Names and Depths
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I waited for my new varieties of bat to finish evolving before doing anything else. I was low on mana anyways, it didn't seem particularly an issue. Once the white light of evolution had finally faded, I directed the Dark and Sonic Bats to travel to the fourth floor, while the Vampiric Bat was to remain on the second. The darker floor would better aid the Vampiric Bat in setting up ambushes and the like, I had the feeling the relatively bright fourth floor wouldn't be ideal for the recently awakened creature.
With that finished however, I decided to summon up my own status, just to look it over.
Obsidian Dungeon Core [2] - Sybas
Names
Mana
Mana Regeneration
4 / 6
47 / 375
+7.5 / Hour
Evolutions
Born Namer, Floor Cycle,
Titles
Awakener,
Looking over my status, I couldn't help but be proud over how far I'd come. It wasn't that long ago that my Name slots were taken up by myself and Kyr, and my mana was at fifty. More than that, but with two evolutions and a title, my dungeon was only growing deeper and more powerful. What stood out to me however, was the Names I had available. I'd left one slot open for the Orthruan Serpent, but given how choosing it had been delayed yet again, and I had another free slot, I couldn't help but feel I had little reason to keep them open. With that decided, I almost went to begin the process before I remembered something. Kyr had become sapient, surely he would be able to offer advice!
I quickly found Kyr flying through the air of the fourth floor, the hesitance and awkwardness of his first flights nowhere to be found. Kyr's serpentine form slid through the sky with ease and grace that seemed almost out of proportion for such a massive creature. After watching for a few minutes, I forged a mental connection between us. "Kyr, I have something I'd like to get your opinion on."
Kyr slowed to a halt in the sky, his brilliant wings slowly flapping and keeping him in place. His mental voice had a curious tone, "That is interesting. What is it, Sybas?"
"I have two Name slots open, two Names available to give out. I was wondering what creatures you would suggest I give them too."
Kyr's head tilted before he slowly began descending to a little nook in the wall that I'd seen him occupying a few times before. He hissed softly, almost thoughtfully, before answering. "Names... Something in me vibrates at the word, excited by the idea. It will increase their power?" He asked. I sent a feeling of affirmation, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts too much. "Hmm. The only one I can suggest would be the Drake-Kin. He fought well, and he is intelligent already. We may very well gain another thinking member should you Name him. I have found my greater intelligence to be nothing but a boon, surely another with such a gift would not go amiss?"
I considered what he had said for a few minutes, shifting my mind's eye to the Drake-Kin. He was sitting atop one of the pillars, using the sword-like spide he'd taken from the Ironstone Lasher to carve the Broodling's mandible into a better weapon. I had to admit, he'd fought surprisingly well before his evolution, with the added power and skill he should be among the more dangerous of my guardian's already. And just watching him carve the tough bone-like mandible into a weapon already displayed a greater intelligence than most. Only Leira and Huntress perhaps being more intelligent, with the obvious exception of Kyr. Leira and Huntress already had Names as well, making it all the more impressive.
After another few minutes observing the Drake-Kin, I decided I agreed with Kyr about him. He deserved a Name. But that still left me with the second name. I'd been saving it for the Orthruan Serpent, and admittedly, I didn't have any creatures that really stood out to me as especially deserving of Name in its place. Then again...
My attention shifted again, this time the manavision focused within my core room, focused on a small pool of almost frozen ice, and the egg that lay within. The Nascent Elemental Egg was able to affect my evolutions, while it remained just an egg. Even the strongest of my other creatures had to at least have been moving around and grown. Just how powerful would an elemental be? And could I come up with a reason not to Name it, and potentially accelerate both its hatching and maybe boost its power even further? In the end, I decided I could not come up with such a reason.
I formed a mental bridge to the Drake-Kin Warrior, making him pause what he was doing. As he started to wonder why I had connected to him, I began to push and press his Name to him. The mana flowed thickly around him, and his very being began to glow bright white. And he became, Nile, the Drake-Kin Champion.
A connection formed with the Nascent Elemental Egg, the frozen mana within barely responding. Again, I began to twist and weave a Name into existence, the egg wobbled ever so slightly for just a moment, the Name taking effect as the egg glowed. It became Halcyon, the Ice Elemental Egg.
My mind was tired, but satisfied as I watched the two glow brightly. The act of Naming seemed to take more out of me than even running out of mana would. Names had a special meaning to the Dungeon, and they had a special, almost indefinable power to them. I could see Leira, Kyr, and the Lightning Eagle all watching the Nile's Naming with almost an air of ritual to it. A sense of envy coming from the Lightning Eagle, and welcoming from Kyr and Leira. It was enough to make me wonder in perhaps I'd been underestimating just what a Name was.
Nonetheless, when the glow began to fade, I could take in the changes. Nile had grown even taller, from six feet and two inches, to six feet and seven inches. He had broadened, and his muscles had thickened. And yet, despite the increase in size and weight, he seemed to move faster and with even more grace than before. When he snatched up his makeshift sword and axe, he moved like flowing water. The weapons sung as they cut the air, moving with deadly force and efficiency. After a number of minutes fighting the empty air to reacquaint himself with his body, I felt his mind turn towards the connection between me and him. I felt a wave of thanks surge through the bond, gratitude and determination filling the connection. While he didn't become sapient, I could feel he was just on the edge of it. I was certain his next evolution would tip the scales.
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The Ice Elemental Egg had similarly powerful changes. Where before the egg was a mass of cold and frozen mana, it was now arctic. The mana within it was truly frozen through, not one tiny speck of it remained anything but ice mana. The cold was so great it wafted through the air and chilled the rest of my core room, plunging the temperature by a good few dozen degrees. More than that, the egg felt more... Alive. As if it had been dormant and was now awoken, it felt as though what it was before was nothing more than an errant rock, compared to the egg it was now. Somehow, I simply knew the egg would never have hatched as it was before, but it would now.
"I see you have taken my advice?" Kyr's mental voice startled me from my observations, not having realized I'd never severed the connection between us.
"Oh, uh, yes. Nile is a Drake-Kin Champion now, and he is just on the edge of sapience. I have no doubt the next evolution will do the trick." Kyr's head bobbed up and down before he hissed inquistively. I paused for a moment before I figured out what he was curious about, "I used the second Name on the Elemental Egg. Which turned out to be a good idea. I can tell it wasn't going to hatch before, but it will now."
Kyr sent a feeling of satisfaction, which made me chuckle. "Yes, it is quite nice to know we'll gain such an addition. And not too long from now, if I had to guess. The Name not only made the hatching easier, but seems to have sped it up slightly as well. I think..." My mental voice trailed off slightly, a small hint of uncertainty.
After a few moments of thought, I asked, "Actually, I know a few ways Names affect you all and some things about them, but you and the others treat them differently than I would expect. What exactly are Names to you all?"
Kyr cocked his head to the side before laying down fully. A few minutes passed as Kyr thought. I let him think, only taking a moment to direct an evolution for a few moments before refocusing. When he finally spoke again, it was with an odd tone in his mental voice, "Names are very important things to us." He paused for a number of seconds, clearly struggling to put the ideas into words.
"From the moment we are created, we are Monsters. We know it from our first breath, to our last. We are beings of change and of struggle. Whether it be how we learn to act changing, or even something as great as our evolution changing what we are, we are constantly changing, shifting, struggling." Kyr's voice was gaining in strength and confidence, "But a Name... It stabilizes us. It provides focus for what we are, who we are. No matter how we might change, we will still have our Name. We will still have ourselves."
I was struck silent for a number of minutes, the sudden eloquence of Kyr stunning me. His voice spoke again, quietly but firmly, "Names define who we are, and what we are. Without a Name, we are lesser. With a Name, we are greater.An evolution may increase our power more, but a Name will always be of greater importance to us. To have more Named join us, is something to be celebrated, always."
The bond between us was silent. After waiting a few minutes, I spoke softly, "Thank you, Kyr. For telling me. I'll try and always let you all know when I am going to give a Name, alright?"
Kyr's head rose from the ground, before dipping in a nod, "Thank you, Sybas. It is appreciated."
Slowly, and as gently as I could, I severed the connection between us, before lapsing into silent contemplation. I couldn't help but wonder what it was about Names I had missed? What part of them, what part of their nature, had slipped past me? I had certainly grown more powerful after my own name, but I hadn't felt much different? Or, had I? I had not spent much time before I'd named myself, had I? And unlike Kyr and the others, the world hadn't insisted I was a Monster, or some such. It had been relatively clear that I was a Dungeon Core. Was that the difference? Did Names work so differently between myself and Kyr because I was a Dungeon Core and he was... Apparently, a Monster?
My mind was caught on Kyr's words, unable to ignore them. I sank deep, deep into my manavision. My mind diffused, spread out, and reached every corner of my dungeon. A small portion of my mind watched each and every creature.
The birth of a Stone-Tailed Rat. The hunt of a Streamer Lamprey. The flow of dark mana from a Stonecloak Lasher. The webs spun by a Webdrop Spider. The powerful stingers of Kerberus Skorpions. The flight of Giant Bats. The constant battle of the Gladiator Skorpion. The languid movement of a Darkwater Shark. The graceful and deadly swaying tendrils of the Armordome Jellyfish. The slowly growing and enormous form of Huntress. The flashing light of the Golden Carp. The slithering of the Death Serpents. The wingbeat of the Lightning Eagle. The lazy elegance of Leira, the Gem-Claw Lynx. and the enormous output and shaping of mana, controlled by Kyr as he practiced his new abilities.
My mind watched it all. From their beginnings, to their ends. And they grew, hunted, and died. So deep within my mana sense, I could almost feel the weave of mana that had brought so many of my creatures to life, the way almost nonexistent amounts of mana pulsed through even the simplest glowmouth, to the most powerful Krakenling.
I watched, and I learned.
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The Outskirts of Merintol; Frontier City of the Deep Nation of Lossandrev
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Anteo glared back at the black marble walls of Merintol, the enchanted gates almost seeming to mock them. With an angry pull, he tightened the strap of his travel bag and glanced around himself. The small group of Drow numbered a hundred, at the most optimistic estimate. Half their number weren't even capable of fighting. At the depths they were at, that was close to a death sentence. Looking across the sea of scared and unsure faces, Anteo grimaced. If he'd just managed to be a little better at the Great Game...
But, he wasn't. And the incompetent fuckwad that was Lord Sylvestri, unfortunately was quite good at the Great Game. So much so, that when they'd competed for the governership of the city, Sylvestri managed to frame Anteo and his whole household of treason. Their only option beside execution, was exile.
Anteo shook his head, clearing the regrets and what ifs from his mind. Glancing around, he quickly found and climbed atop a small rock outcropping, "Everyone! Everyone, please listen!" The noise began to die down, the relatively small group turning to face him. "I am not going to lie to you. This is bad. We're in a bad situation, but there's very little we can do but try and work through it." Glancing across the small crowd, Anteo could pick out a few familiar faces. Morella, his head of household had a stern expression plastered across her face, listening even as she helped some of the less capable of the household. Hesperis, the head of the guard was organizing the forty or so fighters into a workable formation and duty shifts. And finally, Draetona, the single mage he'd managed to keep employed in his house. She had a blank expression, but the assistant beside her kept glancing between Anteo and her nervously.
Anteo cleared his throat, quieting what muttering had broken out, "I promise you this, I will do everything I can to ensure we get out of this situation. I never abandoned you before, and I won't now." Anteo grasped his weapons hilt in his offhand, trying to project an image of strength for them. At least a few of the less savvy members of the group looked reassured by the motion. "We're on the very outskirts of Drow territory, and the only ways back would be to go deeper. Ask any of the guards and fighters around, they'll tell you it's a bad idea."
Anteo waited for a moment, "We will barely be able to fight off what monsters and beasts we encounter at the level we are now. As I see it, our only option is to go up."
The group immediately broke into loud whispers and uncertain muttering. "Please! Please! I know, I know that the surface has never been good to our kind, I'm not suggesting we go there. All I'm suggesting is we go up until we find a good position to settle down. Stabilize for a little bit and come to a real decision as to what to do. You've all followed me before, all I ask is you trust me a little longer, please, just a little while longer?"
Slowly, the mutterings died off and people began tugging on their packs and bags. Hesperis nodded sharply to him, making Anteo wince at the confirmation that only roughly forty percent of their group was combat capable.
But no, no they would be okay. They would find a way, Anteo had to believe that. He had to. The other option was... Was unthinkable.
One of the guards stepped forward, a young man named Haldi in Anteo remembered right, "I guarded an explorer for a little while. I remember a few of the safer routes up. After a little while though, we'll just have to guess..."
Anteo smiled as reassuringly as he could, "That would be very helpful, thank you." Anteo made sure to draw attention to the exchange. It no doubt embarrassed the guard, but it also helped reassure the rest of the household. A worthwhile trade in Anteo's opinion. After letting everyone get ready, Anteo gestured to Haldi, "Lead on."
The young guard swallowed nervously, before he started walking down the tunnel. The small crowd began to slowly follow, giving Anteo enough time to glare at the black walls one more time.