The Mother of Monsters

Teyva found herself sitting, the whiteness fading from her surroundings. She held her hands up, turning them around to examine every inch. Her skin had changed color again, it was even paler than before-almost transparent. Her nails had grown long and thick, more like claws than simple fingernails. She looked at her palms and flexed her hands. She reached up and touched her face, it felt a little different too; more narrow. She slid her hands up and felt something brush against her claws, something hard. Her eyes went wide as she wrapped her fingertips around a pair of horns jutting from the top of her forehead.

“Teyva?” It was Azrael’s voice. It sounded a little different than before like it was clearer. She turned her head slowly to look at her friend. Azrael’s eyes were wide, “Teyva is that you?”

Teyva blinked, did Azrael seem smaller? She looked down at herself and her arms again. Or was she bigger than before? Why wasn’t she panicking? She felt a cold lump form in her stomach as concern washed over her. She was more concerned that she wasn’t startled by the changes than the changes themselves. The stone had done something to her mind. She was sure of it. All those visions, images, none of them made much sense all crammed together. She rubbed her face and tried to breathe, exhaling hard and looking up to the simple wooden ceiling above. At least she wasn’t in that void anymore.

“Tevya!” Azrael repeated.

“It’s me, I think, this feels strange,” She said hesitantly.

Azrael slumped, letting out a breath, and shook her head; “You just turned into light. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then you changed,” She rubbed her eyes. “I still can’t believe you just absorbed the stone like that. Are you okay?”

“It hurt like a bitch,” Teyva grunted. “It took me somewhere, I can’t explain it. My race changed,” she was having a hard time framing her words, a cloudy feeling forming in her head. She rested her head in her hands, leaning against her knees while the sensation came and went.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you to-”

“It’s over,” Teyva snapped and took a breath, “Just, give me a minute. I’ve got more to sort through.”

Azrael fell silent as Teyva collected herself, she could sense the prompts waiting for her to read them but could barely pull together the brainpower to even think about it. She rolled her neck and felt the joints pop and loosen up, easing some of the pressure on her shoulders. After a few minutes, the fog cleared and she let out a shuddering breath. “Okay.”

She looked up at the next set of prompts.

Another summon, this one providing passive mana regeneration. She could get behind that for sure. It wasn’t an attack power but she would live with it. The other ability was a passive enhancement that reduced her casting time but only for spells. Like the sorcery she was hoping to learn from the Elder. It was clear that the majority of the payoff for this Aspect Stone was in the racial advancement. She let out a breath and dismissed the prompt, turning to the last one.

She clenched her fist, she was tired of feeling weak. She chose physique without a moment of hesitation.

She felt a rush of strength flush through her limbs, her arms feeling tighter as the magic went through her body. She flexed her arms, they were still thin but there was a bit more definition there now. She let out a long breath and leaned forward, it was over.

“I need a break, before we do the shards, that good with you?” Teyva said, staring at the floor beneath her feet. Even her toenails had turned into claws. When Azrael didn’t respond she turned to look at the other woman. Azrael was sitting where she had been, her eyes downcast and her hands wrapped around her feet. Her shoulders had sagged quite a bit. A few more seconds passed before Azrael finally spoke.

“I didn’t think about what it could do to you. If it would hurt. I told you I’d be there for you when it happened but then, I couldn’t,” Azrael said to her hands, “We’ve only traveled together for a few days but,” She shook her head and bowed low; “I am so sorry, Teyva.”

Teyva felt something tighten in her chest. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her into a hug. Azrael stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. “Hey, don’t you dare cry on me, Unabi,” Teyva warned, she rested her chin on Azrael’s head; “Apology accepted, I’m fine. Better than fine I bet. I’ll be okay. I need you to be okay too, you’re supposed to whip me into shape, right?”

Teyva blinked and dismissed the prompt, looking down at Azrael. She pulled away to see the woman looking up at her, her eyes a bit misty but her expression firm. “Right.”

Teyva pulled away and sat back on her haunches, she squinted at Azrael for a moment before smirking; “I’m taller than you now.”

Azrael gave her a confused look and then frowned, quickly shifting across the floor to press her back against Teyva’s. She pressed her hand against the top of her head and shifted it, sure enough, Teyva had grown at least three inches on Azrael after her transformation. Azrael swore and pulled back, “I don’t like it, you were so small before!”

Teyva shrugged; “Just call it a growth spurt.”

“Growth spurt my ass!” Azrael countered, looking cranky again. The two paused and then burst into laughter, Azrael wiped her eyes after a few deep breaths; “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes I’m fine, it was one hell of a transformation though. Way more intense than the first two stones.”

“I’d say so, I don’t know what you looked like before the first two, but the change is pretty dramatic.” Azrael said, gesturing to her, “I don’t know where to start.”

Teyva called over one of her Mockeries, letting the creature crawl into her palm. It showed no hesitation in her presence, meaning it still recognized her. “A mirror, please sweetie?” She asked it. The creature complied and she examined the changes for herself. Her face was indeed narrower with higher cheekbones and a more defined chin, her eyes had become more angular and almost seemed in line with her ears which had taken on an even sharper point than before. The slit of her irises had become more narrow and the yellow brighter.

She angled the mirror to look at her horns. They were about four inches long and protruded straight up looking not unlike those of an oryx, a species of antelope. She ran her fingers along the hard material and then moved the mirror back down to her mouth. She checked her teeth, still, needle-like but the needles were smaller now and more defined. Four of her teeth had become more pronounced, almost jutting out from her mouth when she closed it. The orcish trait? It occurred to her she could probably use [Simple Shift] to change them to human teeth if she needed to. She put the mirror down and it returned to its coin form; “Thank you, love,” she cooed, shooing it back to wherever it had been hiding.

“Frightfully elegant,” Azrael said.

Teyva turned to look at her and frowned; “I’m not that scary, am I?”

Azrael made a face that said she really didn’t want to answer the question. Teyva sighed and rubbed her arms, she tried not to scratch herself with her new claws. “No turning back now,” She chuckled, “Besides, maybe I can find a way to disguise myself when we’re out and about," She paused and thought about what she had learned about the Labyrinthians. Azrael still didn't know about her Traits, which was probably for the best. She couldn't think of a way to break the news about the Labyrinthians and their relationship with the other races to her friend. She'd already had to process so much. It could wait.

“Right,” Azrael said, leaning back against the wall, “So what now?”

Teyva took a breath and pushed the difficult thoughts aside for now, “Before we move on to the shards, I want to go through my gear and clear some stuff out. Been meaning to toss a few things and memorize my staff,” Teyva said.

“You want to destroy your staff? Why?”

“I got disarmed during the fight with the wolves. Having my sword as part of my body has been nothing but useful. I have the option to do the same with my staff,” She said.

Azrael rested her hands behind her head and relaxed her legs; “Suit yourself, I wanted to see this too anyway.”

Teyva pulled up her inventory and took out the simple linen clothes, the sandals, and the dull hunting blade. She set them aside in a pile, maybe she could sell them to a local or trade them. She had been thinking about getting a sack to carry her Mockeries in. She left the old shortswords, for the time being, hoping she could find a better use for them elsewhere. Next, she pulled out the [Right Arm of the Guardian] and set it aside. Finally, she took out the [Heartstone of the Labyrinth] and the note.

“The Heartstone?” Azrael asked.

“When I first found the note I couldn’t read it. I wanted to see if maybe I could get something out of it,” Teyva said, opening the folded cloth and peering at the strange words. The language was still one she’d never seen before, but unlike before she became a Labyrinthian, the words seemed to make sense regardless. She frowned and squinted at it.

“Well?”

“The Stone gives life to the Labyrinth,” Teyva read, “The Labyrinth gives life to the people, the people protect the labyrinth, the labyrinth endlessly grows,” She clicked her tongue and tossed down the note, scratching at her head. She tried to recall some of her visions during her racial ascension. They were all jumbled, meaningless, she couldn't make out anything specific that would help. “That didn’t tell me anything! Where’s this Labyrinth? What people, the Labyrinthians? They’re all dead!”

“At least you can read it,” Azrael pointed out.

“True,” Teyva looked up; “Do you think the magi in your homeland know anything?”

Azrael shrugged; “Can’t hurt to ask.”

Teyva put the Heart Stone and the note back in her inventory and turned to her staff. Before she could reach for it a knock came to the door. The two women looked at one another, Azrael looking up at Teyva’s horns and then back at her. Her eyes went wide.

“Shit!”