As my mind faded from consciousness to the strange inbetween of evolution, I allowed myself to indulge in the comfort of the void. I didn’t feel anything, almost as if floating in water. Given my history as a Wavespeaker, that was once the most comfortable thing in the world to me. Now, however, as I floated and relaxed, I realized I didn’t feel quite so comfortable in “water” as I once had. I wished it was like a constant sand bath, but warmed. The sands of the den were cool, of course, so I’d never actually had a warm sand bath, but the thought of the sands rubbing away my fatigue and soreness after days spent locked in combat with Wisterl already had the knots unraveling from my back and shoulders.

Strangely, the moment the thought occurred to me, the feeling shifted to being massaged by warm sands. Without thinking, I flexed my scales and allowed the warm grains to scrub at the tender skin below. In this incorporeal state, I felt like I was melting beyond the limits of my body, yet it was gloriously comfortable. I stayed that way, even as I felt the [Administrator]’s presence descend. Enjoying the feeling, I ignored her for a short while before I decided to break my silence.

You didn’t interrupt me?

[Not counting that as your query, of course. We have plenty of time today. Sometimes, since your evolutions are so quick, I must needs rush you. Today, however, you have much more waiting to do before you will wake, and I am not so callous as to deny you one of the simple joys of mortality.]

Relaxation?

[Last chance for a freebie. No, a good bath, little fang. I can’t explain why, but it is quite different for you.]

I nodded into the void surrounding me, and continued to enjoy the feeling. Before I could think any questions or something else, the Administrator continued.

[I must admit, you were able to evolve Bloodlust much more quickly than I’d expected. Most struggle to keep it activated while sleeping. They find it unnatural.] I could feel the shrug in her voice, [A hallmark of the weak and unqualified, I suppose. But, I simply must tell you, those other fogeys, the ones that hate you? Oh, they are absolutely beside themselves with frustration at your continued successes. _____ especially had quite a lot relying on your inability to evolve to khatif before adulthood.] The name she said was scrubbed from my mind the same second it was said, but somehow it felt familiar.

I guess that’s good for me. I made sure not to phrase it like a question.

[Well,] she hedged, [neither good nor bad, if I must say. Generally good, but it is usually an unfortunate turn of events to have hostile Administrators made aware of your excellence while young. They do so love to be saboteurs, even though that is, strictly speaking, against the System’s rules. But our foolish politicking has nothing to do with you, and even if it does, there is nothing you can begin to do about it, so why worry?]

I saw no problem in agreeing with her stance and nodded my nonexistent head as I rose from my nonexistent bath.

[You are beginning to understand to shroud yourself from desires with understandings beyond your own.] I desperately wanted to ask her what damned sense I was supposed to make out of that, but I forced myself not to. I couldn’t allow myself to even fully think out a question, because if I did, I could lose the opportunity to ask the question I really needed to ask. Shut down my curiosity, my desire to understand so much more. I refused to cripple myself because I wanted to ask some stupid question instead of a good one.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

[Little fang.] The Administrator’s voice cut through my internal struggle and I refocused myself on her.

[I am proud of you. My history is long beyond that which you can comprehend, but rarely have I had the honor of guiding a keelish like yourself, driven, powerful, and willing to do what is necessary while still retaining their sense of self. You are changing, but you remain Ashlani. That is something to be respected.] I could feel a hand of sorts atop my head and scratching in a comfortable way around the base of my frills. [Now, ask your question.]

I wished there was some creative, wonderful question that would enlighten my mind and fulfill my wildest fantasies, but I remained pragmatic as to what my needs and desires could and should be.

How can I evolve into a Keel?

[Always hungry, always ready for more.] The Administrator sighed, the sound somehow pleased, tired, and pitying all at once. [You would reach there eventually, I think, were you to continue acting the way you do. However, regardless of if your path may have meandered into that eventuality, this is still a good question, a Keel’s question. You must speak the True Words of Power of Nievtala so as to become a Keel, and I think you will eventually find those Words. To accelerate your path, travel to Old Nievtra, the skeleton capital of Nievtala’s long-lost worshippers in the far eastern reaches of the continent. There, you will be better able to Speak the Words. Already, though, you are well on your way to becoming the progenitor for the newest generation of Keel.]

What was Nievtra specifically though? I’d never left these jungles, whether in this life or my last (assuming they were the same jungles after all), and I couldn’t begin to understand how far that was. How was I supposed to find this skeleton of a city? So many questions filled my mind, and, as always, without getting any sort of an answer, my mind faded into true oblivion.

[Sybil POV]

The Alpha, or Ashlani, as Sybil now sometimes allowed herself to think, had returned like a shell of his former self. Covered with wounds, staggering exhaustedly, and supported by the brute Rulac, he had eaten his fill and stumbled to sleep in his space. Fortunately, Rulac had left quickly enough, letting Sybil bring Vefir into the area and begin to heal their foolish Alpha.

Sybil couldn’t begin to understand what had been his thought process that had led him to spend days locked in that… insanity. She had been the one to check in on him three times over the five days, and every time, Ashlani had looked and acted like a beast. There was none of the confident bearing, soft smile that occasionally broke his stern face, or poised strength. Instead, he had devolved into a ravening, incensed creature that seemed to subsist off of violence and hatred. Apparently, he’d had a couple moments of clarity through the days, but Sybil felt herself worry deeply about if his mind had been permanently changed by this ordeal.

Still, what reason could he have had to do that? Already, he was powerful, magical, intelligent, and competent, so why would he spend so much time like that? His previous training with Redael had made sense, it has him learning how to kill the current Swarm Alpha. But this? The thoughts swirled through her mind as she allowed herself to stop thinking of the dozens of things that needed doing for the pack. After all, she was in charge of–

Sybil looked at Ashlani’s body in alarm. She’d noticed he was growing in the beginning, but now… his body was changing. His shoulders, chest, tail… everything.

How did he do it? Every time she thought it was just some random advice, or thought, or action that he took, he found how it would lead him to greatness. She smiled, a soft smile, the kind she only allowed when nobody could see her. He was to be the king, all she had to do was follow.