Chapter 167

"Desperation" is the most unique of fahvalo niches I have personally encountered, and the only one I have accepted personally as a representative of the Moonchildren. Though, fahvalo is such a rare title to bestow that I cannot think of any new fahvalo in my lifetime… perhaps it is time for the Moonchildren to allow more of our foes to ascend the rank to fahvalo. Or perhaps it is time for another great war. Either way, the Bloodsoaked Mother shall bathe in the most glorious rivers of lifeblood.

-From a recorded conversation between Bloodpriestess Ana of the Samutelia and the young Allmother

Even before I opened my eyes, the first thing that I noticed was that my tail and feet now reached beyond the reach of the furs where I had laid to rest. I opened my eyes and stood tall, the first thing I wanted to do being to evaluate about how much my body had changed with this evolution. Like every time I had evolved, I expected a not insignificant level of growth to my height, length, and weight. When I stretched my neck out to my fullest height… I realized I hadn't grown much taller. No, I had simply moved restlessly while evolving and then woken up in a different place on my bed.

I'd grown at most two inches, now solidly above six and a half feet tall. My body's shape hadn't changed at all, just grown a slight amount, nothing like my evolution to khatif. That said, I hadn't anticipated any such massive changes to myself, so I instead happily took my generally same body shape and size in stride. I wasn't the largest and strongest of the swarm, though, as Took remained growing more quickly than I and was the tallest and most physically impressive of my pack. All my packs, I forced myself to remember. 

I realized now that she truly was the largest member of the swarm, and I felt some measure of appreciation at realizing that the second keelish to follow me as a hatchling was now so powerful. For a brief moment, I considered what Oncli could have become, had he survived. Would he have developed magic? Would Treel have become a mother by now? Would any other number of the dozens and hundreds of keelish who'd died under my command have become new pillars of the swarm?

Not allowing such idealistic and foolish thoughts to ferment in my mind, instead I turned my attention to my new [Status].

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Sonic Khatif Swarm Alpha

Titles: Disciple of Nievtala

Killer of Redael

Current quests: 

-Hunt 5 new species. Reward will vary depending upon the evolutionary level of prey. Base reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +3. 

-Attain victory in political maneuvering over a foe with nearly equal social standing to yourself. Reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility, +3, Intelligence +8, Magic +5.

-Speak the entirety of the True Words of Power of Nievtala. Rewards: Upgrade to Title: Disciple of Nievtala; Acquisition of Skill: Voice of the Divine; Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +8.

Stats:

-Constitution: 92+2+6=100

-Strength: 105+2+5=112

-Agility: 102+4+5=111

-Intelligence: 98+3+4=105

-Magic: 113+0+3=116

Skills:

Adversary: 6/10

Combatant's Bloodlust: 1/4 (Imperial Bearing)

Conqueror's Rebuke: 1/5

Evolutionary Foresight (Cannot Evolve)

Evolutionary Exemplar (Cannot Evolve)

Exceptional Individual (Cannot Evolve)

Imperial Bearing (Cannot Evolve)

Improved Vision: 0/18

Innate Leadership (Cannot Evolve)

Pack Tactics: 5/10

Pain Tolerance (Cannot Evolve)

Fathomless Sonilphon: Unqualified, 0/2

-Crippling Cry: 0/5

-Debilitating Diatribe: 0/1

-Innervating Address: 0/1

-Nurturing Enunciation: 0/50

-Quaking Claw (Requirements Hidden)

True Dominance: 0/5

Evolutionary Possibilities

-Sonic Keel Zak'Tal: Speak the entirety of the True Words of Power of Nievtala. Progress: 0/1 Have a Swarm Leader level race. Completed.

Other evolutions possible, but not currently foreseen. Progress further, and such possibilities will be presented to you.]

I… was somewhat unimpressed, if I was entirely honest. Becoming the Alpha of the swarm only afforded me this meager growth? My evolution to khatif had provided more to me, I was sure. I couldn't remember the specifics, but they couldn't possibly have been as small as this. The evolution from keelish to khatif had required a significantly longer rest time for my body to adjust than the evolution to Swarm Alpha from Brood Alpha had, but even so! This was less than the fight against the humans had provided me, and less than–

The thought cut through my semi good-natured complaints. It was immediately obvious what the [System] was telling me, and I had heard it from various sources. "If you must choose, choose violence." The way of the keelish is the way of conflict and violence. The five blessings of Speaking Nievtala's Words of Power were power, zealotry, conquest, supremacy, and victory, so could I even begin to try to convince myself that the way I would grow was anything other than to take steps in one of those five directions?

Even so, while I inherently understood and began to agree with the path laid ahead of me as a khatif and then a Keel, I also could recognize that declaring war on every creature near me would end in only one way: my swarm and myself being put down like rabid beasts. Instead, I needed to exercise some level of restraint and begin to plan our mass exodus to the east, and the sooner the better. Quickly, I stepped into my bath and set the sands to vibrating with my magic as I quickly scrubbed the usual filth of battle and evolution from my body. I had been too preoccupied with my impending evolution and had neglected to bathe myself before my rest. While I hadn't been caked in gore, I found myself meticulously, if still hurriedly, scrubbing the flecks of dried blood and viscera from all over my body. Other than that, there wasn't anything new or interesting in my [Status]...

With a quick additional look through, I realized that my defeat of Redael did not count as political maneuvering, at least in regards to completing the [Quest]. Was I just too lacking in subtlety? It had been a rather simple challenge to the death, and then assuming control of the swarm. Then again, that was effectively how all power struggles functioned in keelish society, so was I not acting as I should have? The thought crossed my mind, and a part of me wondered if that was just the point–I was no longer just a keelish. I wasn't a mere beast with only the barest beginnings of intelligence, but a specimen of a creature, with stats effectively doubling those of a baseline adult human. I knew that the number I'd been give were just the typical stats for an adult human, just as 10s across the board were the baseline for keelish. We weren't anything like that, and I could assume that most humans were similar. I could continue to evolve though–

Wait. 

There was new information at the bottom of my potential evolutions. I hadn't paid it any mind before, since those options were rarely, if ever, updated. What was a Zak'Tal?