"Mama," Nox mewed, pawing at his mother as she awoke from her usual spot in the garden. Not remembering how she came to such a place, her body sat up, dislodging the child who tumbled away with a, "Wee!"
"Oh," her right clawed hand clutched at her head, for it throbbed somewhat under the moonlight, "Hello Nox," her eyes drifted to the ground where her son lay on his back, which caused the twins to pounce on top of his person, keeping him pinned as they nuzzled his chest and neck.
"Morning, Miss Sarah," called out Anasi, whose dark cheeks reddened somewhat as he looked upon her form. For although she was wearing the same dress she normally wore, it was currently transparent. Well, it was when she was asleep, as now it fluctuated between muted and opaque colours. This then led to a little more cheerful and warmth, as she continued to awaken from her sleep.
"Morning Anasi," the Goddess yawned greatly, reminding everyone that she was still very much a wolf, "Have you all eaten?"
"Yes, Mama," came another mewing from the hybrid, which was followed by several yips as he tried to remove himself from Maya and Mia's grasp.
"That's good," her voice turned into a groan as she stretched her body whilst it was still seated in the chair. Afterwards, she did stand in order to shake her body quickly before sitting back down and crossed her right leg over her left. "So? Why are you all here instead of playing in the playroom?"
"Story," chimed in her son, who was joined by the twins' voices, and the Arachne's insistent nodding.
"Okay, okay," she nodded and waved at them to quiet down, "Which story did you want me to read again?"
"This one," Nox's right paw fell upon an old and yellowed book which appeared to be very familiar to her eyes. Yet, she could not recall where she'd seen such a thing. Not only this, but after she blinked as though to remove such a feeling, the book was in her hands, propped open, and the children were sitting upon cushions whilst waiting expectantly for her to begin.
*****
"So that's it? No real explanation as to why you're in this state?" growled the veteran, who, as it turned out, was a Templar Knight called Dashall Lifeweaver. As his name suggests, he is able to heal others to some degree, and was even able to resurrect a few during his time within a tutorial world.
Not only this, but he was also the birth father of Karastak's other self, before he came to the world of Azzarath. This meant that the others, the Cleric and Mage were his siblings, but had never mentioned it to the others. When asked later why he never mentioned this, he told them, "They abandoned my person when I needed them the most. Therefore, I had forgotten them in their entirety when I came to this realm."
"No," growled the Fallen God who sat across from them in a more luxurious home that had been built for him, but rarely stepped inside. For such a place was more of a glorified vault full of trophies and treasures that would cause a dragon to become green with envy. The three Humans were sitting upon plain chairs made of wicker, and were being glared down upon by the Undying. Of whom sat upon various mounds of gold, silver, and jewels, or simply stood with anger and hatred radiating off of their bodies for such a race.
Whereas Karastak merely sat upon the iron and stone throne that was hastily brought in by Brutus and a few of the more skeletal males. For he believed his God should not sit upon anything less than the finest. Which meant he also tried to have the other sit upon a more gilded piece of furniture, but compromised for the simpler one.
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"I have no obligations to speak of what had occurred upon my world," he began slowly, but was immediately cut off by the Cleric called Aclara.
"Your world?" her facial features contained a slight snarl, which was almost immediately retracted as she remembered where she was, "Your world is not here, but with us at home."
"Our world was taken from us," snarled Brutus, who stood up from his position at the foot of the Fallen God's throne, "You are only Humans, and have no place amongst us. You should be-"
"That's enough, Brutus," Karastak raised his illusory, right hand in order to quell the Lich's outburst. Of whom twirled around in order to object, but bowed low instead, retaking his place nearby. "But he is correct in that you do not have a place amongst us, beyond being used as fodder for our more... How should I put it?"
"Endogenous?" called out Sia.
"Rambunctious?" asked aloud Shauu.
"Hungry?" hissed Sisstra.
"Always wanting more and more?" grinned Amira, as she raised her voice towards those outside.
"Yes," his own lips stretched into a feral maw, one that revealed several rows of teeth to the world, "All of those and more, I would call them."
"Who?" quavered the Cleric, dreading the answer that was sure to come, as Dashall reach over in order to comfort her somewhat.
"Those outside," chimed in Brutus, who waved at the windows which revealed many a monstrous creature which should never exist upon this world of Azzarath, "Such brutes they are, but they do serve a purpose."
"So? Why have you come here?" The Fallen God crossed his legs at this point, whilst leaning back and splaying his fingertips against one another in front of him.
"An Admin got in contact with us," this came from the Templar, who was sweating somewhat from the pressure exuded by the hostility in the air, "They wanted us to come and take you away so you can relax and not think about whatever happened to you."
"We're going on an adventure," the Mage, who was called Melephas, stood up and posed with his left fist upon his hip, his right being used to point towards the ceiling, and his face turned towards such a direction. After a few moments, though, he turned towards Karastak, pointing as well, "And you're coming with us."
"Now why should I leave my servants to go on an adventure with you Humans?"
"Stop saying that," snapped Aclara, "You're Human, too."
"Am I now?" chuckled the other as his form exploded, knocking over his throne, a few piles of coins, and the trio before him. Whereas the others simply stood or sat where they were, unaffected by the force exuded by the Fallen God. There, standing over the fallen Humans, was a skeletal creature that was not of this realm, and had to squat in order to not destroy the space in which they occupied currently.
Whereas outside the constructed home, many of the creatures who were far too curious ran screaming once they caught a glimpse of such a monster. For such a thing was of their worst nightmare, and even though its attention was not upon they, those too scared prayed that it would never change.
"I have never been Human to begin with," rumbled the monster before them, "So once again, why should I go with you?"
"Master?" called out Rojaahn, a metallic Bear Beastman with four arms. Of whom stood up whilst making a motion as though to push up a pair of spectacles that were not there, and trotted over to his position, "Might I make a suggestion?"
"You may," spoke the other as his body retracted inwards, becoming his illusory Human self once again.
"Why not take this as a way to scout out potential bases for our growing numbers?"
"Hmm," a faded blue robe magickally wrapped around Karastak, just as a plain, wooden staff appeared within his right hand, "Explain further."
"Of course, Master," bowed the Beastman, who smiled softly as he continued, "Our numbers are only going to continue to grow, and with my experiments upon those captured, we can double our forces within a cycle."
"Impressive."
"Yes, Master, I thank you," he bowed once more, "However, we will be needing more space, as this valley will become quite crowded if they continue to grow like they are. Which means-"
"Which means we will be needing more room, or a large enough city like Necropolis to contain them all," finished the other with a nod, "Very well. If you have any more of those beacons, I shall be taking those as well."
"Of course, Master. I will have a dozen at the ready whenever you decide to leave."
"Tomorrow," he rumbled slowly, "As many as you can create by tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Master. Your will be done."