I awoke with a flash of panic. I immediately scanned my cave, only to find it empty. There was nothing there to harm me. I took stock of myself and found that little had changed. Perhaps my mana penetrated a little further into the ground around me, but it could be my own wishful thinking. At the lip of my cave, the familar corpse still rested, heavily picked over by scavengers.

My mana had completely permeated the dead body. I was amazed at the intricacy of the skeleton. Even the rotten remains of the flesh and organs hinted at a complex creature with a physiology totally alien compared to my simple crystalline core. I lost track of time as I studied the way the tendons and muscles had moved the skeleton, often having to extrapolate from the torn remnants. With growing wonder, I came to the conclusion that I could mimic the kinetic force of muscles and tendons by replacing them with mana. In time with my own epiphany, the Voice of the World applauded my achievement.

New Blueprints Gained – Skeleton, Zombie

Naturally, supplying mana to the muscles was an even easier task than rigging up the bones of a skeleton. A zombie would be less coordinated, but depending on the body it might possess greater force and would be more difficult to destroy.

I turned my attention back to the corpse above me, this time with a specific intent. How could I make use of its skeleton? With its arms and legs, I would no longer have to the fear the depredations of random birds, at the very least. The tatters of flesh adorning it now were simultaneously not enough and far too much for my purposes. Without much consideration, I bowed to my instincts and quickly devoured the body, a task eased by my mana pervading it.

For the first time, I looked inward and realized that not everything I devoured was burned as fuel. A small quantity of stone, some dirt, and the corpse, all persisted in a kind of extra dimensional craw. Everything inside me was permeated with my mana and the most valuable parts were already evanescing into mana. I controlled that process and easily stripped all of the flesh from the skeleton, leaving behind only bleached bone. I then regurgitated the skeleton out on the floor of my cave.

I turned my focus to rigging the skeleton, substituting mana for muscles and tendons. When I finally finished, a niggling doubt in the back of my mind said that it was missing some connections, but when the skeleton rose jerkily to its feet, I had not room for such concerns.

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The skeleton surveyed its surroundings and I felt a vague sense of feedback from our connection, since it was running on my mana. It felt almost like feeling coming back into a forgotten limb. I had a sudden insight as I realized it wasn’t the only entity I could feel.

The crow was out there, just beyond the mouth of my tunnel – beyond the reach of my mana breath that pulsed a few feet further into the world. I could sense it. It was obeying my last command, staying technically outside of me, yet as close as possible. It felt distressed.

I felt curious and with my skeleton here, what could a mere crow do to me. Tentatively, I reached out toward the crow’s simple mind.

Come.

Almost immediately, the bird hopped into my tunnel and followed it down until it stood at the edge of my room. It looked ill. Its feathers were coming out in bunches, so much so that its pale skin showed in places. Its small black eyes were rimmed with crust and it lacked the energy and alertness it had shown in our first encounter. I looked passed all of that, however, and felt my pulse quicken as I looked at its mana system. Just like the skeleton, it ran on my mana now. All of its bodily processes required my mana to continue working, and the scarcity of it was clearly the cause of its sickness. Even as I watched, every pulse of my core pushed more mana into the air and revitalized the crow.

What I had initially undertaken solely as a lifesaving measure had developed into something else entirely. This crow was mine now, and its life depended on me. Clearly, it even obeyed my commands. It had upheld the letter of my orders even at the risk of its own life.

I was suddenly reminded of those few dozen men who had died with the welfare of their fellow soldiers on their minds. This crow was willing to place my wellbeing and my commands above its own. It was truly my brother in arms.

I felt a sudden inspiration to honor it in some way. It was unique and better than its peers, just as I continued to strive to be. Vague hints of military decorations or ranks seeped through from the outer edges of my borrowed memories, but none of it made any sense to me. However, I suddenly realized that in every memory of every dead man, they all had one thing in common. They each had a name. I would honor my crow with a name.

Vaguely, I understood that not all names were created equal. I should name my crow something meaningful to remind it and me of why it was greater than its peers. As such, names that referenced black or crow were immediately out. Every crow was black, I knew, and certainly every crow was a crow.

Fide. I declared. You shall be named loyalty.

Creature Named – Fide, the Carrion Crow

 A massive outpouring of mana rushed out from me and engulfed Fide, but unlike last time there was no resistance. He grew visibly healthy before my eyes. His feathers puffed out and became glossy.

Expending so much mana made me tired again. Serve me well, I commanded before I slept.