SARAH AVERY VASILIAS, REBORN LVL 5
AADHRIKA DUNGEON, CATACLYSM MOUNTAINS
Cricket approached the big double doors and pushed them open, revealing an enormous, stadium-sized chamber beyond. Incredibly, it didn’t look like a cave in the middle of a mountain. Instead, the chamber was a scene of overwhelming natural beauty. The ceiling was supported by pillars that were the enormous trunks of trees, their leaves spreading out over the ceiling high overhead. Grass and small flowers grew abundantly on the gently sloping earth. The entire chamber was sloped down like an enormous bowl, in the middle of which was the biggest, strangest tree Sarah had ever seen.
It was midnight blue, almost black with bark that was as smooth as polished granite. It’s like Nightcrawler from the X-Men meets Carlos Castenada’s vision of the Tree of Life, Sarah thought giddily. Her breath had caught in her throat at the incredible spectacle of the tree. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, was the only coherent thought for a long while.
The tree was large, though it wasn’t very tall for a tree, topping out at maybe twenty meters. Its pillar-like trunk rested on a tangle of roots that dipped into a softly luminescent pool of pink liquid that surrounded the tree. Its Branches grew in a dizzying tangle of fractal patterns that revealed new endless permutations of those patterns no matter what angle you saw them from. Sarah couldn’t look at the branches for too long without the taste of rotten grapefruit threatening the back of her throat again—a stark reminder of the hallucinogenic gongk Cricket had subjected her to.
The tree didn’t have any leaves, just the flowers glowing with soft light. Sprouting from the end of each of its branches were small, bell-shaped magenta flowers with glowing white centers.
Sarah didn’t have to ask Cricket where they were going: the tree was the only possible destination.
As they walked closer to the tree, Sarah could see that the tree was even stranger than she’d first thought. Its trunk was divided into segments and one of them was moving, opening up to reveal a glowing white orb within. It should have been disturbing, but to Sarah it was beautiful.
The orb pulsed with bright light and her night vision came back, a hobgoblin woman stood in front of the tree in a flickering, 3-D image. She had long, braided black hair, but her features were mostly hidden behind a shimmering golden veil strung with hundreds of tiny charms. She was dressed in a flowing gown of green and white made of intricately woven vines and tiny leaves. Sarah was stuck by her alien beauty. In every way, this apparition was a fitting avatar for the bizarre yet compelling tree growing out of the pool of pink liquid light.
“Cricket, it’s been too long since my halls felt the footfalls of the Aquma cell,” the woman said warmly, “you’ve been out for too long, old orc.” Her voice was soft but strong, the sound of a gentle breeze through thick boughs.
“Aw, ya know how it goes, Aadhrika,” Cricket said, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly, “ya get in the habit o’ roamin’ and, well, home’s always there but the song o’ the road’s a strong one. Cain’t resist it mostly and, tellin’ the truth, I don’t want to. There’s too much work to be done.”
“The work you do on the surface is vital, I know. Just remember, you always have a home here,” Aadhrika replied, her voice filled with maternal warmth. “But who is this…guest…that you’ve brought here with you?” Much of the warmth had leaked out of her voice by the time she finished asking her question.
Cricket cleared his throat and glanced over at Sarah, gesturing broadly with his arm, “This is Sarah. She’s a human, I know, but she ain’t an Imp.” Cricket pulled Sarah forward, “I mean, look at her, she don’t look like she’s an Imp: wrong skin color for one. But that ain’t everythin’. She’s from another world, a world called Earth. She’s a blow-in.” Sarah looked at him sharply.
This wasn’t part of the deal! Sarah thought furiously. Why is he leading with that? I mean, he was always gonna tell her I guess, but I thought the whole thing about me was that I was a Great House Scion willing to defect?
Aadhrika turned to gaze at Sarah, her expression inscrutable behind her veil but filled with an undeniable weight. It felt like she was pinned under a microscope and was being examined more intimately than she ever had before. Sarah wanted to shift, to look away, but she couldn’t. Her eyes were locked on Aadhrika’s veil.
After a long moment, she spoke again even more coldly now. “Her etherheart has the stink of the Great Houses of the Empire, Cricket. How is this possible if she is a ‘blow-in’?” She shifted her attention back to Sarah, beckoning her imperiously. “Come closer, human. Is what Cricket says true? You come from another world?”
Sarah looked over at Cricket, who nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her thoughts and center herself. She’d configured her anima into her basic Ten Star Vortex technique because it felt good to have a steady influx of tensa. As her nerves steadied somewhat, she slowly walked closer until she was standing just a couple of meters away from Aadhrika’s image, directly under the fractal branches of the tree.
“Yeah, I’m from another planet. It’s called Earth. Well… it was called Earth.” She still couldn’t believe it was gone, not deep down. “I don’t…I don’t know if it still exists. The man who sent me here was a guy named August Vasilias; I know you guys have a, uh, complicated history.”
“You might say that,” Aadhrika replied. Her eyes narrowed, “What do you mean, he sent you here? Cricket, did a spy sneak past you?”
Cricket laughed and Sarah thought she detected a hint of nervousness in his chuckle. He looked up at the branches of the tree and said, “Now don’t git yer leaves in a tussle, Aadhrika, ya know I wouldn’t do somethin’ like that. She’s here to take the Oaths and to pledge her Empire-given abilities to the good of the orcwallah.” He bowed and smiled up at the tree.
Aadhrika froze for a moment while the tree’s branches shifted softly in a nonexistent breeze. Sarah wondered nervously if they’d broken her somehow, but a moment later, the image continued to animate and the clattering branches grew silent again.
“And what, exactly does a level 5 Reborn have to offer? She doesn’t even have a Class yet, Cricket,” she said reproachfully. She sounded poised, but she had to have known that Cricket and she had seen the weird reaction.
At least she wasn’t calling her a spy anymore. One more worrying thing to throw on the pile, though: how had Aadhrika known her rank and level? There were no System interactions, no messages, nothing.
“Actually,” Sarah interrupted, “I can tell you that.” Aadhrika’s head whipped over to her. She made another imperious gesture for Sarah to continue.
Sarah took another deep breath and tamped down on her irritation before continuing, “When me and my fiancée were kidnapped from my…from Griffin’s mom’s house by August Vasilias, he told us that the Earth was coming to an end and it was his fault.
“My entire planet. Is gone. My mom and dad, all my friends. Everyone I ever knew or cared about except Griffin is gone. And Griffin is across the world somewhere out of reach.” The thought of Griffin out there somewhere didn’t pain her as much as it used to. Then again, she had experienced almost ten years of personal time in the Tutorial Realm since she’d seen him last.
She continued, “If you think I have some kind of weird twisted loyalty to this August Vasilias asshat…” Sarah chuckled humorlessly, shaking her head, “Well, I don’t. I want to help you guys.” She gestured, gathering her anima in her hand like she was going to summon a weapon, then let it go without summoning it. “I finally found a friend in Kimi-Lim here—someone real—and they said you guys were okay. That you’ve been fucked by the Empire, and I don’t like that and I’m finally getting the power to do something about it.
“See, Kimi-Lim gave me the rundown of some of your recent history, and holy shit am I ready to throw in with you guys. The Empire sounds like a bunch of grade-A assholes. Besides,” she shrugged, “if I don’t find some way to advance and get stronger out here, some monster will eat me before I ever see Griffin again.” Cricket nodded quietly in approval. Sarah couldn’t read Aadhrika's expression through her veil.
Aadhrika paced over the pink pool of light, her movements agitated. “Your desires are not my concern. What do you have to offer us as a mere level 5 Reborn, Sarah who holds no loyalty to August Vasilias?” The tree’s branches seemed to curl inward a little toward their conversation, the spicy-floral scent of the glowing flowers growing slightly stronger.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Sarah glanced up at the spindly branches and sighed, “Look, I understand that you don’t trust me, so you don’t think I’m genuine and you’re suspicious. But clearly, you’re at least interested or you’d have prevented this meeting from ever happening.”
The branches shook a little in some kind of reaction, though Sarah had no idea what kind of reaction.
“So here’s what I’m gonna do: let’s cut through the bullshit. What can I offer? I’m a Great House Scion of House Vasilias—I don’t understand what that all means, but I do know that I get Enhanced System Access and Unlimited Inventory. I’m also pretty fuckin’ good with the grafts I do have, even if I’m just level 5; I’ve spent the last eight years doing nothing but training my anima and my grafts. I can’t believe that you have enough combat-ready Reborn willing to just throw in with you like this, no questions asked like I am. That’s got to be worth something.”
The flickering image of the hobgoblin woman froze in an attitude of considerate thought for a long while. The tree’s branches shook minutely the entire time, causing the little flowers to sway gently.
Sarah looked around nervously; the enchanted grotto was filled with shadows and the strangely twitching tree was creeping her out. Sarah did her best to be patient even if she wanted to keep pressing her case. Cricket appeared to think she should keep silent. Sarah considered doing it just to spite the old orc but before she could, Aadhrika’s image reanimated.
The hobgoblin woman strode up to Sarah with a slow, measured pace. She stopped when she was a single step away from Sarah, almost uncomfortably close. “I don’t know what to make of you, Sarah…Vasilias. But Cricket seems to think you will hold some value to the orcwallah and I’ve come to trust Cricket’s judgment.” The branches seemed to relax, their light dimming as the petals on the magenta flowers closed a little.
Aadhrika’s image put her hands behind her back and her angular face took on a contemplative expression, “Still, we’ll need to gauge your effectiveness, to see where you’ll be of most use. To ensure your commitment, there are the Oaths. Do you know what an Oath is?”
Sarah could hear the capital ‘O’ in Oath and she cocked an eyebrow, “I know what an oath is, but I don’t think that’s the same thing. Is it some kind of tensa-infused promise?” She asked, thinking it through.
“That’s certainly a part of it. But it’s more…potent.” One of the branches dipped down right in front of Sarah’s face and she could see that their glowing centers were tiny little glowing tendrils that writhed like anemones underwater. “These glowing creatures are parasites called Oathworms. They feed on tensa, like all monsters. But they have another property: when you make a tensa-infused promise after having absorbed one of these, it latches into your tensa pool and absorbs some of your tensa. Not much, but enough. If you ever break your Oath, though, the Oathworm will devour your tensa pool and then your etherheart. They only live a single thirteen-month year, so they’re not fool-proof, but they’re good enough to establish a trusting relationship.”
Sarah recoiled from the writhing little tendrils, “Are you kidding? I’m not putting a worm that can kill me anywhere ne—”
“And so we learn exactly how shallow your commitment truly is,” Aadhrika said archly. “If you don’t take the Oaths, then I will let Cricket fulfill his earlier, rather foolhardy deal with House Bardoul and you won’t be a problem for us to consider anymore. After all, the integration architect you brought with you has already committed themselves to us. We’ve already come out far ahead either way.”
Sarah opened her mouth to respond with an angry, sarcastic retort but bit it back as she saw Cricket’s look. She needed these people and she desperately didn’t want to fuck this up.
This is just another test, Sara thought, clenching her cybernetic hand into a fist. Then let’s see where this leads. If Griffin isn’t…dead… then he’s figured out some way to survive like me. If he is dead… “Fine,” she said aloud, “I’ll take your Oath. How do we do this?”
“Easy-peasy,” Cricket said, plucking one of the squirming little worm things from the middle of the flower in front of her. “Hold out yer hand,” he said curtly.
Sarah held out her hand, determined not to flinch or show hesitation. Her decision was made. Aadhrika watched intently.
Cricket dropped the worm into Sarah’s hand and she nearly dropped it anyway because she couldn’t feel it at all. It had no mass, no presence. It just writhed on her palm just like it had in the flower.
“Now hurry,” Cricket said, “Clench yer hand into a fist—like yer wantin’ t'make Oathworm jelly—and speak after me.”
Sarah nodded and clenched her open hand into a fist. Instantly, she could feel the Oathworm. As soon as she enclosed it, it began to itch and burn. Surprised, she nearly dropped the thing.
“Don’t open yer hand!” Cricket admonished. “Ye do that, and we’ll just have t’start this whole thang over again. So keep ahold o’ the little bastard.”
“Get on with it!” Sarah growled, the burning intensifying the longer she held it. Cricket grinned at her, his bottom tusks protruding cheekily.
“Keep yer britches on. Now, repeat after me:
“I freely give my Oath t’ honor n’ respec’ the laws n’ customs o’ th’ orcwallah.”
Good start, Sarah thought. “I freely give my Oath—ow!” The burning intensified again as she started speaking. The Oathworm in her hand felt like it was hot enough to be burning her and now that burning felt like it was going inside her. Cricket shot her a warning glare and she gritted her teeth, continuing, “To honor and respect the laws and customer of the orcwallah!” With every word, the itching, burning sensation grew stronger.
Cricket continued, “To be a good n’ a true friend t’ the orcwallah n’ to obey the orcwallah chain o’ command.”
“To be a good and a true friend,” she had to take a moment to catch her breath as the burning became too much. She breathed through it and continued, keeping her fist tightly clenched, “to the orcwallah and to obey the orcwallah chain of command!” She didn’t know how much longer she could hold onto the burning thing.
“Last one, Sarah,” Cricket sounded a bit tender as he spoke. “T’ consider the needs o’ the orcwallah over the needs o’ myself and t’ act fer the greater good o’ the orcwallah when ya can.”
“To consider the needs of the orcwallah!” She gasped, now it hurt more than ever before. She didn’t stop speaking though, “Over…over the needs of myself! And…” she coughed as the pain ratcheted up again and had to take a shuddering breath in before she continued, “and to act for the greater good of the orcwallah when I can!” She had to hiss out the last word through her teeth before the pain became unbearable and she opened her fist reflexively, completely against her will.
The worm was gone.
Instead of the worm—or a chunk of crispy skin and burnt meat like she was expecting to see—there were three, slowly fading perfect circles on the palm of her hand. As she watched, they faded until they were completely invisible. The pain was utterly gone as if it had never existed. All that remained was the memory.
I’m like Paul Atreides, Sarah thought, feeling the perverse urge to giggle, I guess that was my gom jabbar…but am I a human now, or am I an orc?
“That’s the same set of Oaths all orcwallah Reborn take,” Aadhrika said. “Those Oaths are everything to the Reborn here. They bind themselves freely every year. We won’t require that of you, but…you’ve earned a measure of trust.” Sarah cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, “Yes, a measure of trust, Sarah. You’ve taken the first steps. The Oaths aren’t perfect, but they’re good enough for now. Still, I’d like to observe your usefulness. Sarah, Cricket is now your mogh.”
Sarah felt a warm pulse that started in her palm and went to the top of her head. It was subtle but noticeable. “Uh, okay… What does that mean?”
“In the old Kildari language—what little of it we’ve managed to wrest from the bonds of Eternian magic—the mogh was a battle leader, a commander. Cricket is now your mogh, your officer.” Aadhrika smiled at Sarah, her angular hobgoblin features making the expression look particularly predatory as she showed her sharp fangs in the smile. She didn’t elaborate and Sarah didn’t need her to. “Cricket, you’ll include Sarah in the toh-yeh you’re sending on the attack on the Vasilias camp in a few days. Give her an important role. I want the orcwallah to see her succeed…or fail.”
“Now hang on just a bit, Aadhrika,” Cricket replied with a bit of heat, “ya cain’t just barge in t’ a orc’s command like that! That plan’s been cookin’ for months! This raid’s a fucken delicate op what cain’t stand no fiddlin’ and twiddlin’—”
“Cricket, stop the lies. I don’t have the patience. The Imperials’ weapons and spell testing cannot be allowed to continue uninhibited,” Aadhrika said, her strong voice cutting right through Cricket’s protests. “You will find a way to incorporate Sarah into your raid in a prominent position. She’ll train with the toh-yeh for the raid until it happens.”
Cricket’s open mouth shut with a click and he glared at Aadhrika for a moment or two before he nodded. “Fine. She’s in the fucken’ attack. Ya happy?” He hocked and spat to the side. “She ain’t even Stone rank, ya know that? What good’s her resources if yer just gonna throw her away like that?”
Aadhrika sighed, “You know what’s at stake, Cricket. You know how much I value the Aquma cell. How much the entire orcwallah values the Aquma Cell. We need you.” Her holographic hand reached out and caressed Cricket’s wrinkled face. “Don’t part from me with resentment in your heart.”
Sarah shot a skeptical look over at the two of them, but Cricket smiled at Aadhrika, letting her ghostly hand stroke his cheek for another moment before he took a deep breath in and sighed, saying, “Aw shit, Aadhrika. I cain’t stay mad at ya.” He looked over at Sarah with an expression she couldn’t interpret and said, “We’ll figure out what Sarah’s good fer, don’t ya fret.”
“Hang on a second!” Sarah interrupted, sensing the dismissal in the way the conversation was heading. “I have a few goddamn questions myself! You’re not just gonna stuff me full of drugs, drag me through Alice In Wonderland meets fucking The Garden of Earthly Delights, then introduce me to Tree-Lady here, stick a worm in my hand, and call it a day! I took your Oaths, dammit, now treat me like it!”