Tutor scrolls of any kind are quite rare, Magic Tutor scrolls even more so. Mostly because those that have them don't use them, and because there is a finite amount. The Overseers of Fracture made the scrolls from those that opposed them as a form punishment, and as a warning to others.That is of lesser importance though. What is important is that these scrolls have no set time limits they last as long as one is unconscious. So many plan to be unconscious in a coma like state for weeks or months before waking up. Which is quite beneficial for our shelled friend.
After inspecting our shelled friends' magical center, Stygian's instructor taught the bug how to focus on different aspects of a combination thread and single it out. Why would this be useful, well the storm thread has a plethora of aspects. Wind, rain, cloud, and lightning. All together you have a bubbly ball of water that can't hold a charge. However isolate just the lightning and you have a potent weapon. You can turn rain into a pressurized jet, freeze it into a spike. Use the wind to push someone away, focus the wind into a blade and cut things. Things like that.
It took Stygian months to get a firm grasp, and months more to do it on command. At this point normally the tutor would have already said goodbye to a student. Since Stygian had a firm grip on controlling what aspects to pull on, the tutor taught Stygian about shielding. You create a sphere of magic around yourself with the intention of preventing anything from entering. It was actually fairly easy for Stygian since the bug had the spell Repulse. Though slightly different both spells started identically. Repulse just kept spreading outwards, while shielding held at a set distance.
Seeing how quickly Stygian picked up shielding the instructor decided it was safe to teach the bug about sheathing. It was an advanced type of spell that could go dangerously wrong. You act like you are going to cast a shield spell, except you get the spell as close to your skin as possible, so you are sheathed in a shield. It is more efficient on Mana but harder on the mind. Yet Stygian showed a natural aptitude for such spells. Next Stygian learned about layering, when you overlap multiple spells into one. You need to focus on one spell and hold it steady while preparing another spell.
The easiest way to practice this with the least amount of danger, was with shields. Stygian could do three with some effort, but four was far beyond the bug. For now. The bug was getting a bit worried they had spent 6 months practicing magic and the bug was worried just how long it would take to wake up.
Next was the hardest style of casting Stygian had ever heard of. The instructor called it cycling, you move Mana around your body in specific patterns or while imagining certain things while breathing to create a buffing effect. However since the instructor didn't have any of Stygian's thread types the bug had to figure out the patterns on its own. The cloud cycling was the safest and easiest to figure out. While breathing in, Stygian imagined the cloud Mana turning from a liquid into a gas, and filling the bug up with clouds. While exhaling the bug imagined the cloud drifting lazily around its body. This caused the bug to float and be as light as air. Though it gobbled up Mana it was Stygian's new favorite spell. In another three months Stygian only managed to get a handle on one other cycling spell, the one for wind. Inhale while swirling and spinning the wind Mana, exhale and it races outwards to the extremities. Inhale, exhale, and repeat until out of Mana. It may seem simple but it is desperately hard to find the right combination of patterns to get it to work.
After 10 months of spells and learning the basic framework of magic Stygian finally asks the tutor about his story. Bernard was an awakened that wanted to free Fracture from its endless and meaningless cycle of death and destruction. As a reward for his foolish actions he was forced to make the denizens of Fracture more magically skilled and dangerous. He became a tool to perpetuate violence and hated it. It was then that Stygian realized that Bernard was actively trying to avoid attack spells. Sure everything made the bug more dangerous, but Stygian wanted attack magic.
With the help of Bernard Stygian was able to hone its magic and create deadly combinations of magic. Plus Stygian learned about disaster magic. All told Stygian spent 2 years learning magic, but the bug began to wake up.
When Stygian awoke the bug found itself in a cramped dark hole. The bug remembered that it was in a cave when it entered into metamorphosis, but now it was in a hole barely large enough for it to move around. Plus it was in terrible pain.
Warning. Instability with genetic code will cause rapid death if not remedied in; 71:59:52
Well that would explain the pain. Stygian underestimated how fucked it would be that level of instability. However knowing the solution to the issue Stygian traveled to its garden, or rather it's newly redubbed version Flesh Lord's Plane. Upon entering Stygian realized that it definitely wasn't a garden anymore. It was huge at least 10 times the size it was before. Plus everything living in the pocket dimension had changed as well. Everything looked leaner, faster, more dangerous. However despite all of that Stygian began to fill up it's gene pools.
Gene Pools Parasitical Growth Progress Arthropod Aväk 0/20, Des. Ant 0/50, Cytonic 0/100 Mammalian/Amphibian/Reptilian Human 0/50, MudKing 0/30, Vusk 0/20 Morphis/Annelid Marg 0/75, Host-Worm 0/50, Mez-Mur 0/30
Stygian was surprised at how low the point value of each was. However Stygian had reached the cap on every species so it would seem to make sense that everything lowered. Stygian spent a few hours combining and mutating samples. The bug very quickly hit the minimum requirements for every pool, except Human and Aväk.
Warning. Instability with genetic code will cause rapid death if not remedied in; 4365:45:34
After more than 5 minutes of math the bug figured out that that was roughly 6 months. Which Stygian figured would be plenty of time. So Stygian began to pull rocks and dirt into the plane. However Stygian couldn't seem to find the cavern that held the cemetery. After stomping around a bit Stygian found a scrap of white paper that definitely hadn't been there before.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Dear Stygian Half-light,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am saddened to inform you that the City of Atarcin has completely collapsed. I am pleased to tell you that your companions survived. It has however been four months real time since they left. Good luck finding them,
Threll
Well that was a kick in the teeth, but if Stygian dug to the surface the bug could just follow the bond it had with Leon or even the oath it had with Vaelin. It would be easy and take a week tops.
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Three months later
A figure in a worn cloak trudged through the desert of the Midnight Sands as fast as they could. Despite it's beauty it had recently grown quite dangerous, and the cloaked figure was being hunted. Quickly the figure raced towards a rocky out cropping and knew it would be their finally stand. The cloaked figure gasped for as the Shale Tigers closed in. Said tiger's were massive sand predators covered in scales; they barely resemble tigers looking more like savage pangolins. However they way they moved had the undeniable grace of a tiger, hence Shale Tiger or more commonly known as Sand Tigers. They mirrored the night sands in which they hunted, however this was no wild pack.
A whistle pierced the air as a man and a bird landed in between the tiger's and their prey. Big burly, robust the man much like his tamed beasts looked too big to be allowed, and twice as savage. The man laughed cruelly as looked down on the shabby cloak of his panting prey.
"Did'ja think I'd just let you go? Huh, did'ja? Think I wouldn't notice?" He hopped off the back of his very large bird, and stalked towards his prey. "Now where 're me Wyrm eggs?"
The burly man didn't shout and yet the cloaked figure was still peppered in spit. Flinching back the figure barely noticed as the bag was torn off of the prey. Yet the bag was empty and it was the cloaked figure's turn to laugh. Yet his laugh was pained and weak, more like a whimper, and whimpering, laughing man spoke, "Please, I've done as you asked I brought him here, so-"
The burly man stomped and kicked the prey, and generally threw a tantrum. "WHERE 'RE DEY, THIEF! HUH!? WHERE 'RE DEY!"
Panicking the thief struggled towards a slit in the rock barely large enough for a man to squeeze into, and the big man sneered. "Hide 'em in there did'ja?"
A centipede a half a meter long scuttled off the burly monster tamer and scouted into the crevice. There was a sickening crunch and then a disappointed sigh.
"You know I was hoping that this would last a bit longer, I was enjoying the show." The voice came not from the crevice, but from above. A figure in a very similar cloak to the hunted man's, was floating on a cloud. A full moment of silence passed as the figure lowered itself to the ground. The absurdity of it was amplified by just how short the figure on the cloud was. It looked like a gnome or a dwarf, but smaller like a child almost. It seemed as though some lost kid had joined the fray.
"Roight, who 're you then? Did'ju take me eggs? Or did'ja just pay 'im to do it?"
"Well, neither. I made him believe that he wanted to take the fall for me and lure you here. After all, we can't have your screams drawing attention. I am trying to stay undetected."
"Nah see, I don't care 'bout none of that, I just want me damn eggs back. So I'll give ya to the count of three, after that ya dinner." With that the man smiled menacingly and snapped his fingers. He was expecting his pets to snarl and growl, what he didn't expect was for utter silence that greeted him.
"Yeaaaah, no. See you know what happens when one monster tamer meets another more powerful tamer? Usually nothing, but in this case I am many times your superior and beasts always recognize strength. They submitted to my will and I've temporarily kidnapped them for myself. Hope you don't mind, but don't worry I will reunite you. Now come on and fight me, I don't have all day to ta-"
The burly man with a short serrated dagger in hand rushed Stygian and cut the Morphling off mid word. The man's attacks were sloppy, crude at best. However Stygian was far slower than the bug usually was, yet the bug still didn't get hit. Dodging by millimeters, Stygian never launched a counter attack, and after several long minutes the burly man was panting.
"Well that just won't do." Said a disgruntled Stygian, as the Deväk raised a hand. The man flinched and dived to the side, excepting some kind of magic bolt attack. Instead he felt invigorated as though he had slept for a week and ate lightning for breakfast. Yet even still the man couldn't lay a finger on Stygian. The man would flail about until he was exhausted, then Stygian would cast a spell and once more the man would be full of vigor.
This went on for hours until Stygian too was panting, the once burly man was withered all the fat had been burned off and even some of his muscle was gone. What was left was a lean and almost emaciated figure.
"Still haven't gotten the hang of this new form, thanks for the exercise." stygian spoke with a cheery tone, and then with zero effort and but a glance, Stygian ravaged the man's mind trapping him in a cycle of torment. Then Stygian summoned the Shale Tigers and the cloaked man from before.
"Did you enjoy your brief stay in my domain?" The only thing that greeted Stygian was a terrified glance. "Don't worry you will never go back there, but unfortunately your job isn't done yet."
"B-but I've done all that you've asked?!" Squeaked the traumatized man. Stygian's beasts were under orders not to kill him, but that didn't mean they couldn't make his life a living nightmare for a while.
"Yes you have, but unfortunately I needed a disposable test subject, I'm sure you understand." When only terrified whimpering greeted Stygian our bug continued. "See it's not you, it's me. I need to get far stronger. Everytime I try to enter The Ways I get my ass kicked, so I thought how could I get stronger faster?" Psychic energy restrained the man and Stygian pulled out a wickedly sharp knife.
"Well that's easy, create an army of strong beasts. I was on the right track when I made my wasp mosquito abominations, now I just need something bigger. The only question is what do I make? Then an idea that I've been toying with for a while struck me. Now follow me closely okay? My goal, my mission passed down from my primal ancestor's is to reach the pinnacle of life. The highest form of evolution. I can't ignore a calling like that, but I've been worrying that the further I walk down that path the more complex the task becomes. And that when it hit me." Stygian paused as it's captive audience screamed.
"Calm down you big baby it was just a pinky, it won't hurt so much after I cut the second one off. Now where was I... Oh yeah my realization, well why should I do all the hard work of cobling diverse genes together in my own body, when I can cobble it all together in a cohesive whole of another and then just eat that other. I'll unify the pieces and consume the-" The man screamed louder as his second pinky was removed. Stygian ignored the man writhing in pain and continued, "Plus, it might help me reach a higher stabilization since I only have three months left, and I'm a bit worried that I won't make it in time. So won't you help me live my best life, friend?"