I couldn't hold it in any longer. The sight of Cali prostrating herself in front of Stormy, proclaiming her the "Divine Wyrm Beast above Goldara herself," was simply too much.

As I snickered, part of me wondered if this Stormy-worshiping version of Cali was an improvement over the friendship-obsessed one I'd been dealing with for the past week. At least this Cali seemed less likely to try to enslave me.

"Cali," I said, once I'd managed to get my laughter under control, "I think you might be jumping to some pretty extreme conclusions here."

Cali blinked at me.

“I get it,” I said. “You’re scared of... Uncle George's boggy machinations."

She nodded, her eyes wide with unconcealed fear and desperate hope that I could snap my fingers, say a magic word and all of our Gygr troubles would be fixed.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Was it fine to let her believe I was some kind of cosmic entity for now? It seemed like an easy option, but also one that could backfire spectacularly if she started to rely on cosmic powers which Stormy and I didn’t actually have.

"Look, Cali," I began, "I'm not an emissary from the heavens. I'm just... well, I'm not entirely sure what I am, to be honest. But I'm definitely not here to judge or punish anyone. Why do you think that I’m an Omniarch? Is it because Amari advertised me as such to shake a chest of gold out of you?”

“It was three small chests and… no,” the Arcanicx shook her pure white mane. “It’s because you’re writing things in that book of yours.”

“What, this?” I pointed at the open Codex, half of which was now serving as Stormy’s seat. “Why does writing in a book make me a Cosmic Judge?”

“Men don’t write in books on their own accord,” Cali said. “Most men are illiterate brutes. Those that are literate only use their literacy to do specific tasks by looking at a list of instructions we provide them with. You don’t understand. You’re writing a lot, by yourself, more than I’ve seen anyone write.”

“Ah, so, of all the things, my literacy was what gave me away,” I smiled softly.

“It’s the other things too,” Cali said. “Some of the Aquariux Arch-Sorceresses can create flying spheres of water, bend still water into a defensive wall… but they cannot move an entire river permanently 50 elbows from its previous location! Fluidmancy just doesn't work like that!"

“A man can move a river permanently with a shovel and a lot of time,” I pointed out. “Ten thousand men can do it in a week by digging a trench.”

“You did it in the blink of an eye, my Omniarch,” Cali said. "I didn't see you digging any trenches."

“Please stop calling me that,” I said.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to be worshiped or aggrandized,” I said.

“But...” she voiced out.

“If you want to praise someone, praise Stormy,” I said. “I think that she likes being the center of the universe.”

“Mrrrr,” Stormy replied from atop of the book, lazily pawing at the word ‘yes’.

"Remember how you told me about the Wormwood Star, how it changed your people? Well, something changed me too,” I said. “Not a star, but... knowledge. Understanding. I see the world differently than most people here, and that allows me to do things that might seem impossible to others."

"But the river..." Cali began.

"The river has a spirit," I explained. "A very powerful spirit that doesn't like being bothered. I didn't move the river - I simply... gave her a very good reason to move herself."

Cali's brow furrowed. "River spirits? But... that's just Nordstaii superstition. All magic arises from Wormwood, the lost piece of Heaven."

I shook my head. "No, Cali. River spirits are quite real. Your people just can't see or interact with them because you're so focused on the power of the Wormwood Star. There's so much more to magic than just Wormwood."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"So... you're not here to judge the Arcanicx and to un-exist us for abusing what rightly belongs to the Heavens?" Cali asked with a small and uncertain voice.

"No," I assured her. "I'm here to learn. And maybe, just maybe–if I learn enough, to help you, if you stop distracting me with this Omniarch nonsense."

“To learn,” Cali blinked. “Without instructors? Without great librariums? Without Strix Arcanicx?”

“What are Strix Arcanicx?”

“Librarium Administrators and scholars. Strix Arcanicx are blessed with perfect recall. They're essential to our Maggelanums as the Overseers of Knowledge. The Head Strix knows the name of every book in her Librarium. The Wing Strix manage specific sections like History, Alchemy, Artificery, or Arcane Theory, etc. Below them are the Tail Strix, who handle day-to-day operations and assist researchers in more obscure tail-end topics. At the lowest tier are the Feather Strix, who act as 'book readers' for us Felix Arcanicx."

"Book readers?” I chortled, amused with the idea of an Arcanicx that specialized in being a live audio-performer. “You mean you don't read the books yourselves?"

“Felix Arcanicx are meant for action outside of Iridium such as hunting and deal-making,” Cali explained. “We don't have time to pore over dusty old tomes. The Feather Strix read the books for us, provide summaries or help us locate specific information we need to become better at what we do best.”

“How do you even know how to read if the Strix read to you?”

“Obviously I know how to read,” Cali huffed, momentarily forgetting that I was a Sky-God or whatever. “One of my skills is Tonguemancy. I can’t just take a Strix with me to barbarous lands. Those feathered wussies don’t take a single step away from their book nooks!”

“Do Strix own men too?” I asked curiously.

“Of course they own men!” Cali nodded. “Every Arcanicx of age owns someone who helps them with their work! The men owned by Strix do all of the physical tasks such as general maintenance, sorting, fetching and duplicating books. Men of Strix read and write well, they inscribe new books composed by the Wisest of Strix. The more socialite Strix even host ‘reading hours’ wherein their Harem of men perform a variety of roles from the... erm, romance-themed novellas they pen. And, uh, Strix men don't just read the lines out loud, they interact with the audience."

Cali blushed at that, clearly having participated in many such 'reading hours' herself.

"So let me get this straight," I said. "You have an entire caste of Arcanicx dedicated to managing knowledge, but most of you don't actually read the books yourselves? You just get summaries?"

Cali nodded, seemingly not seeing any issue with this system. "We each have our roles to play, enforced by the Divine Beast of our House.”

“So the various Arcanicx of Iridium are castes dedicated to various professions,” I pushed Stormy off the Codex to write Cali’s revelations down. “The women do all the thinking and the men do all of the lifting? What’s the divine beast of the Strix?”

“Yes." Cali nodded. “The Divine Beast of the Strix is Buboro the Wise, a six-winged, three eyed horned owl.”

Hypothesis: The Divine Beasts act as genetic anchors, influencing and amplifying the physical and mental traits of Arcanicx over generations, creating increasingly specialized and distinct castes.

I jotted down my thoughts in the Codex.

If the Divine Beasts were indeed shaping the changes of the Arcanicx, it would explain the extreme sexual dimorphism of their species. The Wormwood Star hadn't just changed the Arcanicx - it had set them on a path of accelerated evolution. And the Divine Beasts, whatever they truly were, seemed to be the core guiding force behind this magic-aided transformation.

The question was - How far would this process go? And what did it mean for the future of humanity on Thornwild?

I couldn't help but draw parallels between the Arcanicx society and eusocial insects like bees and ants. The specialization of roles, the clear hierarchy, the focus on a centralized power structure - it all pointed to a society evolving towards something eerily similar to a hive.

The image of future Arcanicx flashed through my mind: a perfect, brainy Queen, fused to her throne, managing a thousand specialized women who in turn controlled a million men. Each caste perfectly adapted to its role, working in harmony to expand the colony's influence until the entire world belonged to them.

If left unchecked, could this be the ultimate fate of humanity on Thornwild? A world where homo sapiens were simply bred out in favor of perfect specialization, where men were reduced to mindless drones. A world where individuality wasn't a thing and a few Queens from the Ring of Colonies surrounding the Castian Sea held absolute power over the obedient masses?

"Cali," I said, "do you realize what this system is doing to your people? To humanity of Thornwild as a whole?"

Cali tilted her head at my words. "What do you mean? Our system works perfectly. Each Arcanicx fulfills her role, guided by her Divine Beast. The men are content in their service. We've built a great civilization this way."

I pursed my lips.

Cali was a worker bee, one bred to fetch new genetic material for the Iridium hive. A perfectly specialized cog in a vast colony, programmed by her Divine Beast to fulfill a specific role of catching unique men like myself.

If any of the Colonies of the Castian Ring learned about my existence - a man who can do magic, they would swarm me with a greater and greater number of hunters. I was essentially a yummy piece of sugar left sitting on a windowsill, the line of ants already well on its way.

Shit. Amari! Amari knew I existed.

Her Colony sent out the drones from other, lesser colonies to harvest me in cycles of every seventy seven days.

“Ah! You are judging us!” Cali declared, having evaluated my thoughtful and bewildered expression.