Chapter 2: Something, honestly I don't have a clue

"You will wish to know why I am dying one day. It is called a loss of control, the death of your mother left too grievous a wound. It is infected and soon I will turn into a monster. I can feel it's darkness, the cold apathy, and need for bloodshed held in all beyonders. Remember my son there are no gods, only demons in their guise." 

The Artisan opened his eyes, and saw the world in a new light. The light of progress, he saw it and instinctively he understood something. He was not sure what, but all that knowledge form the tens of thousands of tutorial videos was comprehended. With a single thought he knew it, he understood how a computer actually worked and understood all the code he had ever written and read. Before they had been half moon runes and half basic logic, now they were simply another way of thinking about the world. 

He remembered cars, and how they work. Remembered every conversation he had with his father, and elder cousin who is a mechanic. Was a mechanic he supposed, though he wasn't sure if he even was from the Pre-Epoch or just some alternate earth. Crowly actually understood the few blueprints he had given enough of a fuck about to google. 

He had gone through a DIY gun phase, god he missed Texas. If before he was a hobbyist now he was a master craftsman, a literally supernaturally good craftsman. An Artisan, what he made would be art. True great magnificent deadly art! 

Giggles broke the silence of the room as he thought of the guns he would make. Trenchsweepers and Kalashnakovs, rifles, and revolvers. He actually understood what all those primitive life youtubers were doing, and felt an itch to do the same. Crowly knew how easily he could make a little furnace he could start to work iron in.

The few dozen iron rocks he had noticed and collected seemed like the finest gems, a metal knife, metal arrowheads, metal needles, metal fishing hooks, metal traps. Then his thoughts strayed to how poorly he had skinned that animal, oh he was going to have to do some work for it to be presentable. 

By this time next month he would have a leather long coat at least capable of blocking arrows. Some of the mothers could be boots instead of a blanket, and he can use that cool white wood! He was half sure that it was spiritual material before eating his father's characteristics. Now that he is an artisan Crowly's sure it is.

That was soft wood with the quality of absorbing and enhancing dawn's light. He could create soles for his shoes with the wood that when clacked together started glowing with their stored light! So he could explore the darker caves without having to carry a torch! Somewhere in the woods another Crowley skulked through the underbrush. 

One arrow drawn he opened his senses to the forest and waited.

Soon, something would come soon. He gaped as a curly haired baboon lept through the underbrush with a scream. A single giant turd in his hand as another baboon flung shit over a bush, the shit curving in flight to smash into the other baboon's head. Silently Crowley lowered the arrow and stepped back. 

 "CRACK!" The twig shattered, and the baboons turned to him. Their butts shining a brilliant crimson, and the hairs across their body vibrating with glee. Instinctively Crowly ran back home, that thought was corrupted. Twisted from running back home to run away from home, so he ran deeper into the forest like the devil was on his heels. 

They were. 

Shit flew and he lept out of the way with a scream, back in the cabin Crowley shook his head. Traps, he could set up traps. . . then he had a stupid idea. 

Yolo. 

Slowly he prepared the ritual grounds. 5 minutes, the future hunter thought frantically. The other body needed 5 fucking minutes, god if he was hit with shit he was going to kill those fucking monkeys. One screamed as something warm smashed against the back of his head, with a roar Crowley sprinted twice as fast. 

Feet throwing him through the forest, he shuddered at the fucking smell! These animals died. Those baboons the Artisan quickly ascertained were likely a main ingredient for a baron of corruption. That could be made into something great, he might even be able to replicate their Distortion ability. 

The hunter lept into a pond and ran a hand through his hair before diving out of the path of another projectile. He got the shit out of his hair, but when he was away from the water more came. This only cemented his determination.

"I!" Crowly declared.

"I SUMMON IN MY NAME THE CREATURE THAT WALKS ABOUT THE UNFOUNDED!"

Crowley drew an arrow and spun sending it flying towards one of the baboons before he turned and started running towards his home. 

"THE WARRIOR BEAST WILLING TO FIGHT BY THE SIDE OF AN ARTISAN!" He shouted into the spirit realm declaring his intentions. Crowley wanted something to fight by his side, something he could arm with sealed artifacts. 

"THE FRIENDLY BEING WILLING TO BE BEFRIENDED!" He felt a tug on his spirituality, and knew this was probably a bad idea. . . but he had always wanted a ghost army. Worst case he runs the baboons and spirit into each other and stops supplying spirituality before waiting for the creature to burn out. 

From the spirit world walked a wolf pup, it was large for it's age but still clearly in it's youth. Strong in spirit, and with a fire in his eyes Crowley dropped to one knee and put a hand forward, a smile on his face. There was a yip before the dog was licking his hand, then it was biting him. No no, he calmed himself, this wasn't an attack. 

It was just a puppy nipping it's new friend, he drew the creature into a hug and started cooing. The hunter screamed as shit landed infront of his foot and he slipped in it. He landed face first with a crash before he groaned. 

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA" The curly haired baboons cackled as he ran a hand through the good boy's fur. Large, immense physical strength, Hunter or Warrior Crowley mused. Well he could be wrong, but as an appraiser he rarely was. Slowly he asked the buddy, "Hey boy wanna go hunting?"

The affirmative bark warmed his lonely soul. That Crowley then grabbed one of the various weapons through the shack. There was a spear leaned up against one wall tipped with a sharpened bone, and in another there was an unstrung bow. As he grabbed the spear Crowly sighed, why couldn't the other body just have waited?

Then he wouldn't have to go out and fight right after fucking waking up. Instead he could be doing something creative. Still as an Archeologist he had enhanced physical parameters, and could feel it. He felt as strong as an ox, and his sharp eyes saw his other body sprinting nearly a mile away covered in shit. 

Chuckling under his breath, thank god that was not him. 

"Hey buddy, there are two curly haired monkeys over there, they're chasing our friend!" So he charged his new friend at his heels. God he got lucky, that was honestly a fucking stupid idea. 

—

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" each stupid was paired with a slap by the artisan. They were one singular entity, but god his other body was fucking stupid! Whisperes echoed in his ears, and he just wanted to kill kill kill the bastard that angered those fucking baboons. He ignored them and started to cogitate.

They had already taken baths, and collected everything of value from the baboons. The good boy was rewarded with double the LOVE and sent back home to the spirit realm with a belly full of bear meat. Such a good boy! Silently the Artisan stepped away from his other body, and then stopped.

"This is fucking annoying isn't it?" The future hunter said, and the artisan agreed, "God fuck yes it is!"

They both thought for a moment before the hunter sighed, "I guess I'm not going to be Crowley anymore."

"Crowley" shook his head too, "No, WE are Crowley. My name will be. . ." 

The artisan took a good minute to think before deciding, "Leonardo Belial, after Leonardo Davinci." 

The hunter rolled his eyes, "Alexander after The Great." He would be a conqueror and who better to imitate than the king of conquerors himself. To be a legend, so bright and warm. Alexander would be the symbol in the hearts of his people, with the greatest legions this land has ever seen. Friend to fight and laugh alongside, people who he could kill for and would for him in turn. 

In short Alexander wanted friends. 

 Leonardo placed a hand on Alex's back, and said "A king must be greedier than anyone. He must laugh more loudly and rage for much longer, and hold the greatest love. He must be more magnificent and feel more keenly than any other."

Both bodies were at first glance the same, but in the eyes of Alexander a fire was lit. Then he stepped forward and spread his shoulders wide before declaring, "The king does not follow the path to the future. It is the path which this king walks that becomes the future,"

Leonardo laughed in his face, it was so fucking comical. A five year old shirtless boy who was covered in shit not two minutes prior declaring the future as his with a confident grin. Leonardo just rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, but first you're helping me set up the furnace."

"D-do I have to?" Alexander pleaded, "Can't I just hunt for dinner?"

Leonardo simply scoffed and pointed at the bear meat slowly cooking over the fire. Alex slumped and sighed, "Fiiiiine."

—

With Alexander collecting clay from the nearby stream Leonardo started to work. First he grabbed one of the bear bones, and broke it gently to act similar to a spade. Raising it above his head he and smashed it down. 

This pushed the dirt to the side, he wiped it away and kept going until the hole was about four inches in diameter and eight deep. Then he made three more about two Leonardo's apart creating a large square with four holes at the corners. Done with that Leonardo grabbed the crudely made ax that he would certainly be replacing after this project. 

With a stone head and bound with string Leonardo wasn't the most confident, still it was enough to collect a few branches from the nearby trees. The sticks were about five feet long, and he collected nine of them. Alexander returned with the clay, dropping it onto the floor, and joined with the sticks. 

They worked in unison the skilled hands of an artisan binding the sticks together while Alexander placed four sticks in each hole, and patted them down with dirt to ensure stability. Connecting the four sticks with four more sticks Leonardo made a small framework. Discarding the last branch he followed Alexander to collect stones. 

Placing the stones in a line below the square frame he made a fire pit just inside the stick structure. Finished with that Alexander and Leonardo once again split into two groups. Leo threaded long leaves into roofing for the structure. All the while Alexander filled the campfire pit with dirt and smashed it down. Soon the first step was ready.

They had a large square area of flat packed ground with a small structure above it to block the rain. In the center of that square Alexander started digging a hole while Leonardo prepared the clay, and everything required to start a fire. When the pit was about a foot deep they made a fire within, and started building the clay furnace around it. 

The first layer was the easiest, and was quickly finished. Soon after Alexander started to snap the last branch into five equal pieces laid out across the first layer of slowly hardening clay. Atop the material that would start to burn within about a minute he started packing as a second layer of clay around it. 

Leonardo's inhumanly skilled hands guided the project until it looked less like a primitive furnace, and instead a show piece towards the ingenuity of previous generations. The kind of thing that could be stored in a museum, the air flow was almost perfect. As Alexander finished off the last layer Leonardo poked a small hole in the first, and stuck a hollowed out piece of wood inside it. 

Soon he would make a bellow out of a deer's bladder and connect it, Alexander stopped working and slacked like a fucking coward! Taking one sweet bite of bear flesh after another, he stared back at the sweating Leonardo with a grin. They had made something cool, and he loved it. 

All the while Leonardo was excited to make his first gun. . . though gunpowder was going to be hard. Then his eyes flashed with inspiration and he started to move. Alexander quickly grabbed the tails of both baboons, not the beyonder characteristic but a spiritually powerful material and passed it over. 

Leonardo on the other hand grabbed the first to be smelted piece of metal. He needed an anvil by the time this metal got red hot, and Alexander barley grumbled before moving.