Neophyte World Builder

Chapter 126: The Next Generation

SOLDIER

The spear flew true, sinking deep into the flesh of the stomper. The massive beast roared as the blade penetrated deep into the neck, adding another dangerous wound to the collection that now covered its body.

Leathery, bristly hide managed to turn some of the spears and claws of the soldiers swarming it, but none of them relented. Soldier himself – he had no name of his own – reached for his last spear, grasping it with a truehand and the midhand beneath it to add heft. He scurried closer, darting from one pillar to the next for cover.

The battlefield was theirs. The gigantic beasts rarely appeared, but their thundering footsteps caused chaos and tunnel collapses in any hive they passed too near. This one had been slowed by the field of pillars that his hive had erected just for this purpose. Truly the Queen’s wisdom had served them all well. The other soldiers with him had taken little time in cornering the four-legged monster between some of the larger pillars, where they had stung it with so many attacks that its blood now pooled in steaming puddles throughout the area.

Soldier paused as he saw the stomper crumple to the ground, a tremor running through the earth beneath his scrambling feet. After several moments of silence, Soldier determined that the beast was either dead or dying, and would not be awakening.

Like all the other soldiers, he turned about and began to march back toward the hive. The Command from the Queen had ordered them to eliminate the threat, and like a good soldier he had done his part to do so. He could now bask in the satisfaction of a task completed, of being in service to the hive.

A tiny part of him complained that his own contribution would likely never be recognized. He ruthlessly squelched that thought, as service to the hive was far more important. The only time a soldier was allowed to excel was if they became an Explorer, and those were selected only by the Queen using a process only she knew.

Like clouds parting to reveal clear sky, Soldier’s world burst into vibrant color. Not literally – nothing changed with his sight – but he could all at once appreciate tiny details that his focus had forced him to overlook before. The other soldiers marched onward, ignoring their aberrant comrade standing by himself.

What had he done to earn this? He didn’t know. He only knew being a soldier… and feeling a vague discontent at being part of the efficient communal hive that had been his birthplace.

That discontent was now back in full force, and without any influence from the Queen to suppress it. Soldier looked toward his companions heading back to settle into their nook in the hive.

Then he looked to the side. His insect-like eyes couldn’t see far, but the vague blur of the ocean could be seen as a blue-green smear. The ocean he could often smell, but never go see.

The soldier that was once the Culling Hive dungeon turned about and began his march toward the unknown.

CAYLA

The chill in the air was pleasant. Surprisingly so.

Cayla sat up abruptly, startling a bird that fluttered off in a panic.

She could tell it was cold. Colder than should be comfortable, really. The grass she lay upon was soft and lush, filling the clearing with softwood trees surrounding her. A large clearing.

A familiar clearing.

She eased herself to her feet with a careful push… only to realize that the aches and pains in her joints were gone, and her breathing was easy and clear. Her vision took in brighter colors and a sharpness that she’d only been able to have with magic, when she last stood here. Everything was more vivid and clear than she last remembered.

Cayla held her hands up to look at herself, turning them over. They looked… very different.

Only her thumb and first two fingers remained. The other two fingers stretched down and to the side, currently folded back against her forearms. Unfolding them revealed the membrane between them, giving her short and stubby wings. The back of each hand had a soft layer of fuzz, thickening to fur along the forearm.

They were still her hands, in other respects, but clearly reshaped in some way.

Another deep breath let Cayla revel in the crisp bite of air in her lungs. For too long, her breaths had been an effort, and shallow at best. This was like she’d felt in her youth. Healthy and energetic.

The thought prompted her to look down at herself. Wearing a simple shirt and skirt of woolen material did little to hide the important part of her body. She had the figure she’d had as a young woman, perhaps around two decades in age. No wrinkles, no aches, no old throbbing arthritis in her hip. Just slender, well-muscled body and perfect balance from her-

Tail?

The tail curled about as she glanced behind her, seeing the dark-furred length swishing out from under her long skirt.

That was new.

She tried to open her Status, only to receive a barrage of notifications.

Death.

She had gone to sleep in her bed, after a particularly bad day of coughing and aches. It had been an attempt to sleep off whatever illness she had contracted. Instead, she had died in her sleep, and then…

What?

Cayla had no idea how she had performed a service after death. Did she join the spirits of her ancestors? Did she do something once merged with the world? Nobody knew what happened after death, but whatever theory was correct, she had performed some service once dead. In return, they had given her something precious.

More time.

She quickly scanned her Status, finding it to be healthy but not exceptional for a young vaskan. Several of her Abilities were substituted for Core Abilities instead, and her pulse quickened when she saw one of them.

More time, indeed. Cayla bit her bottom lip, realizing exactly what she’d been given. She wasn’t a dragon, and unless she became one fully, she still wouldn’t outlive her beloved… but hundreds of years with him would feel much more complete than the decades she had spent before. It was not perfect, but it was better. Much better.

“Thank you, however this happened.” The whisper was but a breath, not sure whom she should be thanking. She wasn’t even sure if there was an architect behind all of this.

Cayla took a step back in shock, inhaling sharply. Never, in all the years she had lived before, had she ever had the System speak back to her. She’d never heard of it happening to anyone else, either. That didn’t mean much, given her lengthy exile from her own people, but she was sure if that was a common occurrence she would have heard more about it.

“Um… do you talk back, now?”

The question hung in the air… with no reply. The flurry of notifications had been strange, and showed that something unusual and profound had happened to her. It didn’t take long for Cayla to reason that the reply was equally unique and would not be repeated.

She didn’t miss the pronoun used, though. The System had not said ‘my pleasure’ when it replied.

More than one entity had been involved in this decision.

Cayla couldn’t remember what she’d done, but she was smart enough to understand that this meant she wasn’t supposed to know. Whatever Spirits, Ancestors, or other powers had done this, she had won their favor and they didn’t want her to know anything more about them. That didn’t make sense to her, but with what she’d been given she had no reason not to honor their wishes.

Lost in thought, she did not see the impressive creature coming until the swirl of wind buffeted her from behind, sending her stumbling forward. She turned just in time to see the huge form of an Elder Dragon land with surprising grace and delicacy within the large clearing. The furred creature’s eyes were upon her, staring as it tried to understand who she was and why she was here.

She could tell she looked similar to how she looked in her youth, but with some differences. The draconic creatures changed her in ways that she hadn’t yet seen, with no means of conjuring her own appearance.

But she knew who she was looking at. She knew why he had come here, and it gave her a thrill of joy to see that he still came to this place, where they had first met.

The great dragon opened his mouth to speak, but Cayla didn’t let him try mangling her native tongue.

She took one step forward, and spoke in confident, clear Draconic.

“Valesfen. I’m home.”