My Elder Brain abilities, is what ZooLock called them. Psionics. Telekinesis. Mind control. What you Humans call magic."

"So, you really are a Thullid, then?"

"Yes. On my planet, in my universe, there are people like this, like me, who can make things happen with their minds. Big things. Like telling everyone in the city to die and they immediately and obediently lay down and die like good little thralls."

"Thralls? You mean like, people you enslave with mind control and force to do all your work for you?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it exactly that way, but yes."

"You're a mind flayer," the Swamp Hag exclaimed, now horrified by the realization of what kind of creature she was talking to.

"Uhm.." Quaraun thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I suppose that term fits."

"But you don't look like a squid. You look like an Elf."

"Yes. We can choose to envelope our host and be the glory that is our natural form, or we can choose to remain encased inside our host's skull and blend in with the locals. Unnoticed. I choose the latter."

"So you're not actually an Elf?"

"Oh no. Not anymore."

"Where you an Elf when they, when they. . ."

"When they castrated me?"

"Yes. That."

"No. Poor little Quaraun, he died centuries ago. Still just a child. Only 9 years old. I merely took on his name and identity, pretended to be him, continued to live in his family unit. No one ever knew the Elf had died, and I lived inside of him, pretending to be him."

"And you are?"

"SunTa is the nickname I had. Your Human tongue would not be able to pronounce my actual Thullid name. SunTa is the shortened version. I am the last of the Elder Brains, after the great war. The thralls revolted, broke into the chambers and smashed every Elder Brain. ZooLock grabbed me and ran for the nearest star-ship. Didn't know the first thing how to fly it. We ended up crashing here on this planet. I lay dying. To save my life, he implanted me into the first living creature he saw. A 3-year-old Elf toddler, out on his morning walk with his mother. I've lived in him ever since."

"Did he not try to save any of the others?"

"Oh, no, of course not."

"Why?"

"I am The Sacred Pink JellyFish."

"So?"

"So, I am the only Elder Brain who is important."

"Why were you the only one important? Shouldn't all the Elder Brains have been important?"

"No. They were male. Males are unimportant. For every one female, there are millions of males. I am the only female. I am the last female."

"Are you saying that you are a female Thullid, living in the body of a male Elf?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. If I died, the entire of the Thullid race would eventually cease to exist, because eventually all the males will die off and with no females left, no new Thullids will be born."

"But how would any be born if you are living in a male body?"

"I have a clutch of lovely violet purple eggs nestled away in this Elf's skull. The remainder of his brain protects them, all cushioned soft and warm."

"You have. . . that just sounds awful."

"Oh no, it is not awful. It is wonderful. Someday they will hatch, but not for a very long time. I must find a suitable male to fertilize them after I lay them. Until then, I will protect them. It is why this Elf's body must not be damaged and why I must kill any who tries to harm him. My eggs are the last Thullid eggs in all of the entire universe. They must be protected at all costs."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"You are the last female Thullid and you are carrying the last surviving clutch of Thullid eggs?"

"Yes. It is why they worship me and call me The Sacred Pink JellyFish."

"If you must protect your eggs, then you must hide the fact that you exist at all, correct?"

"That is correct."

"So you can never let anyone know that you are a Thullid and the Elf you are living in is just a corpse."

"True."

"Why than are you telling me any of this?"

"Because you are Ghirardelli, Swamp Hag of The Godforsaken City."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning, most people would say you are crazier even than Quaraun the Insane, and so if you tried to tell anyone, say Finderu, that I, The Pink Necromancer, Quaraun the Insane, is really The Scared Pink JellyFish in disguise, they would just say that you is a coo-coo, high on hashish, or had gotten into some bad locoweed. No one would believe you. And so, I can tell you all about myself with no fear of anything coming of it because the world sees you as a deranged lunatic."

"I was born and raised here. They knew me. They know I'm not evil."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"They knew me too, remember?"

"I'm not running around sleeping with other women, the way you were sleeping with other men."

"You think that's the only reason an angry mob cries WITCH? Foolish Ghirardelli. You are a silly Human, accused of being a hag. Do they not call you a swamp demon? A swamp hag? A swamp witch? They've already begun to turn on you, to the extent, that no one around here believes you to be Human any more. Had you not noticed? Are they not your friends? Your family? They who call you witch? They who spread the rumours that you are a demon?"

"They know me around here, they know I'm a Human. They know I'm not a demon. . ."

"That's how it started with me, too. Calling me a witch. Saying I was evil. That's how they start. With the small accusation. To dehumanize you. To demonize you. So they can feel justified when they string you up in a tree and murder your loved ones. They can pat themselves on the back after, saying, at least it wasn't a Human, at least it was only a witch, at least it was only a demon. It's how the people in Maine justify their crimes."

"Just because they did that to you, is no reason to think they will do it to me."

"No, Ghirardelli, they do that to EVERY ONE here. Welcome to Maine. And sooner or later, they'll come for you. You've a lot to learn about humanity Ghirardelli, and you my not live long enough to learn it. Tell me Ghirardelli, who was REALLY chasing you?"

"What?"

"You said men were chasing you for your sword, but I can see this sword is worthless and your story is bunk. WHO chased you into my tent?"

"I don't know who he is. Or what. He's not a Human. I think he's a Demon."

"A Demon? A TRUE Demon. Not a Thullid? But an ACTUAL Demon?

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure he's a Demon."

"They are very rare. Why would he be chasing you?"

"He sold me the sword a few months ago. Than he showed up last night. Said he wanted it back. He appeared out of nowhere. Just walked through the wall."

"A portal?"

"I don't know. He's from Hell. He shows up, surrounded in flames. Blazing fire. Dressed on orange. He's yellow eyes and yellow hair. Not natural. Bright yellow like a dandelion or a daffodil. A long tail and goat legs."

"A satyr?"

"Maybe. He's a shepherd, Some kind of beast-master. He's got a herd of demonic sheep. They look normal at first, but. . ."

"But what?"

"I think they are undead. Vampire sheep. He seems nice, kind, gentle. friendly. Lures you in. Like he's your friend, but than he tricks you into buying things, and later he tries to get them back. I've bought things off him before, and a few weeks later, he'll show up at my house, and steal them back. I saw him do it."

"And he wants this sword back? Why? It's worthless."

"I don't know. I was going to give the sword to Finderu. So I grabbed it and ran, and he summoned this pack sheep from Hell, to attack me. And every direction I ran, he cast fireballs so I couldn't get past, and then herded the monster sheep after me. He trapped me, cut off every escape rought with hundreds and hundreds of sheep, and walls of fire, the Earth opening up and spitting out geysers of fire from the pits of Hell. It was utter chaos, and I just ran and ran, and then, I saw your tent up ahead and, just,. . ."

"He herded you to my tent?"

"Yeah."

"Like a shepherd herding sheep. He used a herd of sheep to direct you right to me. How odd. Chaos you said?"

"Yes. Total chaos."

"Sounds like a Chaos Demon. They are incredibly rare. And not from Earth. They come from a fire planet, what you Humans would call a Hell Dimension, undoubtedly. Why would a Chaos Demon herd you to me?"