Time passed at an excruciating pace but also at a pace so swift that it was almost blinding. The God of Quake and his idea of a game quickly evolved, dragging in local races from around the Quake Race into their fun. As time passed, specialized races like the Shadow Race and the Alchemic Race were slowly pulled in, and the game evolved into a war as it dragged more and more races into its grasp. Seeing the cascade of events, the God of Quake tried to interfere and stop the madness he had created, but it proved pointless as the children of the Quake King already saw a path to the throne by using this game as an excuse to dispose of their useless siblings. In an attempt to stop the madness, other gods and their children tried to interfere, but it only added more fuel to the already burning fire. Now, everyone around the Quake Race is embroiled in a never-ending war.
“Alim, we have your next mission,” Spoke the Second Shadow Lord, “This is another difficult task, but I am sure you will complete it as you always have.”
“I will do my best,” Alim said, grabbing the document handed to him.
“This mission is delicate and needs absolute secrecy, which means leave no witnesses understood.”
“Yes, but do you mind if I ask why?” Alim asked
“Anyone else, and the answer would be yes, but you are one of the exceptions,” The Second Lord said with a nod, “The target for this mission is one of the children of the Quake King. His name is Gran, at least that is what he is called,”
Alim listened, but it sounded odd, “What do you mean? Is that not his name?”
“It's possible, but we are starting to think otherwise…Currently, it is only a suspicion and exactly why you are going.” The Second Lord paused as he glanced over a document, “There is very little information available about the young man and even less about his supporters. It's unsettling how much is still unknown.”
“Can we even do a commission like this? Does this not affect the war?” Alim asked nervously
“Yes, it is one of the steps that is taking place to end this before the whole of Genisis is embroiled in a war. As for what you are worried about, the answer is no. The commissioner is the Quake King himself, so you can put your mind at ease as this will not affect the war in the way you think it will.”
“His own child!” Alim stared with wide eyes at the commission he held, feeling like it was burning.
“So is war and this strange situation that we have found ourselves in.” The Second Lord said with a solemn tone, “His supporters are not the strongest; the best is a middle-level four-star, and Gran himself is only at two-star, much like yourself.”
“Is that why you are sending me?”
“Yes, they would not expect a little two-star like yourself to run a blade through the prince’s Life Seed.”
Weeks passed as Alim made his way to his destination. On the way, he had traveled with a wide cast of Seedlings, from Warbands to merchants, but the group he found himself with now was something that he never thought he would see in his life.
“HAHAHA IS THIS NOT THE BEST!” Screamed an older man with short brown hair and amber-brown eyes; he had a wild smile and wide eyes as he ran around the small camp that the group of about thirty had made for the night.
“Pay him no mind, child. Irmin is always like this.” Said another man with purple robes; his face seemed young, but Alim knew that the Alchemic Race was strange with products that could fake age.
“Ager! You should not talk about me like that to this new friend… EHH! Friend, what is your name? Wait, can I call you a friend when I don’t even know your name? BAH, whatever, we are friends now! Come, let me show you this thing that I just found! Wait, what was your name again?”
“Irmin, stop!” Ager shouted as he dragged the flailing Irmin away from Alim’s face.
“Sorry about him. He just gets a little excited when he leaves his lab… or his house… or if he stays in his lab… sigh, you just get used to it…” Ager said, becoming more downcast as they spoke.
Alim gave a slight laugh. The old man reminded him of Teetee before the war broke out. Then, if that was true, was he Ager? Alim, thinking about the familiar dynamic of this duo, made him laugh even louder.
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“Ager! You broke him!” Irmin shouted, flailing his arms around.
“It's more like he saw your face…” Ager said with a sneer.
“What! B-But!” Irmin grabbed Alim by the shoulder, “Is that true? Is that why you are laughing?”
“You are very much like Teetee!” Alim said through his laughter.
“Teetee?” Irmin asked
Alim’s laughter halted, and his face hardened, “It was someone I knew a long time ago, but…” Alim's words fell off as he became dazed from his memories.
“Strange man. Ager, this man is as strange as you!” Irmin screamed.
“Oh, if I am so strange, then what of your wife that calls me her best friend. What does that make her?” Ager asked with a sly smile.
“… Well.” Irmin dashed off laughing awkwardly.
“Sorry for him, he means well. He just can’t seem to understand how to interact with people normally,” Ager said
“It’s fine; like I said, he reminds me of an old friend,” Alim said
Ager returned to his seat, “If you do not mind, may I ask you something.”
“It’s Strev.”
“Thanks, but that was not what I wanted to ask.”
“Oh, sorry. In that case, go ahead and ask if I can answer, then I will.”
Ager stared silently at Alim, causing the other to become uncomfortable in the glare, “Why did you decide to come here? Why did you travel with our group?”
Alim’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He was shocked at how similar he and this man were, “Honestly, I don’t have an answer to that.”
Ager’s eyes turned into slits as he continued to glare at Alim, “If that is what you say, then so be it.”
Ager rose from his seat and walked to a larger group Irmin was talking to.
“We are very similar,” Alim thought with a smile.
For this mission, the current Alim was disguised. He made only slight changes to his facial features but altered his hair to blonde and his eyes to a deep green. This unique combination allowed him to appear as a completely different individual, even to those who were familiar with him. However, Ager sensed something about Alim that made him uneasy and prompted him to approach him cautiously.
With a slight laugh, Alim whispered to himself, “This group may be more fun than I had initially thought them to be.”
Days passed slowly as the caravan grew closer and closer to Alim’s destination. He had grown close to the mercenaries protecting the group, and Ager held his distance even more, but it did not stop the curious Irmin from pestering.
Alim jumped back, barely dodging the sharp claws of the tiny beast. The beast was barely the size of his foot, but there were so many of them, and they moved in strange ways, seeming to jump off the wind, changing directions in midair. It was a small creature with brownish-red fur, light-grey feathers, four tiny flat paws with sharp, fully extended claws, and a beak with serrated edges resembling teeth and was called a shrefin. The fur and feathers changed based on where the shrefin’s found their homes. From the color of these, it seemed there was either a Metal Race or a Smith Race nearby to give them metal to eat.
A pained shriek echoed around the group, “Seems someone got injured,” Alim said to a mercenary near him.
“Bah, Strev, just focus on your own problem. It's not like these things can actually injure us. They are more like a pest than a beast.” The mercenary shouted, “Just punt them away and let some of those Seedling Union rots handle them. They like these easy pest jobs.”
“Pest! Look at them; they are so cute,” Alim said, barely dodging the shrefin aiming for his head.
Using the momentum from his nimble dodge, he cut the beast in half, watching as the top half slid on the ground, leaking the light green liquid life essence. With a sad sigh, he moved to the next of these tiny creatures.
“Strev, you need to get checked if you think these are cute!” Screamed the mercenary
A few minutes later, all the shrefin were lying dead around the caravan, and only a few mercenaries had some scratches on them.
“Clean up the beast and save the beaks. They can be used by this friend here.” Screamed the lead mercenary as he pointed to Irmin, jumping in excitement.
Although beasts and Seedlings were similar regarding having Life Seeds, there was one significant difference that even the densest of Seedlings or Feyrishians noticed. When a beast died, it would not vanish like its relatives, the Seedlings. Why this phenomenon happened was something that not even the Goddess of Life could answer, as the creator of both. So, to this day, the mystery remains, but it was not like the Seedlings or the Gods really cared. It only helped with resources and a portable way to store life essence and other essences.
After finishing the cleanup, Alim silently looked over a tiny map he had been given by the Second Shadow Lord. It was a rare map even in the Shadow Race as only those from the Shadow Race could see these maps, but only those authorized could actually see what was on the map. How it worked was something that Alim could care less about; all he needed to know was that it worked and how to use it.
The map was simple and rough; it looked like it was drawn in a hurry and only showed the unnamed town they were about to arrive at and the location of Gran and his base.
From the looks of the map, the caravan was about a day away from the town, and then it was a two-day run to the base. He was close to his target, but an uneasy feeling kept seeping in. He could not figure out where it came from, but whatever it was, it was close.