d of thought it would be something like this?¡¯ Berrick, the famous Wizard of Spires, one of the greatest earth mages to ever grace the world, was dying. A small goblin¡¯s spear had pierced his heart, and his cleric was too far away to heal him in time. A one in a million chance that a mere goblin would strike just the right place at just the right time to end a legend. Even worse, as the world around him faded, he saw the goblin immediately evolve into a unique Earthen Spearmaster. That would be troublesome for his allies. He didn¡¯t get to see if they were able to deal with it or not due to his death. After his vision had faded completely, it began to reappear, but his surroundings were different this time. Finally, he¡¯d been wondering when the Judge would appear.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. There, in front of him, on an enormous white throne, dressed all in white, with light emanating from his head so bright that Berrick had to avert his gaze, was the Judge. Those who were reincarnated with his gifts had sometimes told legends about him. Berrick knew enough people and read enough books that he was prepared for this. The Judge was the one who would look over an individual¡¯s entire life and decide their fate. Whether they would go to heaven or hell, be reincarnated with or without a gift, or simply have their soul dissipated into oblivion. There was also the chance of being sent to a Hall of Heroes. If an individual¡¯s life were great enough, they would be sent to the Hall which suited them best. Berrick, being one of the greatest earth mages of his time was certain he would be sent to one of the Halls. He had participated in all sorts of adventures all across the world, fought for kingdoms and empires, built cities and slew monsters. He had even ventured into hell and fought demons on their own turf. Berrick looked as far up the massive body of the Judge as he could without being blinded by the light, and heard the Judge speak in a deep, booming voice. ¡°Your destination is hell.¡± Chapter 1: Final Destination, Hell Berrick was kneeling in the great white throne room of the Judge. Around him at a great distance were thousands of other souls, constantly arriving and departing as the Judge gave each their verdict individually. Berrick¡¯s mouth gaped open as the Judge pronounced his sentence. ¡°Your destination is hell.¡± ¡°Im.. impossible! I¡¯m a hero!¡± Berrick sputtered. ¡°Your destination is hell.¡± Berrick managed to stand up. He looked down and saw that he was not in his body. Instead, he looked like a ghost. ¡°I have fought demons in hell myself, I¡¯ve saved kingdoms and villages from terrible fates countless times. For what am I being sentenced to hell?¡± Berrick spoke to the Judge. The Judge didn¡¯t move but responded. ¡°You speak of your greatest moments, yet your motives have never been pure. Always you longed after power. Power to rule. Power to control others. When you thought you had that power, you used it against those weaker than you. You betrayed those who trusted you. You abandoned those who depended on you. Your place is in hell.¡± Berrick¡¯s face changed from a confused expression to anger. ¡°When did I do these things? I have always helped others! So what if I desired power? Who doesn¡¯t?¡± The Judge answered again. ¡°Phillip, the Marion, son of Farrol. You beat him to death in an alley because he stood up for a woman you harassed at a bar. Robin, the Sillian, daughter of Millton. You promised her the money to heal her brother of a wound he received after they helped you fight the basilisk in Sillia. Instead, you gave them only five gold pieces of the thousand you received as a reward. Not nearly enough. You ignored her cries when you left them tired and broken. She sold herself into slavery to try and make up the cost, yet they both died before earning enough. Chalcie, the Marion, daughter of Caeria. After promising your love to her in order to have her sleep with you, you left the city the very next morning. You didn¡¯t even know that she was with your child.¡± Berrick fell to the ground again, despair on his face. ¡°Carl, the Porot, son of Faline¡­¡± The Judge continued. ¡°Stop! Stop. Please¡­¡± Berrick cried out from his place on the ground. The Judge stopped, then spoke again. ¡°These are hardly a portion of the victims of your crimes. However, due to your other circumstances, you will receive a special benefit in hell.¡± Berrick¡¯s face began to turn back to hope. ¡°Rather than enter hell as a soul to be punished, you shall be reborn as a demon. You will lose your memories from your time as a human but retain your ability. You may choose any type of demon, outside of the nobility, to start as in your new life.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Berrick¡¯s heart jumped, then he entered into deep concentration. Obviously, the best choice would be the nobility, but those were disallowed. No one would choose to be an imp, and only a fool would become a hound or a warrior. The more educated might choose to become an abomination or even a dragon. Berrick knew more about demons than the average person due to his time in hell, and he realized there was one choice that stood above all others. Few demons, even, knew of their existence and even fewer humans. ¡°I will become an Egg Guardian.¡± Berrick said. ¡°So be it.¡± Thundered the Judge, and Berrick was gone. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ As the Judge continued to deal with all the other souls he had been communicating with concurrently, another voice reached his ears. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± the small, but firm female voice said. ¡°Do what?¡± Asked the Judge. ¡°Berrick was the scum of the earth. Despite his power and influence in the mortal realm, he deserves the punishment of hell. Only because of his few good deeds, I could see you reincarnating him to give him another chance, but why would you reincarnate him as a demon?¡± The voice responded. ¡°Hell has grown stagnant. Berrick is just the right type of scumbag to make things interesting there again.¡± The Judge said. ¡°I¡¯ll be watching him.¡± Said the voice. ¡°Please do.¡± _______________________________________________________________________________________________ In hell, Marflinda, The Asura, watched with eggs in each of her six hands as another began to emerge from the distributor. The distributor was a long stalactite, hanging from the high ceiling of hell, which ended in an opening marked by four teeth-like protrusions in a circle shape. Below the distributor was a stone pedestal reaching up from the ground with the top curved upwards in a small semicircle. Resting on the pedestal was another egg. Each of the seven eggs was at least the size of an ostrich egg, some were larger, and they were all sorts of unusual colors with strange designs. Marflinda was about ten feet tall, with six slender, but muscular arms. Her face was ovoid, with a long chin and forehead. Her eyes were long, and she had brown hair up in a pony-tail. Her face, including her eyes, was solid white, but the rest of her skin was a pinkish red. She wore a long, oriental style dress that came down to her feet where she wore pointed, black shoes. She examined the eggs she was holding, the egg on the pedestal in front of her, and the bottom of the new egg appearing, then nonchalantly tossed one of the eggs from her hands over her shoulder. The white egg with pink spots cracked open, and a large purple lizard emerged and wandered off, avoiding the pools of lava. ¡°Damn, all that time just for an abomination.¡± Marflinda said and used her now empty hand to pick up the egg from the pedestal. In a few moments, the newest egg fell from the distributor and landed on the pedestal. It was solid black and larger than any of the eggs she held. It immediately began to crack. ¡°What? It can¡¯t crack while it¡¯s on the pedestal! That¡¯s impossible!¡± Marflinda panicked, nearly dropping the eggs she held as she mentally summoned an Overseer. By the time Asarius, Lord of Sludge, arrived, Marflinda was staring at a smoky, human-sized apparition which floated near the pedestal. Asarius, a twenty-foot tall mountain of yellow sludge with one giant eye near the top of his body, looked between the two of them. ¡°What is this?¡± Asked Asarius. The smoky being turned to look at Asarius and said, ¡°I am the Egg Guardian, Berrick.¡± Chapter 2: Egg Guardian, Guardian of Eggs Asarius led the new Berrick leagues across hell to a stone pedestal and distributor just like those where he had first entered hell with Marflinda, albeit, these were few feet closer to the ground. ¡°This is your egg station. This cave,¡± Asarius indicated to a large cave opening a few yards away from the pedestal, ¡°is your home. I admit, we haven¡¯t had a new Egg Guardian in centuries, so I don¡¯t remember if you need anything else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain it won¡¯t take me long to get the hang of things.¡± Berrick responded. ¡°I do have one question, though. ¡°What is that?¡± Questioned Asarius ¡°What do I do?¡± Asarius¡¯ one eye blinked, then he sighed. ¡°Eggs will come out of the egg distributor, there.¡± He indicated to the stalactite, which was rather interesting for a twenty-foot tall sludge without limbs. ¡°They will arrive in the pedestal there.¡± He indicated to the pedestal. ¡°These eggs will hatch when they reach the ground. The longer they are kept from hatching, the stronger the demons will be that hatch from them. Obviously, different kinds of eggs will hatch different demons. As for how to deterimine all of that, you¡¯re on your own. Now, the pedestal can only contain a single egg at a time. You are responsible for making sure more powerful demons enter hell, and at the right times. Once you¡¯re assigned an overseer, you¡¯ll receive reports about hell¡¯s status and be able to make decisions about what eggs to hatch when. You and the other Egg Guardians will be judged at the end of the year by a multitude of factors. This judgment will decide your rewards or punishments based on your performance. Any eggs you are keeping from hatching at the time of the report will be accounted for in that judgment as well.¡± Asarius stopped, and his eye rolled up, as though looking at the ceiling. ¡°Hmm¡­ Ah yes, if any living being other than yourself touches the eggs they will hatch as well. Um, yes, you may also designate an egg before it hatches to become your familiar when it does hatch. This familiar may be banished if you¡¯re not satisfied with it, but that will look bad on your annual report. Your familiars are your loyal servants, and you¡¯ll be needing them before long to help you guard your eggs. Right now, you are only allowed a single familiar, but if you do well, you¡¯ll be allowed more every year. You don¡¯t need to worry about getting a familiar right away though, as we¡¯ll help you guard your eggs for the first three months.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± Berrick asked. ¡°I¡¯ve probably forgotten something, but you¡¯ll figure it out. Good luck.¡± Asarius said then turned around to leave. ¡°What about the aid in guarding my eggs?¡± Berrick asked before Asarius got far. Asarius grunted and produced two large pieces of sludge which fell from his body and formed into miniature versions of him. Asarius grunted again then left. ¡°We¡¯re here to help.¡± Said Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Guard your eggs!¡± Said Mini Asarius 2. They both spoke in much higher pitched voices than Asarius, who spoke with a thick, drawling baritone. They were both shorter than Berrick, though, which made him question their usefulness.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Excellent. Make sure nothing disturbs us. This is important work.¡± Berrick said, then stood in front of the pedestal and egg distributor. There, Berrick waited. For five days, Berrick waited without receiving a single egg. ¡°Why are there no eggs?!¡± Berrick finally shouted in frustration. ¡°Because you suck.¡± Said Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s definitely because you suck.¡± Chimed Mini Asarius 2. ¡°Impossible. I¡¯m one of the greatest Egg Guardians to ever grace the planes of hell. At least, I¡¯m sure I will be once I get some eggs to guard.¡± Berrick responded then turned his attention back to the distributor. A few more hours passed until Berrick spoke again. ¡°Is it like this for everyone?¡± Berrick asked. ¡°No. It¡¯s just you.¡± Said Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Most of the other Egg Guardians get eggs daily.¡± Said Mini Asarius 2. ¡°Then why don¡¯t I?¡± Berrick pouted quietly. ¡°Where do the eggs even come from?¡± Berrick asked louder. ¡°Most demon eggs are formed when the souls of demons that die begin to reincarnate. The second largest number of eggs come from the energy of active succubi.¡± Supplied Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Some demon eggs come from the collective souls of non-demons that are harvested by demons, and just a few eggs come from the queen herself.¡± Supported Mini Asarius 2. ¡°So you¡¯re finally helpful¡­ Wait, millions of demons die all the time. How many Egg Guardians are there that I haven¡¯t received a single egg?¡± ¡°You make Egg Guardian number 15!¡± Shouted Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Most demons that are born don¡¯t come to the Egg Guardians; really only about one percent come from eggs. Most demons are born from the spawn pools, but those are mostly just imps, abominations, or other weaklings. Even comparatively powerful demons that are born in the pools are limited since they usually leave the pool¡¯s influence quickly. That¡¯s why Egg Guardians are so important. The most powerful demons in hell are born from the eggs because they are allowed to mature longer before they are born.¡± Said Mini Asarius 2. Berrick furrowed his brow. Mini Asarius 2 had just said more in that go than it had in the past five days combined. Berrick was about to ask another question when the distributor began to move. Berrick looked and saw an egg begin to emerge. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ A demon with long, white hair and six black wings sat in a chair at the head of a stone table. The table sat in the middle of a small island in the middle of a large pit of lava. Also at the table were a short, squat, red demon with curled horns and an ugly face, and a tall demon with stylish black hair. The tall demon was wearing a very fashionable, modern suit and tie. He could not be told apart from a human were it not for his antlers, spaded tail, and bat-like wings. ¡°As you have heard, we have another Egg Guardian.¡± The demon at the head of the table said. ¡°Belphegor, Mammon. What say you?¡± The short demon spoke first. ¡°What¡¯s there to talk about? It¡¯s less work for us with more powerful demons running around. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, I always say.¡± The demon in the suit spoke next. ¡°I agree with Belphegor, Lord Azazel. The more Egg Guardians we have, the better.¡± Azazel, the demon at the head of the table, spoke again. ¡°There is something not right about this. We have always known ahead of time when a new Egg Guardian was going to appear, yet this one came out of the red. I suspect heaven is up to something.¡± ¡°They probably are. They always are. But what can we do about it now? We should give it time and figure it out later.¡± Belphegor said, yawning. ¡°Even if there are strings attached, we can always cut them later. So long as we increase our own gain.¡± Mammon said as he leaned back in his chair. Azazel looked between the two, then sighed. ¡°Very well, you are right. I shall assign some agents to keep track of our new Egg Guardian. In which case, I suppose it is time to open up his distributor.¡± The three demons each rose and flew their separate ways. It was not long after this that Berrick received his first egg. Chapter 3: The Overseer Berrick and the two mini Asarius¡¯ looked at the egg which now sat on the pedestal. It was an off-white, almost yellow looking, and about the size of an ostrich egg. Berrick approached it, poked it, and then grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve laid an egg!¡± Berrick proclaimed proudly. ¡°What a proud mother.¡± Said Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Just like a momma cockatrice.¡± Said Mini Asarius 2. Berrick glared at them for a moment then wrapped his hands around the egg to pick it up. When he touched the egg, however, his hands passed right through. He tried again and again, but he couldn¡¯t move the egg. ¡°He can¡¯t hold his own child.¡± Mini Asarius 1 said. ¡°Smoking¡¯s bad for you.¡± Added Mini Asarius 2. Berrick stopped, frustrated, and examined himself. He was made entirely of smoke. His body was a bit thicker around the head and torso, but there wasn¡¯t really any substance. How was he supposed to do anything? He thought about it for a bit, then decided to try something. ¡°What if I focus really, really hard.¡± Berrick mumbled as he focused as much of himself on his hands as he could. Some of his body flowed towards his hands, and they increased in consistency. He then tried to pick up the egg again. This time, it worked. ¡°I¡¯ve done it!¡± He exclaimed, holding the egg up high. Then it slipped. Berrick and the mini Asarius¡¯ watched in horror as the egg cracked open on the ground, and a fist-sized pixie emerged and fluttered off. ¡°Male pixie. Terribly weak.¡± Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Needed to mature longer, for sure.¡± Mini Asarius 2. Berrick just watched the pixie fly away as another egg fell from the distributor into the pedestal. ¡°My baby.¡± Berrick said sadly, ¡°No matter, so long as it goes out and accomplishes great things.¡± As the pixie passed a boulder, a large, purple lizard leapt out and ate it in a single bite. ¡°That was pretty great.¡± Mini Asarius 1. ¡°Gotta love that commitment.¡± Mini Asarius 2. Berrick stared, open-mouthed, at the lizard which was now lumbering toward them. Immediately his instinct flipped into overdrive, and before he knew what he was doing he stood in front of the pedestal and shouted at the Mini Asarius¡¯. ¡°Protect the egg!¡± The Mini Asarius¡¯ looked at him then at each other and finally at the approaching lizard. They both leaned back then swung forward, each hurling a small chunk of goop at the lizard. Both projectiles hit, and the lizard growled, backing away. It rolled on its back, growling as it clawed at the sludge which seemed to be burning its skin. When it had finally succeeded in removing the muck, it left with more whining growls.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Berrick turned to his new egg, this one was a faded orange. Berrick watched the new egg for a few hours without turning away even once. During this time he thought about what he could do to hold the eggs. As he thought about this, his answer arrived. ¡°Thank you, Asarius. I take it you are Berrick?¡± Berrick turned to see who was speaking. Asarius had arrived with another demon, and the two mini Asarius¡¯ were gone. The demon with Asarius, the one who had spoken, looked almost angelic but for a few features. He wore a long, black robe, but had a pair of glowing, white wings spread behind him. On his feet were sandals, and his hands were empty. On his head were long, golden curls of hair. His eyes, however, were solid black, and his tongue was forked. ¡°I am Berrick, the great Egg Guardian.¡± The humanoid demon grinned, and Berrick saw his teeth were all slightly sharpened. ¡°Excellent! I am called Fleurety. I have been assigned by Azazel as your Overseer, thus relieving Asarius of too much work. Admittedly, it¡¯s a far cry from my usual work in the mortal realm, but I have some experience in this area, as well.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Berrick looked back to the egg then at Fleurety again, he saw Asarius turning to leave. ¡°I have a question.¡± Asarius stopped to peer at Berrick, and Fleurety grinned. ¡°How do the other egg guardians hold all their eggs?¡± Fleurety¡¯s grin faded just a decibel before Asarius spoke. ¡°Marflinda just has a lot of hands.¡± Fleurety glanced up at Asarius then turned back to Berrick, his grin having returned in full. ¡°I¡¯m guessing having six hands isn¡¯t something you¡¯re concerned about, is it? It seems to me that being made of smoke would be inhibitive to holding the eggs, yes?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Berrick answered. ¡°That¡¯s fine, it simply means you must have some other ability for this. There are several egg guardians incapable of holding many eggs themselves who solve this problem other ways. One uses magic to make the eggs float. Another creates nests imbued with magic to keep the eggs. I know of another who is able to teleport the eggs to a separate dimension for storage. Perhaps you have some magic you are yet unaware of?¡± Fleurety walked closer as he spoke. Berrick looked at himself and thought about what he could do. ¡°Earth.¡± Berrick said. ¡°Pardon?¡± Asked Fleurety. ¡°The Earth feels very familiar to me.¡± ¡°That is not a way I¡¯ve heard it described before, but I know a thing or two about earth magic.¡± Fleurety then waved his hands, and a perfect square of stone removed itself from the ground to float upwards. Fleurety waved his hands again, and it set down next to the hole in the ground. ¡°No, no. Not like that.¡± Berrick said quietly then hovered closer to the ground. He touched his hand to the stone and pulled up. With his hand came a rod of stone. ¡°Yes, more like that.¡± Berrick spoke again and pushed the rod back into the ground. Fleurety and Asarius watched interestedly as Berrick pulled another rod from the ground, this one shaped like a staff with a large, open claw at the top. With a snap, the stone staff separated from the ground. Berrick held the staff in his smoky hands for but a moment before it fell to the ground with a clatter. ¡°I¡¯ll have to do something about that, too.¡± Berrick mumbled. Berrick touched the ground again and removed two large rings of stone. Berrick placed his hands through them, and they glowed brightly. When the light died down, they had shrunk around his wrists. Berrick pulled the staff up until an area just a bit below the claw was inside the stone ring on his right wrist. Quickly, the ring shrunk till it was snug around the staff. Then, the ring moved to Berrick¡¯s hand, and both the staff and the ring turned upright as Berrick stood. Berrick closed his fist, and it now appeared as though Berrick was holding the staff. ¡°What the heaven did you just do?¡± Fleurety asked his mouth open and his eyes wide. Even Asarius¡¯ massive eye was clearly larger than usual.¡± ¡°Earth magic.¡± Berrick said as he turned and smiled at the two demons. Chapter 4: Making Omelettes Berrick¡¯s staff floated in his smoky hand as he walked around his pedestal looking at each part of it and looking at the ground around it. Asarius and Fleurety watched him, their faces still showing awe. ¡°What exactly did you do? I mean, how did you change the stone and how are you holding that?¡± Fleurety asked, his smile only slightly faded, despite the look of consternation on his face. Berrick glanced up from the pedestal to look at Fleurety then turned away again and said, ¡°Once I started focusing on earth magic, I noticed that part of my body is actually composed of ash. So, obviously, I set the stone rings into a spatial relation with the ash in my wrist. To hold the staff, I just moved the rings focus from my wrist to my hand, had the ring compact itself by focusing the increased density around the stone staff, and moved the ash from within the ring to around it throughout the rest of my hand.¡± Fleurety¡¯s mouth gaped wider. ¡°That¡¯s your problem, now.¡± Asarius rumbled and left. Fleurety acknowledged the demon leaving and then focused on Berrick. ¡°What are you going to do now? Will you create more claws and hold the eggs in them?¡± He asked. ¡°Of course not. I don¡¯t have enough ash to position too many rings. Besides, walking around with a bunch of stone claws protruding from my body would be undignified. I shall do this.¡± Berrick turned from the pedestal he had been examining so closely and tapped the ground nearby with his staff. As he did, an exact replica of the pedestal, minus the egg, grew from the earth. Berrick then pointed the top of his staff at the egg. The stone claw began to move as it reached the egg and wrapped itself around it. Berrick picked up the egg with the staff and turned towards his new pedestal. Meanwhile, Fleurety watched in continued amazement. ¡°You¡¯re building pedestals for the eggs?¡± Fleurety asked. ¡°Welcome to the plan, Floury.¡± Berrick said and set the egg on his new pedestal. As the claw released the egg and it sat on the new pedestal, it began to crack. Berrick scowled as the pieces of eggshell fell around and a demon emerged from within. A Great Dane sized hellhound rolled off the pedestal and drooled a bit of lava on the ground where it landed. It barked once at Berrick and Fleurety before bounding away. ¡°Well, that was a decent hellhound, at least.¡± Fleurety said, watching the hound leave. ¡°And my name is Fleurety, not Floury.¡± Berrick watched the retreating hell hound fondly then glared at his created pedestal. He kicked it. Or tried to, but he didn¡¯t have feet so much as a dwindling torso extending down from his hips. He switched between examining his pedestal and the original a few times before looking back to Fleurety. ¡°That should have worked.¡± Berrick said.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°To be honest, I thought it might as well, but, ultimately, that pedestal is still made of the ground.¡± Fleurety responded. ¡°But I made it. You said that one of the Egg Guardians could put eggs on nests it had made using magic.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Nastya builds nests to keep the eggs in. However, all of the materials she uses are enchanted with her magic to separate them from regular items.¡± ¡°So I need to do more than change its shape¡­¡± Berrick paused in his sentence and turned back to the two pedestals. He examined the original for a minute then move back to his and moved his hands over it from bottom to top. ¡°What did you do?¡± Fleurety asked. ¡°I poured my essence into it. That should separate it from regular stone.¡± Berrick answered. Just then, another egg appeared in the base of the distributor and fell into the original pedestal. ¡°Perfect timing.¡± Berrick said as he grabbed the white egg with red spots with his staff¡¯s claw. ¡°Are you certain you should try it now? Should you let it mature in case this doesn¡¯t work?¡± Fleurety held up a hand to get Berrick¡¯s attention. ¡°No, I¡¯m quite confident.¡± Berrick said and set the egg on his new pedestal. Fleurety grimaced for a moment, but nothing happened. The egg sat on the new pedestal without cracking. ¡°It worked!¡± Fleurety exclaimed. ¡°Of course it worked. I did it.¡± Berrick stated proudly. Berrick prepared to speak again, but another egg fell from the distributor. This egg was solid black but for a slightly darker black spot near the top that seemed to shine. Berrick examined the new egg for a moment then turned back to Fleurety. ¡°Why are they all so different?¡± Berrick asked ¡°What?¡± Fleurety raised an eyebrow at Berrick. ¡°The eggs, they¡¯re all different colors and designs. How am I supposed to interpret them?¡± ¡°The different colors and designs indicate different kinds of demons. I don¡¯t know how to interpret them, myself. That¡¯s always been a secret of the Egg Guardians.¡± Fleurety answered. They were distracted from their conversation, however, by a cracking sound coming from behind Berrick. They looked at the source, which was the egg on Berrick¡¯s new pedestal. The eggshells fell to the ground, and an eyeball the size of a human¡¯s eye flapped a pair a bat-like wings to stay aloft above the pedestal. The eyeball blinked at the two demons and flew away. ¡°How did that happen?¡± Berrick wondered aloud and approached the empty pedestal. He looked it over a few times and exclaimed, ¡°My essence leaked out. It seems the stone could only hold it for so long. Obviously, this is inferior stone.¡± ¡°Inferior to what?¡± Fleurety asked. ¡°Superior stone.¡± Berrick answered and held his left hand to his chin, as though stroking it. He appeared to ponder the problem for a few minutes while Fleurety watched. Suddenly, Berrick raised his staff and tapped the bottom against his pedestal with a noticeable discharge of energy. Fleurety noticed the energy release and asked, ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Since it couldn¡¯t contain my essence for very long, I turned to a more permanent solution. I gave it my mark as its creator.¡± ¡°Gave it your mark? You mean you named it as an enchanted item?¡± Fleurety questioned as he moved close enough to examine the new pedestal himself. ¡°It wasn¡¯t difficult since it¡¯s just a copy of someone else¡¯s work.¡± Fleurety looked at him again. ¡°But it should be impossible for a novice enchanter to give items a mark. That requires one to be a master of their craft.¡± ¡°Well, what else did you expect from a master like myself?¡± Berrick answered then moved to an area nearby the two pedestals. Berrick tapped the ground with his staff, and another pedestal rose from the ground. When it was finished forming, he tapped it again. ¡°I suppose I shouldn¡¯t get too carried away yet.¡± Berrick said and grabbed the black egg with his staff¡¯s claw. As he turned toward the first pedestal he had made, a small, red, demon with horns floated through the air towards them. ¡°Fleurety! I have important news!¡± It shouted, ¡°This distributor has been blessed with an egg from the queen!¡± Berrick set the egg on his pedestal and let it go. Chapter 5: Demon of Spires ¡°This distributor has been blessed with an egg from the queen!¡± shouted the small, flying demon to Fleurety and Berrick. Berrick set the egg on his new pedestal and let it go. Fleurety turned to Berrick and shouted, ¡°Stop!¡± Berrick looked at Fleurety. ¡°Stop what? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fleurety frowned at Berrick and said, ¡°The egg is from the queen. She only lays twelve each year. Every egg has the potential to release one of the most powerful demons in hell. If it hatches too early, you¡¯ll have wasted one of hell¡¯s most valuable resources.¡± In his mind, Fleurety thought, ¡®Could this be heaven¡¯s goal? To rid us of one of the queen¡¯s spawn?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Berrick said. ¡°It is not fine. You haven¡¯t tested the new method yet. What if it hatches?¡± Fleurety queried. ¡°But, Floury. It¡¯s not hatching.¡± Fleurety looked at the egg as the small demon set down next to him. It was as Berrick had said, the black egg was sitting on the new pedestal without any cracking. ¡°Neither did the other at first. How long will this one last?¡± Fleurety asked. ¡°This is different. Before I only placed my mana into the stone. It was meant to be temporary, but I still expected it to last much longer than it did. This is permanent. The stone would have to be destroyed in order to remove my mark from it.¡± Fleurety looked at him for a moment then shook his head. ¡°So, the egg is well taken care of?¡± Asked the small demon. ¡°Yes, Scirlin, the egg has been taken care of.¡± Fleurety answered. ¡°Excellent, I shall report it to her highness, Lady Astaroth, immediately.¡± The little demon, Scirlin, said, and then flew away. ¡°Are they always so redundant?¡± Berrick asked Fleurety. ¡°Pardon?¡± Fleurety looked away from the disappearing form of Scirlin and back to Berrick. ¡°Do they always do so much to accomplish the same goal? I¡¯m already here, which is more than enough, you¡¯re here, and then they also send that little fellow here.¡± Fleurety stared at Berrick for a moment before speaking, surprised by the extent of Berrick¡¯s arrogance. ¡°No, actually. Usually, Egg Guardians have no idea whether an egg comes from the queen or not. I imagine you were only informed because you¡¯re young.¡± ¡°Hah, underestimated. No matter, I have a lot of work to do, now.¡± Berrick turned away from Fleurety and tapped the ground with his staff, creating another pedestal. He then tapped the newly created work, discharging energy into it. He repeated this process several times before he stopped.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Do you think that will be enough?¡± Fleurety asked him. ¡°No, but¡­¡± Berrick breathed heavily as he spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can make any more for some time. The low quality of the ground must have drained my mana more than it should have.¡± Fleurety had finally returned to his original, nonchalant attitude with a large grin on his face. He looked at the seven pedestals which had been constructed. Each pedestal looked almost exactly the same as the original, and Berrick had created them in under an hour. Even with the amount of detail being put into each; that in itself wasn¡¯t very impressive. However, the ability to mark something as a unique creation was astounding on its own. Adding to it that Berrick had created several of them, effectively making them a series, so soon after being born was a true testament to his worth. Truly, the Egg Guardians were always among the most amazing of demons. When it came to true combat they were not ranked very high, but their unique abilities in relation to the eggs they cared for made them invaluable to hell. Fleurety was distracted from his thoughts when he and Berrick noticed another egg arriving. Berrick took the egg from the original pedestal with his claw and set it on one of his own. The egg was almost white with a slight brown tint and a purple crystal growing just off from the top. Since there had been no broken eggs since Berrick had begun implementing his new method, Fleurety decided it was probably safe to assume it really was working properly. Therefore, he left Berrick to his work as an Egg Guardian and wandered off to the cave that was now, technically, Berrick¡¯s home. Fleurety entered the spacious cave and looked around. There wasn¡¯t much left there as it hadn¡¯t been occupied for centuries, yet it still retained some of the intricacies that marked it as the home of an Egg Guardian. A few tiny, broken eggshells were left in the cracks where only someone as observant as Fleurety would notice. Shelves lined the walls of the entrance, meant as some sort of egg storage area for an Egg Guardian long passed. Tunnels led off in various directions which lead to the familiars¡¯ living areas. Fleurety wondered the tunnels for a while; it seemed that whichever Egg Guardian had lived here before was master of several interesting familiars. Before long he found a place that was secluded and comfortable enough and sat down on a stone block. After doing so, he used a claw on his finger to scratch a pentagram into the stone of the ground and muttered a short chant in some demonic language, and the pentagram glowed white. From the pentagram on the ground came the voice of Azazel, ¡°Fleurety, I trust you have your report?¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Azazel. I have observed the new Egg Guardian. He is unlike any other demon I have ever met. Just like the other Egg Guardians.¡± Fleurety responded. ¡°Interesting. So you do not believe he is a ¡®gift¡¯ from the heavens?¡± ¡°It is impossible to tell as of yet, but he has discovered his own method of becoming a capable Egg Guardian. Not the most impressive of his kind, but certainly interesting in his own way.¡± ¡°I suppose it is possible that this is simply an unprecedented event, but there is no such thing as too much caution. Continue to watch, and report to me when you have news.¡± ¡°Of course my lord.¡± Fleurety finished his conversation, and the white glow disappeared from the pentagram. He waved his hand over the markings and the stone smoothed over, appearing just as it had before. Fleurety stood again and walked back toward the entrance, his grin still on his face. When he arrived at the area outside the cave, he found eggs on four of Berrick¡¯s pedestals. Berrick himself was yelling and waving his claw at another purple lizard that was standing lazily nearby. Berrick turned around and hovered toward Fleurety. ¡°You aren¡¯t doing your job, Floury! This twice-damned Abomination is threatening my eggs!¡± Berrick shouted. Fleurety sighed internally and approached the lizard. The lizard lifted a lazy eye to Fleurety¡¯s face, and they locked eyes. Fleurety¡¯s grin widened by a fraction and the lizard¡¯s eyes turned to saucers. In a moment it turned around and disappeared from sight. Fleurety turned back to Berrick to find him cooing over another egg that had dropped from the distributor. Fleurety sighed to himself again and silently considered his duty.