I was surprised when the Beastkin froze in front of the entrance to my maze, but quite happy in completing my scan of his body and mana. Sentients were quite complex but only a touch more than some of my recent additions to the forest growing on the second floor. After all the story talked about bears and wolves which I was able to create with some effort from the badgers that I already possessed. They looked close enough to the pictures that I had to imagine that dungeons must have made the original ones. After all we could make things from mana, so it stood to reason that most life probably was made by us. This theory of mine was crushed when I finished scanning the Beastkin man, and watched the rest start to run away on the surface. His body was something I could probably create and alter, but the mana patterns were levels above what I could understand.

As I had previously learned, the physical body was half of what made a creature live. But, the mana patterns held the form together somehow with invisible strings. In simple creatures like a snake or ant the swirls and curls were smooth and, while confusing to follow, could be understood a bit. They were like instincts for the body to work, move, and hold together. Which, while complex, could be copied and understood after some wall etching. I decided to copy some of the patterns onto the walls of my core room and make notes using symbols I came up with. Now, this Beastkin on the other hand? Jagged lines, random angles, strange squares, and so many more were present, especially in and around the head. I wouldn't be possible to parse any of it without serious study and time. Which, if I understood the man in the odd hat, wasn't something I was likely to get now. He had cleared enough distance that I couldn't reach him directly, but a few needles of focused earth wouldn't be out of the question.

I pulsed in surprise as the first two shattered on some kind of barrier, but was content on seeing the second set punch through enough to slam the man into a tree. I kept part of my awarness on him while I rounded up all other Beastkin. I did notice that the humans had all fled, but caught most of them before they left my domain. The two that escaped I wounded with spikes, but they didn't get stuck to a tree like the other one did. The ease that I was able to take care of these interlopers made me happy, but also worried as strange energy flowed from the dead bodies. It moved like water but at a massively increased speed. Slamming into my core within moments of noticing it, and the rush it gave me was a whole new feeling. Like when I felt success from my creations or when they performed the tasks I gave them without end. My instincts flared brightly, and a quake of razor spikes flashed across the ground.

I came back to myself a while later, and the light had faded completely. There was blood everywhere and a lingering feeling of being 'Full', but it was rapidly fading and leaving me feeling far worse. I realized there was no bodies left, because I had the ants collect them to feed my maze. I knew I could banish the blood from the ground and rock, but I wanted a reminder for now. Like when I lost control those few months ago, the feeling of being lost and unable to do anything made me afraid. Those Humans and Beastkin were so fagile and weak, but the energy they gave me was anything but. My instincts wanted more of them, and I knew it would push me faster if I did. Even now I realized that my domain had expanded, not the kind I felt before all at once. But, a gradual expansion with each life I had taken. I wondered at the meaning of it, and if I should care about taking their lives.

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"No, I don't care about taking their lives, the books make it clear that dungeons are seen as things to be destroyed," I said to myself, "No, it matters that my mind and freedom were taken from me with their deaths. This I will have to find a solution for, I will not lose what I am." I was content with this, and moved to clean up the mess. I did find some objects on some of the Humans that were interesting, they glowed and twisted with magical lines. Not as complex as the patterns of life, but still interesting to look at. So, I had the ants bring them down to the house on the second floor. Then I noticed that I had actually overlooked something within my domain. That one Beastkin, frozen in place near my maze, was mostly still alive. Sure the ants were pulling off bits of him, but I sent a pulse of mana out that directed them else where. Then, I carefully went over him and fixed the leaks in his body before giving a bit more mana to help him recover color. From my fragmented memories of losing control, they didn't live long if their color was too light.

I contemplated "manacles" that I had read about, but without one arm and his legs. It was unlikely he could escape, but would likely need some rest. I would put him in the manor with the other goodies, and then decide how to use him later. I didnt have drawings of the complex life patterns yet, so he would likely be of great use there. As the ants moved him below I wondered if I could make a Beastkin since I had gotten a full scan of one. Falling into my core I brought up the scans I had made of the group of Beastkin, I left the Humans out since they had different life patterns. Slowly I pulled mana together around one scan of a female, and the form began to take shape. It continued well until near the torso, and then I could see problems with the organs and life patterns showing up. Like when I first experimented with making life beyond plants, it seemed like there was concepts I needed to understand better before I could make Beastkin. Which also followed up with Humans as well. The experience trying to make one of them was worse, with the errors appearing even sooner in the arms and legs. It was almost as if they were further from nature or mana.

I sighed to myself and looked back on my domain. The experiments couldn't wait with those two wounded humans still out there. I might get lucky and they would die, but I had a feeling even the absence of this group would invite more trouble. I knew I could at least protect myself, but my instincts told me that direct magic like that would take time to recover the expense. I knew I would have to rely more on my creations and domain to protect myself, and while I might have some new things to play with in the manor. I would need to finish the floor, and start pushing for the next one. Hopefully, I would have time enough to do all of that.