The morning gently greeted Jaden with warm sunshine on his face. Stifling a yawn and squinting his eyes, he forced himself to sit up in the bed. When his eyes finally adjusted, he cast a glance out the window. I slept longer than intended. He stretched, working life into his limbs before jumping out of bed.

"Thank you Anya," he said as he took his shirt and pants from a vine. As he finished pulling his clothes on, a quarterstaff appeared next to the doorway leading to the street. So it's like that? Jaden sighed as he picked up the staff. He held the staff vertically in front of his body and braced for impact as he walked into the street. A strike came quickly and collided with the staff, pushing Jaden back into the room he just left; his arms went numb from the impact.

"Are you sure you want to do this Evan?" Jaden asked, "Stop blaming me for situations you put yourself in. And take a bath, I could smell you from a mile away."

"Shut it!" Evan ran into the room swinging his staff.

For his part, Jaden parried the blows as best he could. His tiny, undeveloped body was hindering his ability and it wasn't long before Evan's swings were starting to connect. Jaden ignored the numbness and pain in his arms and body as he frantically spun his staff in a defensive measure forcing Evan to back off when he took some hits to his head and arms. Jaden walked forward brandishing his staff like a spear. A series of quick and sharp thrusts in the chest, stomach and arms had winded and disarmed Evan.

"How...?" Evan looked at Jaden in disbelief.

"I could ask you the same thing." Jaden shrugged as he smacked Evan one final time pushing him back into the street and away from his staff, "How are you so weak? But then, that's not your fault is it... but your ancestors."

"They're your ancestors too," Evan countered as Jaden followed him into the empty street.

"Blame your father then," Jaden said cooly as he watched Evan warily, "at least there's some truth to that.  You should blame yourself too, but we both know you won't."

"This isn't over," Evan declared unphased from the truth in Jaden's words.

"Spare us both the hassle," Jaden sighed and shook his head as he really wasn't interested. He left his staff on a vine and walked away leaving Evan alone in the street. Evan struggled through the pain and forced his body to stand up.

Jaden walked leisurely through the city, making his way toward the baths.  He winced as he was tackled from behind and squeezed as though he was caught in a vice grip.  "Good morning Emily," he forced in a pained voice.

"You're hurt?" Emily asked as she released him immediately.

"Nothing to worry about really." Jaden replied lightly.

"Evan?" Emily frowned as she turned him around so she could look at him proper.  His face had some bruises that were starting to become visible.

"Don't concern yourself over this." Jaden smiled, "It's just a phase he's going through."

Emily looked down at him and ruffled his hair trying to maintain her big sister image.

"...Emily, what was Evan like before I was born?" Jaden's piercing black eyes scanned her inquisitively.

"We played together every day.  He'd never hurt a fly." Emily paused as she remembered how patient Evan had always been with her.  "I almosh don't recognishe him any more."

"Almost?" Jaden probed.

Emily paused trying to find the right words, "He looksh the shame but what he shash and dosh aren't like him."

"That's interesting." Jaden stated and handed Emily the crown she had discarded previously.

"Jaden?" her eyes sparkled.

"I fixed it up as best I could," he replied sheepishly, "it's nothing compared to what you made originally, though."

"Thank you." she placed the crown on his head and giggled when he frowned, "It looksh good on you."  Emily danced around Jaden twirling her body as her good mood just couldn't be contained.  He gave in when she grabbed his hands, her boundless cheerfulness infected him and rather than shrug her off, he joined in her dance.  Jaden found himself staring at her beaming smile.  She really brightens the atmosphere.

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"I see, thanks for the information Anya." Vivian frowned as she prepared to take a bath.  Her body was drenched in sweat and completely sore from her early training practice.

[Quarterstaff(Intermediate)] improved to [Quarterstaff(Master)].

Vivian smiled at the notification from Sasha.  It's always nice to know when effort pays off.

I'm glad to see you're properly resting.

Letting the body rest is an important part of improving. Vivian replied as she finished folding her clothes and entered the bath.  The hot water felt good on her skin as the sweat and grime melted away.  She sat down in the water, a relaxed sigh of relief escaped her as she prepared to soak in the water for a while.

Vivian...

What is it Sasha? Vivian asked. Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?

I can't tell you what I don't know.

But, you do know something. Vivian retorted, Nevermind.  I just want to relax right now.  Vivian closed her mind and ignored the further prompts from Sasha until Vivian felt defeat emanating from within herself and a window displayed in her vision.

Jadendajuda:  Jaden

This child was conceived through improper use of an ancient ritual.  On a special day, at a specific time.  The ritual grasped far into the depths of the void.  An ancient soul of a destroyed 'god'.  Somehow detached from the reincarnation cycle this soul wandered aimlessly through the infinite void, while slowly deteriorating, until the appointed hour.

Before his destruction at the hands of beings from his own plane of existence he was able to create a race known as the Jadendajuda.  The purpose behind their origin remains unknown.  His death prevented him from passing his other creation APHAS, now known as Sasha, to the race.

Vivian closed her eyes as she relaxed and digested the information.  I knew from the prophecy he was a special existence... but our god?  Vivian shuddered as she realized her own position, mother to the god that created her people.

Sasha, what is your role in all this? Vivian broke her silence.

As my old name APHAS, the Apocalyptic Prevention and Host Augmentation System, suggests, I augment your race to prevent apocalyptic events.

"On what scale?" Vivian frowned, "The state of this city itself suggests at least one apocalypse happened already."

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

The Creator was vague in those details.  Speculation based on your growth pattern however, suggests something far worse than anything that has come before.  I'd go as far as to believe the true goal is actually hidden. 

Vivian's frown only deepened.  He saw the future or was he just preparing for the worst he could think of at the time?

Your guess is as good as mine.  Shall I answer based on a random number?

Is that supposed to be a joke? Vivian asked as she turned her attention on how relaxing the hot water felt. Keep trying I guess, everyone has to start somewhere. 

Sleep Resist(weak) improved to Sleep Resist(moderate)

What? Show me my status.

Name Vivian Title Matriarch of the Race Level 5(4) Health pool 40/40(20) Mana pool 20/20(8) Strength 8(6) Constitution 8(6) Dexterity 6(4) Agility 6(4) Wisdom 5(4) Intelligence 3(2) Willpower 10 Misc This host stands five feet(152 cm) tall and her tail is seven inches(17 cm) long.

High concentration of Dragon Leaf toxin detected. Skill List Survive, Anya's Blessing.  Sleep Resist(moderate).  Quarterstaff(Master)

"Anya?..." Vivian trailed off and passed out in the bath.  Her limp body slid completely under the water.  Vines burst forth from the building and one coiled hurriedly but gently around her, lifted her from the tainted bath water and laid her on a bed of soft moss.  Anya placed another sheet of cotton over her prone form.  The remainder of the vines dipped into the bath and drained it dry in under a minute.  Their task complete, the vines withdrew leaving the bath house empty with Vivian sound asleep.

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Isa was flying around the city border, just outside of Anya's reach.  She laughed silently to herself every time she caught sight of Typhan limping away.  Taking in a deep breath of the cool air, she exhaled a sigh as she continued.  She looked down beneath her and dove through the canopy of trees.  She flew through the undergrowth as fast as her tiny form would allow, her eyes scanned quickly. The forest is too quiet.  Where have all the animals gone...?  There's only a few reasons I can think of why the animals would vanish like this.

Isa landed lightly and perched herself on a tree branch.  Putting her wings forward, she inhaled sharply.  The next instant, her wings were thrown behind her back as she made her presense known; giving vent to a shrill and thunderous territorial screech that echoed for miles through the forest.  She stood perched unmoving, listening, watching, waiting.  She sensed it, her eyes narrowed as she flapped her wings once, lifting herself bodily off the branch and into the air.  The next instant she shot forward through the forest like a bat out of hell.

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Molli and Bayne were sitting side by side.  They worked together preparing breakfast out of fruits and vegetables, which they had harvested while tending the plants Anya had sprouted throughout the city.  They politely praised and thanked Anya for the bounty they received, as they had done every day for the past two weeks.

"I'm still amazed how easily Matriarch destroyed one of these," Bayne commented as he picked up a gaulm and his nearly broken axe.  Holding the axe carefully, he hit the back end of it repeatedly with a wooden mallet as hard as he could to pierce the outer shell.  Molli simply nodded in response as she busied herself with the easier to prepare vegetables.  

"How's your foot?" she looked over at him with a smirk.

"...You're not going to let me live that down are you?" Bayne asked in response, but he was grateful for every word she said, since she rarely spoke, then he sighed as he answered "I think I have a broken bone or two."

Molli frowned and shook her head as she returned to her task of preparing breakfast.  "Fool."

"I wish I could argue but you're right," he replied as he hit the gaulm a final time and it split in half.  Molli looked at him as though she were reappraising him.

"Now if only I could get better at repairing my tools," he said as he looked over the axe he was using, "I always feel like I'm just barely not making it worse when I'm 'fixing' them."

"You can now," she said as she looked away.

"Why I couldn't before?  I didn't have your blessing?" he asked in frustration.

"There is that, and you've at last matured a little.  You have to acknowledge you've made a mistake to learn from it."  she replied as she looked at the axe in his hands.  She deftly took it away from him and easily broke the handle beyond repair.  "And stop repairing what you shouldn't, just make a new handle."

"Why didn't I think of that?" he asked as he retrieved the axe head from Molli.

"Fool." she said in response.

"It's not fair when you tell the truth." he sulked, which elicited something even rarer than speech, his wife giggled.

"There's finally hope for you." she stated and walked away carrying her half of the prepared breakfast, leaving Bayne with five more gaulm to crack open.

Bayne looked between the axe head and the five fruit.  "This will actually be easier now.  Thanks Molli."

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"Something good happen Molli?" Lulu asked from where she was seated at a table with a bunch of wooden objects placed haphazardly.

"No?" Molli asked in response.

"Then, what?  You're smiling." Lulu replied as she stood up and took what Molli was carrying.

"I am?" Molli touched her face in disbelief.

Lulu chuckled silently to herself as she placed their breakfast on the table.  "Where's the gaulm?"

"Bayne is still working on it," Molli replied.

Lulu nodded in understanding, "Maybe we should have asked Matriarch to prepare it instead?"

Molli's eyes sparkled briefly, "No, he needs to do this."

"Hm?" Lulu looked at Molli inquisitively.  She decided not to pry and set up a series of wooden bowls and started dividing equal portions into the bowls she just made.

"But you know.  I have to agree with Matriarch," Lulu started, "I wish we could just live peacefully."

"It's a dream to strive for, I can't deny that." Molli nodded in agreement.

Bayne entered the room carrying a bunch of split open gaulm fruits and a satisfied smile on his face.  Molli turned away to hide the smile he put on her face.

"It's nice to be able to eat gualm again." Lulu commented.

"Yeah, Matriarch is to thank for that." Bayne stated, "I don't think her goals are possible though."

"Nothing wrong with dreaming," Lulu sighed as the three of them worked to divide the gaulm into portions for everyone.

"Something wrong, Lulu?" Bayne asked, noticing she was frowning.

"Evan." she replied, "I didn't raise him to be like this."

"We're all to blame for his recent attitude." Bayne stated as he frowned.  "Only Emily has looked upon Matriarch and her child as family."

"Vivian and Jaden." Molli corrected, "If you want Evan's behavior to improve, first you must correct your own."

"..." the three of them fell silent as they absorbed the statement and they finished preparing breakfast.

Several minutes passed, the trio were just finishing up and Daryl rushed into the room.  "Evan's been beat up."

"And what of Jaden?" Bayne asked surprising Daryl.

"He's... got some mild bruises." Daryl replied.

"So Evan picked a fight and lost." Lulu sighed, "He's a special child, Evan should know that."

"If I may," Molli interrupted them, "What if Evan views Jaden as a threat to the family, to Emily?  I'm not saying this justifies his actions, but perhaps that explains them?  Daryl is an overprotective worrywart who goes to extreme lengths for protecting those he cares about.  Surely Evan as his child is trying to carry that torch?"

"That could be," Lulu frowned at Daryl, "we'll talk about this later, for now breakfast is ready."

Bayne walked into the street and whistled as he usually did to alert everyone the meal was ready.  Evan was the first to show up, he was limping but at least he'd cleaned up.  Bayne cast his eyes down the street catching sight of Emily and Jaden.  Emily waved energetically to her father, he smiled in response not that she could see from that far away.

"Is my mother inside?" Jaden asked when he was close enough to Bayne.

"Not yet," Bayne replied shaking his head.

"Isa?" Jaden questioned further.  Again Bayne shook his head.

Jaden listened to Anya impatiently.  Unconscious in the bath house?  Jaden took off in a sprint heading to the baths that he just came from.

Emily and Bayne looked at eachother.  Emily ran inside to let the others know something was wrong while Bayne tried to catch up to Jaden.

How is he so fast on those short legs? Bayne asked himself.

"Anya, why didn't you tell me sooner?  And how did this happen?" Jaden asked between breaths and fell silent after her response.  Anya doesn't know?

Jaden reached the bath house, took a deep breath and walked inside.  Bayne arrived minutes later and also took a deep breath as he considered the danger of walking inside.  He opted to wait at the door.

Inside, Jaden walked towards the makeshift bed his mother was laying on.  He looked around the room looking for any indication of what happened.  He took a look at the empty water basin.

"Where does the water come from?" Jaden seemingly asked himself, at least until Anya answered.  A vine grew along the ground revealing the location of the buried pipe.  Jaden ran outside, past Bayne and followed the vine around the side of the building and off into the forest.  He looked forward in the direction the vine was leading, ahead a flame burst into existence and disappeared just as suddenly.  So Isa already knew something was amiss.  Jaden watched the flames as he ran.  Isa isn't attacking... that flame, it's a distress call?

"Anya, Isa needs help.  If you know of any way to purge the toxin from my mother, do it... and give me a staff, I'm going to tail them."