Chapter 97

Among those who have heard the New Empire speak and declare that they are restraining themselves, that they have become less aggressive, less destructive, and more considerate after the Great Ascension, there are many that cannot bring themselves to believe. After all, the Empire prides itself on its insuppressible infantry, their mutated mounts, and magnificent mages. Their people are built to be an engine of war, from the lowest unascended Kha shepherd to the Zaaktif, the Emperor himself, and they have never hidden that. How could such a tyranny be considered considerate?

Some speak of their fair laws, that while the punishments are draconian, the New Empire retains the safest territories in the continent. Others still speak of their schools, where foreigners can enter and learn aspects of history, magic, philosophy, and politics for a nominal fee and fair labor. I, however, speak only from experience, for I have seen and did experience what those who made the New Empire once were–and the scars from the Great Pilgrimage are yet seen in every facet and aspect of the environment from the Tuurlon Peaks to the Shandise. Yes, they have changed.

-From the first entry from the epistolary travel journal of Kayuktuk the Landlocked.

Looking at my [Status], I realized that each of my Stats had grown by at least one quarter. The comparative change in their values combined with the sheer number of Stats I'd gained was definitely the source of some of the feelings of change, though I also felt that the quality of my Stats had changed somewhat. I was excited as I realized that, with the exception of Magic, all my Stats were higher than those of a human. There were no plans to fight humans any time soon, and I was trying to remember to practice to try to speak in the language I remembered speaking in my past life, but the thought was still encouraging. After all, I'd not yet reached adulthood, nor had I spent even two moons as a keelish, yet I was so impressive already.

A notification from the Administrator through the [System] quickly tore me from my self-aggrandizement.

[The Administrator laughs and requests that you note that the base Stats of 50 for Constitution, Strength, Agility, and Intelligence are for the basic human. While most do not qualify for boosting Skills such as Exceptional Individual, very few humans actually fall near the base stats for the race, just as keelish are usually stronger than said base Stats.]

After forcing myself to focus, I finally began to get over myself. I should have long known that, but I supposed I had subconsciously set 50s as a goal to strive towards. Regardless, I couldn't say if my Stats were even comparable to Redael's, and setting aside the possibility for vengeance against Viilor, I needed to face the fact that, eventually, I would need to fight to protect the swarm from threats. 

I wasn't sure how I'd never truly thought of this, but the swarm's greatest enemies weren't wolfstags or terrorbirds. No, they would be people. With our numbers, I couldn't think of a single predator that could pose a threat to us collectively. Humans, though, would ambush, use their Callings, hunt, and eradicate us. They would bring Flamespeakers to burn the jungles around us, Wavespeakers to wash us away, Windspeakers to keep us from smelling them, Earthspeakers to enter our dens and slaughter our young. I enjoyed hunting, and I was now willing to admit that I enjoyed fighting Redael and Wisterl, in a certain way. While I knew the word, I couldn't understand war. Any conflicts the Viertaali tribe had with neighboring tribes occasionally ended in a few deaths, even a skirmish or two. But a war of extinction? Never.

Beyond that, the idea of a war as opposed to hunts against dangerous prey frightened me. We grew ever stronger, and there were some of us with magic, but we couldn't stand against a full tribe of Speakers. They would wipe us out to the last without remorse or hesitation, and they would celebrate over our burning den. I needed to remember that, while I might not wish violence upon humankind, they would feel no such hesitation towards me. Beyond that, why would my keelish hold themselves back from killing what would just be another potential prey to them?

Thus, I practiced my speaking every day, and would continue to do so in preparation for the day we inevitably came in contact with humans. Beyond that, what was this new [Skill]?

[Skill: Pain Tolerance; Passive Skill that allows the User to ignore pain to a certain degree. NOTE: The ability to ignore the feeling of discomfort does not allow for the Skill holder to ignore the repercussions of the damages sustained causing said pain. This Skill does not evolve.]

Maybe it could work in tandem with [Bloodlust]. Could be interesting, but I wasn't even sure if I wanted this [Skill], since I was only ignoring the discomfort I felt. If I disregarded important information my body was giving me… then I would be damaging myself, potentially beyond repair. I was amazingly lucky that my shoulder had finally healed with this evolution, and I certainly didn't want to get myself back into that situation again. I shook my head, hoping nothing would come of this new [Skill], and exited to the communal area.

There, it seemed that the hunting packs were beginning to ready themselves to set out. Took saw me, now once again taller than she was, and grunted. I felt my temper flare at the disrespect, and, before I could catch myself, I began to retort.

"What, you feeling short?" I tried to soften my tone as best as I could as the words left my mouth. "Small?"

Took, fortunately not realizing the somewhat mean intent to my questions, smiled faintly. "A little. I'll catch up though, I promise." Then, without speaking further, she led a pack out of the den. Shortly after, Treel bowed to me before guiding Foire and a couple others out for a different hunt. I had to fight to keep myself from following them out simply so that I could get out of the tunnels. The need to get outside where I could feel the wind in my face was new and strange to me. Until now, I'd never cared about being in the den or out in the open air, and somewhat preferred the den, given the safety it provided. But now, I wanted to escape, and that was uncomfortable. After all, this was my home. 

Regardless of if I wanted out or not, though, I needed to go find Rulac and ask him about the hunting options available, and if there was something we needed to know. After all, while we weren't quite as much as some days before, we still were finalizing our growth and needed to keep ourselves totally full.

And so, thinking on solutions to ensure my pack always had enough to eat, I walked into Rulac's den and stumbled in on him rutting.