Monarchs, hmm? Yes, I suppose some more scientific information would helpful on them.

Firstly was the Wolven Monarch, Holden. Records show she was as brutal as she was fair, dealing death to those she deemed villainous and defending those she percieved as weak. What made her unique among the Monarchs was that she included humanity and the human-adjacent species as her subjects, although she was rumored to harbor a deep hatred of politics. She also possessed enormous power, most notably exercised in her incomparable earth magicks. No conversations have been accurately recorded with her, but too many sources indicate she spoke to be dismissed. She truly lived up to the title of Monarch, occupying the territory now known as Asterl.

Second, the Otter Monarch Kyute. He seemed to care more for enjoyment and pleasure than the creatures under his dominion, and often used his unequaled affinity with the sea to create whirlpools for his own amusement. If ever he killed a creature, it was only for entertainment or consumption. While oddly innocent in his habits, Kyute was regarded as an incredible threat by all seafarers in the past, most likely due to his thoughtless violence in the pursuit of his own chaotic perception of fun.

Thirdly, the snake Fandor hailing from the Cyrilian deserts. She was capable of staggering cunning, often holding short-lived debates with those that met her. She was rumored to grant wishes to pilgrims in search of her power. Regrettably, she often employed her sinister intellect to convolute their wishes, distorting them to her twisted desires. Her abilities lay more in the metaphysical realm, rendering her nearly immortal. Of all the Monarchs' deaths, hers was reportedly the most unexpected.

Finally, the dragon Schezer…

A dragon's pride is legendary, as is its strength. Barring a few notable exceptions, even the most infantile of dragons will battle to the death over a single coin, and their notorious lack of logic when it comes to the proper owner of their often ill-acquired wealth is infamous even in regions where no dragons live.

Schezer was not only not an exception, but rather, the most excessive, illogical, greedy, gluttonous and regrettably, powerful among all of the dragons in history. His expertise among all fields and magicks was without compare.

Garen supposedly slew him bare-handed.

Daro D'Vari, novelist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Miro woke up in a much better mood than when it’d fallen asleep.

Tucked under Avynne’s wing, droplets of fresh dew dripping from the leaves above, and with the scent of soggy fritteens in the air, it was an improvement over the downpour of the night before.

Shaking itself off, Miro squeezed out from under her wings, successfully avoiding waking her up. The Taste had all but receded, and although Miro could still sense it on the fringes of its consciousness, it had a feeling that trying to use it would definitely wake Avynne up.

Looking down at the ground, Miro neatly rolled out and hit the long grass and weeds covering the sodden dirt, hardening itself just before impact. A dull thud followed the landing, and Miro instinctively looked up to make sure Avynne was still asleep.

The only sound in the forest was that of creaking trees, buzzing cicadas and insects droning away in the background. Avynne stayed almost entirely motionless, her back slowly rising and falling with her breath.

Relaxing, Miro turned and began rolling away from the tree. There was a place it wanted to revisit.

It wasn’t all that hard to track the abandoned building it had fallen into. Beyond the fresh smell of rain and the humid stench of soaked bark, Miro could clearly taste the thick stink of rotting wood drifting along the wind.

Rolling through the grass, Miro busily made its way towards the source of the smell. As it went, it put some thought towards the Taste.

It was a unique feeling. Miro had never sensed that kind of exposed vulnerability, as if its gel were made thinner than it could ever stand. It was reasonably sure the Taste was similar to what Otto had done with it back at his house, but even then it’d had some level of security. Granted, it had hardly been safe at the time.

With Avynne, though… it’d been easy.

Was there a word for it? Was there a name for that feeling of being so… open with Avynne that Miro could bare its soul to her?

Miro’s train of thought came to an end as the run-down building came into sight. Now that it was outside, and not in a rush, Miro could better appreciate its appearance.

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It had two floors, which Miro hadn’t seen in a building before. The dark wood walls were seamlessly nailed together, great beams rising from the dirt at even placements. Ivy of a rich green color crawled up its side, curling into cracked window panes and sinking into the divots between boards. The building’s roof consisted of swooping curves and shallow angles, looking quite interesting to the young slime. Not that it knew anything about aesthetics, of course.

If not for its bad condition, it would’ve made a nice house for Avynne.

The thought stole into Miro’s mind and sat there, hunched away in a corner and hiding from the forefront of its mind. Barely aware of the seed that had just been planted, Miro rolled around the side of the building, looking for an entry point.

It found a hole in the ground right next to the building. Miro happily bounced right in, landing on top of a dead snake and a thick layer of much deader leaves. A shattered window marked the barrier between outdoors and indoors, and Miro promptly went in.

It was rancid.

Miro couldn’t think of an adequate word with which to describe the sheer reek that emanated from the sludge oozing across the floor. It almost seemed alive, sliding and squelching beneath Miro as it tried to avoid touching it as much as possible. The stench alone was enough to make Miro nearly reconsider entering through the lower floor.

That was before the sludge moved.

Shifting over to one side and pulling away from under Miro’s gel, the ooze building up into a gooey mass. Small animal bones and bits of fabric and rotten fruit became visible as it continued to grow, looming over Miro.

Miro slowly backed towards the staircase on the other end of the room, surreptitiously distancing itself from the thick liquid as it congealed.

A series of small orbs rose from the base of the swampy sludge, slowly floating upward and pivoting. Miro stared at them, trying to figure out what they were, before realizing the rather unfortunate truth.

They were eyeballs.

None of them were the same kind, and most of them were in… a bad condition, to put it gently. One relatively fresh eye looked like it’d come from the snake just outside, and they swiveled on every axis as it looked at Miro.

Miro screamed shrilly, rolling backward awkwardly as it tried to escape the living sludge. Sliding on the slick floor, it gained strength underneath itself and bounced up the ruined staircase, straight through the gaping hole where the door had been.

Skipping across the wooden boards, Miro came to a sloppy stop in a soggy heap on the ground. The tension that had shocked it into action slowly drained away, and it deflated with a noisy wheeze.

What had that been?!

Picking itself up, Miro warily peered down the entrance at the dark space beneath. It could see the ground, slowly settling as the eyeballs scattered to the corners and hiding behind corners. In mere moments, it looked as though nothing were there. The stench still hung in the air, and Miro shook itself.

The distinct scent of heat approached Miro from behind, and it turned around to find Fime cautiously coming up to it. The small fire slime opened its mouth in a tiny O, tasting the air, and immediately perked up.

Rolling right up to Miro, Fime gave it a happy chirp and amiably rubbed its side. Miro nudged it in reply, the innate knowledge of what passed for a language between slimes coming as a comfort to it.

Fime checked the gaping maw of a doorway, peeking past Miro, and shivered. Spinning on its axis and leaving a considerable scorch mark, Fime rolled off along the short hallway, heading for the massive empty space Miro had seen earlier.

Miro followed it, giving one final glance back at the silent lower floor. It vibrated, trying to shake off the worry.

The gigantic room was occupied once again, and although the star-coated purple slime was nowhere to be seen, the colorless one with a black point at its center was present. A large number of other slimes were flopped on various surfaces.

Miro could hear the noiseless conversations of sent tastes and scents in the room pause as Fime led it in, and the slimes turned to look at it. Miro shrank back for a moment, and then continued forward.

The transparent slime’s black point suddenly expanded, bleeding shadow into every part of it, and then the world went dark. Miro screeched, but the sound was swallowed by the shadows.

A white indent appeared in front of Miro, and then a second. They were far too large and far too widely spaced to belong to the transparent slime. There was no way that the room could hold a slime that large.

Miro tasted an intense sharpness and sour uncertainty float near it, infusing the tasteless air with its flavor.It emanated from what felt like a truly enormous source, once again far too large to be the shadowy slime. Breathing it in, Miro simply tasted it, thinking the texture and sensations through.

After a few seconds, Miro did what felt right and Tasted the void.

The shadows immediately retreated back, the world coloring itself back in as the transparent slime bounced back onto its perch atop a cabinet. Turning, it released a bass-filled chirp that made Miro’s gel rumble, and then folded in on itself until the black point was all that remained, and even that disappeared after a few seconds.

All of the slimes stared at Miro, and it suddenly had the feeling it’d been tested somehow. What for, and whether or not it’d passed, it had no idea.

Fime cheerfully bumped into Miro, chirping loudly, and the other slimes slowly moved towards Miro. A symphony of smells flooded in, morphing and mixing until Miro couldn’t identify any of them.

Miro heard something, and then saw a piece of wood fall from the ceiling. It hit the floor with a bang, shattering the silence instantly.

A large number of slimes in every size and made from nearly every material Miro had ever seen looked up at the roof, where Avynne was watching wide-eyed.