The Mother of Monsters

TheWebVagrant

Hey everyone! Keeping the hype train going, we're almost there to meet the base goal for Volume 1's release. Henlo Press is an Indie publisher and they're putting the kickstarter towards the initial print run of the book. If we hit the further stretch goal the plan is for hardcover editions!

Thank you guys so much for the incredible outpouring of support. I'm honestly floored that we've made it this far in the Kickstarter and I can't tell you how grateful I am. The Kickstarter ends next week so I'll stop bothering y'all about it after that~

Now... I think Teyva was in the middle of something, right?

- Webby

Teyva barely shifted on her feet as the tremor worked its way through the ground. Her stats were more than high enough to handle a little bit of shaking. It wasn’t until the shaking intensified that she wondered if maybe she’d overdone it a bit with deciding to build the walls all at once. The veritable ocean of grass around her quite literally vibrated as the world seemed to tremble. She could have leaned on Viira for support, but instead planted her feet, fixing her eyes on the city before her and not letting herself blink for a moment.

I don’t want to miss a second, she thought as the quake grew worse.

Far ahead, several of the buildings that were set up at the edges of the city shook a little and  her breath caught in her throat. So far the buildings she’d created had been minor at best, nothing especially monumental, so she hadn’t really been concerned about the little bit of trembling that had come with their appearance. The walls and towers, however, were on a whole other level. She clenched her fists and was about to send out an order to evacuate when the shaking abruptly stopped.

BOOOM!

In a sudden explosion of dirt and tossed earth, a five sided wall erupted from the ground around the city. It was made of that same black marble veined with gold that the heart of her dungeon had been formed of. The color sent her back to her first day on Orum. A small smile crossing her lips as the wall rose ever higher, growing thicker and thicker as it created a dark raiment of defense around her home. She thought back to the sarcophagus, how cold it had felt, she remembered seeing that woman’s story engraved into the walls, she remembered fighting the Tomb Guardian, dying, and meeting Azrael.

This was the first time she saw that stone reflecting sunlight and for some reason it struck a chord with her. Those were her colors now. It was a statement, a statement grander than the announcement than the brief notification that she had risen to the throne. It was a physical monument to the resurrection of Osan, the enduring nature of her people, that no matter what the Katali and the Heroes tried, they would stand strong. She raised her head high as towers took shape and erupted from the ground, affixing themselves to the five points of the wall and five more towers at the centerpoints of each side. 

A few pebbles landed at her feet, launched high into the sky by the erupting earth. She looked down at them and picked one up, running her thumb over it.

A notification rang out in her head and she glanced up.

Completing the quest to unlock the walls hadn’t earned her a whole lot of experience, but this time she felt a tremendous flood as the energy began to permeate her body. She felt it flooding through her veins and knew that she had finally, it’s been a while. Experience gains had been so small with most of her tasks focused on building up Osan and her Dungeons. But here it was, in those beautiful prompt text letters. 

She grinned, she was looking forward to her next nap. It really had been too long since she’d had a chance to distribute a few attribute points and pick some new abilities. With a thought she opened her inventory and pulled out the newly obtained Aspect Shard, twirling it between her taloned fingers and appreciating its luster. She returned it to her inventory and continued to read through the status messages even as the others began to call out to her through their bond.

Damn it, what a mess! You just had to make them that big, didn’t you? Sari griped.

How do they look? Wait, don’t tell me, I want to be surprised, Conrad chimed in.

Oh it’s so… beautiful… Azrael breathed into their connection. Father would have loved to see this view.

Teyva paused and glanced at her hand, the hand that had ended her adoptive father’s life. The hand that had been used to push her own ascent to the throne and set this new world order into motion. A truth that she swore to her father that she would never share with Azrael. The thought of that moment still haunted her, as much as she tried to put it behind her for his sake. He wouldn’t want her dwelling on it, but there were times when she woke from her sleep in a fit. She’d had to tell Yaga after a particularly bad nightmare, and had been shaken by her beloved’s response.

She’d thanked her for giving Thrake the death he wanted.

Teyva let out a breath, What’d Stella think?

Oh she’s gaping at them still, hasn’t pulled her jaw off the floor, poor thing, Azrael laughed.

Teyva smiled, Good. She said as she pushed through a few unimportant prompts and finally got to the juiciest one;

She barked out a laugh and accepted the quest immediately.

“Having fun with the quest prompts again, Journey?” She said out loud, looking up towards the sky.

There was a momentary pause and the world seemed to tilt for a moment before a winged woman stepped out of literally nothing to stand next to her. Viira shifted uncomfortably and eyed the divine being with a mixture of hostility and tension. The little child on Teyva’s shoulder scuttled deeper into her hair as Teyva turned to look towards the goddess turned servant. The entity that governed the quest creation function of this world did not show any sort of emotion on her face, not any a normal person could perceive. But Teyva saw it in her eyes, she was feeling petulant.

“Upset that I haven’t given you anything to do in a while?” She asked.

Journey fixed her with a stare, “I do not get upset, Great Demon Lord.”

“Sure you don’t,” Teyva said with a laugh before her expression fell a little, “Could you have at least let me keep the credit for the hero kills I’ve already gotten?”

The goddess eyes twinkled, “Where’s the fun in that?”

Teyva snorted, “Brat.”

“Insufferable vixen,” The goddess retorted.

“Freeloader,” Teyva grunted.

“Pervert.”

“You are not going to let that go, are you?” Teyva asked, “It was one time.”

“I am not sure what you are implying, I do not get upset, Mortal,” Journey insisted.

Teyva rolled all four of her eyes and shook her head, “Anyway, we’re done here. Thank you for joining me, Viira,” She said and turned to place a gentle hand on the carapace of the mighty ruler of the Rilks. The great beast, her beloved child, inclined it’s mighty head and she could feel the smile that it otherwise couldn’t express with it’s mandibles.

“It was a thing of miracles that the many hives will remember for generations,” Viira declared and turned away, “I return to the hunt,” She said and with a roar dove back into the ground, disappearing from sight. 

Teyva watched her go before turning her attention back to the city. She let out a breath and sat down, crossing her legs. “Watch over me, will you, Journey?”

“Do I have a choice?” The goddess muttered.

Teyva ignored her and closed her eyes. She cast her mind back, letting herself slip into the place of her soul. It was time to level up. Attribute points first. She went ahead and slapped them all into Willpower before double checking her character sheet.

“Alright,” She murmured, “Now let’s pick some abilities…”