High Colonel Mualtir di’Thnufir:

High Lord Leialt Alniyh is only half a day’s travel away from Fort di’Thnufir. Upon his arrival, he will accompany whatever team you assign on your mission, and with his Bound beasts, they will have no issue in wholly annihilating the entirety of the murderous pests. Afterwards, with his expertise, it may be that we will be able to learn how it was that such an advanced warren of the beasts was able to propagate themselves whilst within our borders.

As you should well know, the High Lord suffers from a nearly intolerably high opinion of himself. Please do ensure that he has no reason to lodge a complaint with the military after his time spent with your soldiers, as I will be forced to mediate over the inevitable spurious legal proceedings.

As always, I hope you are well, my student.

-Missive from High Veran Salmar to the garrison at Fort di’Thnufir

As I’d commanded, after just one day, the swarm had prepared to leave our home and begin our escape. I couldn’t say how many or how soon the “Veratocracy”’s retribution would come, but I knew it would only be a matter of time, and I showed no hesitance nor willingness to give an extra moment’s preparation to any members of the swarm. Before we left, the entire den echoed with activity, keelish rushing to and fro and snapping at each other when another’s preparations interfered with their own.

Frankly speaking, I was surprised that there was as much panic among the swarm as there was, as the keelish didn’t have any real “belongings”. Those among my own brood and pack had begun to collect a couple little things that meant something to them, like Took with a couple of bones or fangs from things she had killed, Vefir had collected a handful of stones that he thought were pretty, and Shemira had a series of scales that she had collected from whichever keelish had fully succumbed to her mental influence. So far as I knew, she refused to lay with any of them, just considering the hoodwinked males’ scales to be a marker of her magical prowess, but I didn’t inquire very deeply about it. Sybil just shook her head disappointedly when I’d asked, and I didn’t care enough to dive any deeper into the other female’s rationale.

For me, after thinking about it for a little while, I decided to roll up and tie a couple of the wolfstag hides, and then a couple antlers from a wolfstag skull I’d cleaned and displayed in my den. I had finally decided to introduce true tool use and creation among my swarm, and the antlers would serve as rudimentary spearheads, arrowtips, or knives. Truthfully, I couldn’t be sure if the antlers would serve even as well as a blade made of flint or even ordinary stone, but I was sure that further civilization of my people would only serve us in the long run. After all, this journey was supposed to be leading us to a new land, one where we could live uncontested and fully establish ourselves as a people.

With my high aspirations consciously decided upon, I rolled my shoulders and looked down at my luggage. As I stood looking at the little pile, just rudimentary bedding, and uncarved tool materials, I couldn’t help but scoff at myself. This was all that I had to show of my half-year of life as a keelish? Just an armful of junk. Instead of allowing myself to continue to wallow in my frustrations and unhappiness, though, instead I looked out into the den, where dozens of my bustling subordinates continued in their mad dash to follow my escape plans.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I let myself smile, and then stepped out of my quarters to give advice and a steady presence to my people. Immediately, my subordinates bowed to my presence and waited for my command. Though a part of me wanted to languish in the blind worship, I recognized and knew that I would be much more helpful as a calming, guiding presence. So, I raised my hands to allow the keelish all around me to return to their duties while I stepped closer to Sybil to ask how I could help.

—----

Though it had taken convincing Sybil that I could, in fact, be helpful without weakening my position as the Swarm’s Alpha, eventually I was able to walk around and convince petty squabblers that they would prefer to shut their useless mouths and get rest instead of arguing again about who would leave first come the next evening. These lesser keelish immediately succumbed to my will and went to rest after my first sentence.

Finally, I was able to retire to my quarters, where a full two thirds of my bedding was going to be left behind. And my sands! I indulged in a long bath while I wondered when I would be able to find enough of these sands to bathe in again after we left our burrow. And where would we sleep? Just under the stars, or should we take the time to try to take shelter from the elements? Dozens of thoughts crossed my mind as I finished my bath and prepared to lay down to sleep, but before I did, I stepped out of my quarters and found Sybil locked in conference with Etra and Cree.

“Thank you for your hard work, I know you have been the most burdened of the swarm with my announcement today.”

Sybil, in a rare fit of pique, was quick to respond, “Why would we need to know where to hunt or sleep or drink or cross rivers or any other of the countless numbers of variables that go into moving nine hundred and forty-two keelish across an undefined distance to a supposed divinely promised land?” Though she fought to keep her tone level, Sybil was obviously, and rightly, upset with the Flamecalling I had brought down on her without express warning.

“All the planning we can do for now is complete, Beta. It’s time to sleep.” I wrapped an arm around her and began to guide Sybil to our quarters. “Thank you, Etra and Cree. Rest well, for at sunset we will leave this all behind.”

Sybil’s assistants bowed in admission of my command and walked away while disregarding Sybil’s plaintive requests for additional planning and structure in preparation for any number of contingencies she had already considered and worried she hadn’t yet thought of. She continued to grumble angrily at me as I gently forced her into the bath and set it to massaging every inch of her tensed body. Before three minutes had passed, Sybil’s focus was flagging, and I helped her rise out of the bath and stumble over to the pelts, where she immediately succumbed to sleep. Unconsciousness was quick to claim me as well, and my dreams were plagued by the feeling of being chased, of being hunted. The feeling enraged me, of something considering me to be prey, and the time to wake came both too quickly, and not quickly enough.

Even so, it was time to go.