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AR Chapter 412
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 04:00:05 +0000 UTC***
The urgency in his voice brought me sprinting forward. Inside, Ragzak had pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, and his eyes, though still somewhat confused, were focused on his mother. Sybil squatted down, her hands outstretched to our son, and she cooed at him quietly.
“Over here! Ragzak, right here! My heart, right here! Come on!”
Following her scent and voice, he sniffed deeply and took faltering crawling steps towards her. I grinned widely, thrilled to have witnessed it, and though I loved every second of it, I couldn’t help but think that my son looked quite a bit like the iguanas that’d rarely appeared in the Martanimis jungle where I’d lived. When Sybil raised him up in triumph, she laughed aloud and I joined her. She looked back at me, joy obvious in her eyes.
“Well done!” I cheered my son, taking him from Sybil for a cheer of excitement. He giggled as he was raised high overhead, and as Thia and Hashthi realized they’d be left behind, they began to fuss. Sybil went to take them, to assure them of their beauty and status as beloved children, as I held my son close. Thinking, it had been a week since they’d hatched? A week and a couple days, no more. How was it that these infants, supposedly so similar to human children, were already crawling?
You’ve got a right idea, but you’re forgetting a couple of things, little fang.
Nievtala’s voice was chipper as she answered the question I hadn’t directed to her. More and more, she was listening to everything I did, offering her opinion and unsolicited advice in every single thing. She didn’t care about my growing frustrations, and she continued to enforce her will on me in more and more overbearing ways. Balancing my relationship with a divine being that was intimately familiar and interested in me and my family was growing tiresome, especially since her will was one of the greatest assets I retained. In the end, I merely bore with it, as the information she gave was valuable.
Yes, you’re very magnanimous.
The goddess’s words’ sarcasm cut into me nearly as deeply as a sword would have. I felt physical pain at her exasperation, but she merely continued speaking.
Keel are more naturally suited to walking on all fours than humans are. Our musculature, tails, everything is better suited to crawling than your old body. Our children are mobile much faster than the weak humans are. In addition, Keel are a superior equivalent of a True Speaker, not a regular human. Think of the physical changes that occur and allow someone to detect that a Speaker has become a True Speaker. Regardless of their specialty, they are physically superior to what they were before that time. Keel are more physically powerful and dexterous than even the most gifted of True Speakers. A human child simply isn’t born that way.
Finally, you discredit the influence of your [Skills]. There is a notably change in these children as they have been subjected to the help of your magic for most of their lives. They have grown faster and stronger than they otherwise would have been able to, and thus, their bodies are more developed.
I thought I’d already been counting the effect of [Cultivating Presence], but it would appear that I’d neglected to count it in its entirety.
Regardless, I happily spent time with my family, ready to call it a night. When Brutus rapped on the door to our room, I knew that wouldn’t be the case. I nuzzled Ragzak one more time before passing him to Sybil and rubbing my nose against Thia and Hashthi. Then, I went to the door. Brutus stood there, a serious look on his face.
“New from Joral. Something’s been attacking our herds.”
I gritted my teeth. I could guess what “something” was, and if they were seeking to weaken us like this, they’d have some small measure of success. The Kha’Tal had harvested hundreds and thousands of pounds of crops, stored in various places around the city for our later consumption, but that wouldn’t be enough to sustain us through the winter. Instead, we were counting on some measure of success in hunting the ants in nearby burrows as well as the oldest of our flocks.
We’d arrived in Nievtra over a year before, and some of our goats and oxfiends had been with us for half a year before that. Axebeaks too seemed to be getting older, and some of the females weren’t laying any more eggs. The few thickfeathers we’d managed to domesticate were fine, though keeping them from fleeing north out of the snow had taken constant vigilance and dedication from the Kou’Tal. Farahlia’s evolution to Keel had been immensely beneficial, as each successive evolution twisted her magic away from mere seduction and more towards the complete influence of others’ minds.
When I watched her, Shemira, and Sybil working in tandem, I couldn’t help but feel some measure of… discomfort. After all, so many of those who had fallen into leadership positions near me had magic that allowed us to seize control of most of the minds of those we came across. There hadn’t been any people who’d come under our control, except for keelish and Saharliard, that hadn’t wanted to be a part of what we’d established, so I couldn’t be sure what would happen when we actually conquered a people.
That wasn’t what I needed to concern myself with at this point, though. Instead, I needed to ensure that the damned Misti Hawar weren’t going to be able to starve us out. So long as we could continue to keep our soldiers fed, we’d be able to stand against them. If we were starving and the Misti Hawar refused to engage, to give us more to feed ourselves with, then when they finally decided to roll over the walls in their waves of shadow, my people would be unable to stand strong before them.
I followed Brutus who followed the instructions from whoever had delivered the message before rushing off, and I quickly scented blood in the air. Over the crisp scent of the thick blanket of snow that covered the mountains, blood carried far, and I could follow it as easily as any other Keel. Then, in the middle of a clearing, spatters of blood were everywhere. Signs of where the Misti Hawar had dragged off their prey to quickly devour were obvious, and I gritted my fangs together. This was just another problem for me to deal with. I was about to make declarations of what to do when another cry went out.
“Zaaktif! General! Superintendent! Thousands approaching the city!”
I cursed to Nievtala under my breath as I called back, “Who! And from where?”
“Coming from the north!” came the reply, and I stopped where I stood. The… who? What could it be?
