by J. Carrarn
> New evolution type detected
> Calculating category…
> ERROR - cannot determine category or type
> Please head to the nearest major outlet for further instructions
Name: Os Solus
Age: 1
Sex: male
Race: Pseudo world elemental [Mutation]
Type: ERROR
Class: Stone shaper
Strength: 48/58
Constitution: 39/49
Dexterity: 24/31
Endurance: 90/99
Intelligence: 34/41
Wisdom: 23/43
Charisma: 9/20
Mana-field: 14000/27000
Physical density: 19000/41000
Skills: 2
Inscriptions: 5/9
Mana generation: 45
Error? Solus shook his head in awe of what the World Elemental had done. Shaking his head as he wondered at the world of the ancients, where undead were destroyed on what appeared to be a whim, he inspected the rest of the status window.
Smiling contentedly, he looked at the increase in wisdom. It was far more than he had anticipated from any evolution, having almost doubled. A bit more, and it would be as high as his constitution. The feeling he got from his own body now made sense, though. He felt a bit stronger, and the pain had left him, but most of all, he felt ready to take on the world. The prospect of breaking through the lava above and finding a way to end the rifts from forming didn't feel as insurmountable.
With the calm came the realization he had forgotten about something. He called up his skills section, and his grin widened as he saw the list of options from which he could choose.
> New skill options have been unlocked based on World elemental race and class combination
> Race skill: Mineral manipulation
> Passive: Mineral sensing
> Active: User can separate and manipulate the individual mineral components of stone.
> Race skill: Curving throw
> Passive: Minor manipulation of gravity
> Active: When throwing an object, its trajectory can be changed slightly while in mid-air. Mana cost depends on weight.
> Race skill: Updraft
> Passive: Minor manipulation of gravity
> Active: Can manipulate the gravitational pull of an object to slowly lift it up. Mana cost depends on weight.
> Class skill: Super dense constructs
> Passive: Mana cost reduction when creating stone constructs
> Active: User can change the density of stone constructs at the cost of more mana. If stone is compressed beyond its normal ability, mana drain will be exponential.
> Class skill: Stone scribe
> Active: User can leave inscriptions in stone constructs that manipulate their movement based on triggers. A construct needs a steady mana supply for this.
> Class skill: Dust storm
> Active: User can break down nearby stone into minuscule particles and propel them in a single chosen direction.
> Class skill: Stone radar vision
> Active: When focusing on this skill, movement and objects within a stone area will be outlined.
Solus's eyes widened as he stared at the mineral manipulation skill. Would that mean he would be able to manipulate metal? Scanning through the list, he quickly went back to see how many skills he could pick.
> Inscriptions: 5/9
Five are taken already? He frowned as he recalled that it had been three before. Somehow, something was taking up more skill slots. What had the world elemental done to his pattern?
Five out of nine left skills left him with four open slots, but he would leave two for later. Besides, he only had his eye on two for now. Shaking his head, he decided he could examine himself later. First, he wanted to wrap up what he needed to do.
Quickly turning back to the list of skills, he selected Mineral manipulation. His mana-field surged out of him like a multitude of waves. It was grey again and darker than before. The redness had disappeared as if it had never been there. The symbols were all green, but many of the lines connecting the major pattern had turned a glowing yellowish gold.
Gaping in amazement at the parts of his field that didn't pass through the walls, he saw that his main pattern had increased in density up to the point that he could barely distinguish between the individual parts. It had also grown to cover two more sections. With this, it covered three of the five available partitions. The status window pattern, now no longer the densest he had, glowed brightly and connective lines spread outward from it to a nearby empty partition.
As he watched, a new, intricate pattern emerged on the free section, and when it had finished inscribing, the mana-field faded slowly. It almost seemed to linger, not wanting to disappear completely, until it finally winked out of existence.
Wondering how to use his newly acquired skill, Solus examined the glowing green rock around him. Nothing seemed to have changed, and curious, he spread his senses outward. His jaw practically fell to the floor as he stared in shock at the wall that had appeared to be nothing more than solid rock mere moments before.
A multitude of different small crystalline shapes together formed the rock all around him, weaved into an intricate network. It reminded him of the symbols in his pattern, but less organized and more organic. Reaching out with his will, he tried pulling on one of the types of crystal shapes, and they responded immediately. They filtered through the rock like a stream, and to his surprise, traces of metal particles were dragged out along with them. Falling from the ceiling and walls, Solus drew them to his hand, where they clumped together. After a little while, he stopped and stared in wonder at the blood-red clump of rock in his hand.
Gemstone… the word popped up together with an image of a white stone sitting on a golden ring.
Wondering what they were good for, he raised it in front of his eye. He could see the wall through it, all red and hazy. The rock wasn't particularly heavy, and after admiring it for a second, he made to stow it away in his waist container.
He started when he touched his skin and looked down to see his bare naked legs. They were still dark grey and partially covered in thin green hairs, and perhaps there was just a little more muscle. Shrugging, he focused on the ground below and drew stone toward him. He didn't separate the different crystals, and the grey rock flowed around his legs and waist. It set into an armor similar to the one he had had before, leaving his lower legs bare.
The process was smooth and easy, and with a smile he put the gem in his pouch. Wondering what the other skill would bring him, he sat back down and called up his status window. Scanning quickly through the list, he wished he could just try them all to see what they did. Unfortunately, that was not how it worked and he couldn't. What he required was a skill that could offset one of his weaknesses. Selecting the Super-dense construct skill, he quietly sat back as his mana-field sprang into existence again.
When it had finished adding the skill, he focused on a patch of stone in front of him.
Density? That's related to proximity between the small particles, he thought. He wasn't sure if that was the recent increase in wisdom doing its work, his new race, or a lingering benefit from being in proximity to the massive earth elemental that had made it so, but the concept flowed smoothly and easily through his mind.
Ignoring the multitude of different crystalline shapes, he forced the stone closer together. He had done something similar to create the wall around this room, but at that time, he had only removed the empty pockets in the rock. Now he was causing the rock to diminish in size by forcing the particles in it to clump closer together. The rock section ripped loose from the wall with a loud crack as it shrunk to half its size. It clattered down and rolled out of the hole it left behind. Curious, Solus picked it up.
"Heavy!" He said and froze. His voice, which normally caused a rumble, even when muted, was softer and more gentle. The stone around him didn't shake or shudder from it.
"W
hat is going o-" Solus said as a test, slowly increasing his volume. The sound quickly ramped to such levels that the walls began to shake violently, and he stopped mid-sentence. Long fissures had appeared in the ceiling; debris and dust fell through them and onto the floor of the tiny room. Blinking in amazement and shock, he muttered something unintelligible in a normal voice. Nothing happened, and he grinned.
So. That's new.
Turning his attention back to the rock, he focused, compressing it more and more. When it was a fourth of its previous dimensions, he started feeling a slight drain. Frowning, he continued, and when he had managed to shrink it down to an eighth of its former size, he stopped. The rock was gleaming dully, laying in the palm of his hand heavy and solid. There was a constant drain on his mana, and as he released the tension, the rock grew again until it was a third of the initial size. Then it stopped. Clenching his hand, Solus applied pressure. His eyes widened when nothing happened. Only when veins popped up on his arms did the rock shatter in his hand, stone splinters flying everywhere.
He focused on the armor on his legs, compressing it while drawing more earth from the ground to make up for the size difference. The bulky, thick stone leg armor shrunk until it was only half as thick and a smooth dark grey.
This will require experimentation, he thought as he felt the drain on his mana. He released the tension and waited for the stone to come to an equilibrium.
A host of ideas, things to attempt played through his mind, but that would have to wait. He had been here for far too long, and the others would have reached Scathia by now. Taking a last look in the direction where the large underground cavern was, he shook his head when he remembered the massive pounding. There was no time to find out what it was. He made a mental note to return here after his business with Scathia and the Rifts was completed.
A circular opening sprang open in the ceiling of the room, and a platform of stone surged up from the ground with him on it. Staring up and keeping his senses ready, he sought for any sign of lava.
After a while, the stone above him turned hot, and the small crystalline shapes flitted about faster and faster. The platform stopped, and a tunnel appeared ahead of Solus. He ran forward, small stone platforms appearing below his feet, propelling him on.
Creating the tunnel was effortless, and with a grin, he scanned ahead and above as he searched for a way through or around the lava.
—
In the middle of the wasteland, where the vast emptiness was filled with only the soft howling of the wind as it blew along the grey and dusty surface, something stirred. A circular hole opened up, and a blast of hot air blew out, throwing a large amount of dust into the air. A heavy thudding came from deep underground, and then something shot out of the hole.
Solus landed deftly, sealing the hole behind him. He wasn't sure why he did that, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Staring up at the stars, he noticed small particles of sand and stone crystals swirling through the air. Curious, he drew them down, clumping them together until a small pebble formed on his hand. Did even the air contain stone? Somehow it felt like that was wrong, but he couldn't say why. Annoyed at discovering things that he couldn't explain, he tossed the pebble away.
He tried to orient himself. He knew it was the middle of the night and that it would be a while until the sun rose. He would have to wait until it did to know what direction he had to go. He could have just stayed and explored the cave if he had known, but he didn't feel like tracing his way back down.
After a while of pondering what his next move should be, he smiled as he focused on the stone surrounding him. A shudder went through the wasteland, and dust and small stones rolled away as a massive structure rose into the air. A tower formed, growing higher and higher until it was twenty times as tall as Solus. It resembled another he had once made, but as he focused, the walls began to glitter. Lines of red, glistening gems appeared across the tower surface.
Laughing, he created a pattern on the tower. It was the first one he had ever gotten, his stable skeleton form. Looking around at the vast emptiness, he nodded. More tremors and shaking followed as stone trees grew around the tower. With thin branches and grey leaves, they grew until they towered over him, a third of the height of the tower. As they were still growing, Solus moved through the gem-covered arch and into the tower. A circular stair led up, reminiscent of the one in his wyrm tower.
Following it to the top of the tower, he stepped into a wide and high room with many windows. He looked out of one, and he stared at the ever-expanding forest. He still didn't feel much of a drain, and he only stopped when he couldn't see the edge of the forest in any direction. Then he sat down, to wait for daybreak.
Scathia’s horde
Sig levitated above the highest building in the center of the city. His gaze was fixed on a small group of undead that moved up the staircase. They were all skeletons and had evolved at least twice from what he could tell. They were also the last to arrive back in the city, but their entrance was different from what he had seen before. None of the guards had tried to stop them, and anyone that crossed their path had scrambled to get out of their way as if they were afraid of being ended.
Curious about these new arrivals, Sig shadowed them as they made their way through the city toward the massive staircase that led up to Scathia's spire.
Their leader was a skeleton with red plates covering his right side, whereas the ones covering his left side were black. Taller than the others and sturdily built, he carried a wickedly sharp and notched bone axe with him. He was at the head of this strange pack, and was already halfway up the stairs, while the others lagged behind him, quietly conversing amongst themselves. They each wore plated armor of a single color, either red or black.
An emotionless voice rang out from the leader, loud enough for Sig to easily hear it from where he floated in the air.
"Stop wasting my time."
As he spoke, the leader turned to the others, and Sig could feel a pulsing wave of force emanating from him. His followers snapped to attention and leaped forward, sprinting up the steps until they were arrayed in a double file directly behind him.
The leader turned and stomped up the staircase. The others had to take two steps for each of his to keep up, but none complained. The stairs led them through the city that sprawled over the foot of the mountain and up toward the mountain's peak where the spire stood.
Closer to the top, orderly streets and buildings replaced the chaotic, hastily built structures below. These thinly spread-out buildings had tall arched windows, each radiating with a soft red light coming from within.
Sig hovered closer to one of the windows and peered inside. A group of skeletons covered in yellow plate armor sat together in the center of a large room. Red glowing orbs hung around the walls, their glow tainting the yellow of their plate armor a dirty red, like the color of dried blood.
Those must be Satri, Sig thought as he gazed at the orbs before flitting back up into the shadows. He had found that the size of his new wraith form was more difficult to hide.
The staircase widened, the rough-hewn stone replaced by bone smoothed from the passage of many feet. It led straight into the massive spire, as wide as the top of the mountain and seamlessly joining with it, as if it was a natural part of the peak. Three towers, one on either side and one in the center, grew from it. Perched atop their tips sat a massive leering skull.
Sig imagined that the skull alone could probably house thousands of undead, if not more. He also wondered when this whole thing had been built. He didn't remember seeing the massive skull the last time he had been here, and he knew he would have remembered something like that.
The squadron of skeletons marched through the tall arch and into the brightly lit chamber beyond.
Hesitating for a second, Sig shot forward, drawing the smoke from his wraith form in, trying to make himself as small as possible. He was about to phase through the wall when his shape collided with it. Something had been do
ne to the bone. It felt solid, impenetrable.
This one too, he thought, wondering how many of the buildings were made impenetrable to him.
He passed through the archway and kept as close as possible to the top of the entrance. As soon as he was inside, he rose as quickly as he could to the high ceiling.
Pressing himself into a shadowy corner, he looked down at the enormous chamber below him. A row of three huge bone statues lined the long walls. They depicted different types of undead. From left to right were a simple skeleton wanderer, a skeleton with a piece of plate covering its chest, and a skeleton with plates covering its arms, legs, and chest. On the opposite side of these stood yet another statue, this one depicting an emaciated female zombie with a glowing red orb held in her raised hand.
Even from this range, Sig felt the subtle waves of mana emanating from it. It reminded him of the oddly named pillar that Solus had put in the school, The Devourer.
As he examined the last two statues he blinked in surprise. Next to the zombie stood a statue of a long-haired, thin female zombie. She wore a long robe of some sort, and both her hands were raised, holding two red orbs. The zombie looked at the ground menacingly with piercing eyes, and even though it was just a statue, Sig shivered. The intensity in the eyes reminded him of Solus when he got angry.
The last statue wasn't finished. All it showed was a rudimentary, partially finished female undead. It could be the basis for a zombie or another type of fleshy undead.
Between the statues, stairs lead up to a dais, upon which sat a large throne. It resembled a gaping skull, with the open jaw forming the seat. It was currently unoccupied, but still managed to dominate the room.
Sig's gaze was eventually drawn back to the far right side of the room, where the group of skeletons made for another flight of stairs. He hugged the ceiling and floated slowly, following them toward a narrow balcony that sat halfway up the wall, offering a view of the throne and the dais. There were doors in the walls all around the chamber that gave way to hallways leading deeper into the structure.