When I returned to the mansion I had Sam to answer to. "What did Aed want?" She asked as she sat next to a cushion with our egg on it. The light played across it's surface like a surfer on the waves. One side was coated in crimson lines that danced like flames while the other bore lines of yellow that branched across it's surface like a tree. Both halves bore flecks of gold throughout their design that glittered in the sunlight. I gently knelt to the ground beside the cushion and touched its surface. "He... sigh... They need my help." I said as tiredness took my mind. I sank back on the floor as my mind tried to process everything that I had heard the night before.
"It would seem I need to ascend and offer help to the Gods where no other can. Something is coming... And not even the Gods can stop it."
I said rubbing my hand on my forehead.. This matter was a pain in the ass to think about. Sam's face turned even more serious as I lifted my hand and looked at her. Her eyes had a trace of fear as she glanced at the egg nervously. "Does this mean... that you have to go?" She said slowly as her lips persed against each other as though she was trying to keep tears at bay. I nodded slowly. "It would seem so my dear. If our foe takes this world I have no idea what it would do to you. That's why I have to go." I said as I slowly moved to crouch before her. "We just had our first born and already they are trying to steal you away! How can I hope to raise this child alone?" she said in frustration as tears finally began to fall. "What if something happens to you? How am I going to handle two bundles of energy when they ask what happened to you?"
I gently reached up and wiped a tear away with my index finger. She looked me in the eyes. Her face was the expression of anger and sadness. The true look of frustration. I gently cupped her cheek in my hand. "I will always come back. Even if Hell was my destination. I would conquer it to come home to you." I said as resolution filled my heart and my eyes gained a strength to them. I stood and looked out the window into the sky. I pulled out the shard that Aed had given me and Sam caught a glimpse of it. "What is that?" She asked with a sniff. " I don't know but I'm going to find out. It has to be something interesting if Aed claims it can raise me to a power level similar to the gods." I responded as I held it to the light. In the sun it's color changed from black to that of dried blood. As I looked closer I noticed it. It was a metal shard coated in blood on part of it.
"What were you?" I said curiously. I twirled it in the air before I started toward the door. "Are you going to meet them now?" Sam asked. I turned my head so I could see her. "My dear. I'm going out to grow. I'll be back by nightfall." I said as I wandered out the door.
The sky was filled with dark clouds as the day wore on. I ended up going to the sea to find food. I needed to build up stock to grow from this piece. If I didn't I could die due to starvation caused by my body growing faster than I had food stores for. My eyes settled on a fishing boat with a net on it. The boat was worn and seemingly abandoned. I swooped down quickly catching the net in my clutches as I dove into the water letting it fill my gills. My eyes adjusted quickly and I soon found my prey. It was a group of Sandfish. Beings coated in rocky scales so rough they were compared to sand by many fishermen. They had sharp teeth sticking out of their lips like tusks. Sandfish are about the size of a toddler on a good day. These sucker's were the size of small babies. I slowed myself in the water making myself seemingly stand there and attempt invisibility. It was to no avail. I was quickly noticed and they swam away faster than I could cast any form of magic. I was surprised at their speed. I soon found myself chasing them like some predator eel on a hunt. They wove through the reefs and the rocks like they were water itself. And despite their size they were agile as anything and able to fit in the smallest of cracks like they had no skeleton. In what seemed like hours I hunted and swam. Only to find that my queries had escaped. I threw the net at the sea floor in frustration.
I told her I'd be home by nightfall. How would I get something and be back by nightfall if I couldn't catch anything. It was then a thought struck me. "Catch something without catching it..." I grabbed my net and set it about the reef in such a way it looked like just any ordinary garbage or lost item. Draped about the reef and rocks like a miss-cast and abandoned net. I swam to the bottom and did my best to hide and suppress my aura. Hours ticked by till I finally saw them. Droves of fish. Hundreds of them. Sandfish and others. Colors of the rainbow filled the waters as I hid in my darkened hole. I stiffened as I heard a hiss from behind me. I turned slightly to find a large eel floating behind me. "Well. Get out there you great buffoon." I said to it. It glared at me without moving. It and I had a staring contest. My temper was starting to get aggravated to the point I grabbed it and chucked it out into the fray of fish. I fumed and cussed at the thing for being so ridiculous. I then realized I had just had a staring contest with an eel. My face turned red at my foolishness as I sat in the cave and patiently waited for more fish to come by. It wasn't long till I saw what I wanted.
Just for information. Large groups of fish tend to draw large predators or large groups of predators. What I saw was incredible though. It was the size of a whale with large silver scales and razor sharp fins. A mouth covered in barnacles yet having large tusks jutting out of it. It had 10 large beady black eyes that seemed to scan everywhere in an instant. It was mere seconds after I saw it that a fog horn echoed through the water making my ears hurt with the vibrations. I covered them in a feeble attempt to stop the noise to no avail. My vision was starting to blur as finally the noise came to an end.
I glanced out of my hiding hole and found hundreds of fish floating belly up. Not a trace of life left in them as some had blood coming from their lips. The behemoth opened its mouth and a vacuum of water sucked all the dead fish away into it's gaping maw.
I held on to the coral reef with all my might so I wouldn't get sucked in. (I know I'm Apocalyptic Class but even this thing is making me shiver. What the hell is it?) I thought as my six arms held on for dear life. I prayed the coral wouldn't give out. This thing was stronger than me. Only a beast of higher class could almost make me pass out. The suction soon lessened till I could haul myself back into the hole I was originally in and cover myself in shadows. The beast loomed for a few moments before slowly swimming away to look for it's next meal. I peaked my head out to see not a single fish was left in the reef. Not a single beast for me to eat. I glared after the behemoth beast in anger as I started swimming the other direction. I once again made my way to land. I was not in any mood to deal with that monster. Though questions still entered my mind. (How could such a beast exist without ascending to godhood? Why was it there? Did it sense me when I entered?) These things twisted and spun through my mind in an annoying fashion. I found a couple deer fortunately. Crystal Horns the dwarves call them. The Horns are tasty when cooked in a blazing fire for an hour to soften them a bit. Then they taste a bit like pretzel sticks. The meat on the other hand is bland and tasteless. Like eating rocks or drinking water. You know you're eating something but it has no flavor to it.
I learned no skills but I had managed to get some food which was a good sign.
So I continued to walk homeward. The sun was Beggining to set before I finally decided to take flight. In the hours before I had found a rock hog ( basically a hedgehog covered in stone.), a Root Bird ( A bird/ tree hybrid that has leaves instead of feathers. They use sunlight for food like plants.), and a couple Shadow Wolves. ( Beasts that can manipulate the shadows to paralyze their prey.)
I ate it all greedily hoping that I was able to be able to stock up on some of the needed materials. The flight on the other hand was uneventful unfortunately. I arrived home shortly after dark to find the lights on with Sam laying upstairs in our bed. Our egg rested off to the side on a thick pillow. Sam laid down her book on astrology as I entered the door.
My clothes were now dry but I looked tired as I entered. She smiled a little. "It would seem someone found their hunt to be more troublesome than intended." She said with a light giggle.
I rolled my eyes in response. "My hunt turned into me almost being hunted."
Her eyes widened a bit. "Something hunted you? You! How is that possible?" She said as she sat up further with a wince. I pulled out a stool specially made for me for these past few months and sat.
"Turns out that creatures of higher class than I dont have to ascend into godhood. And that point was proven quite thoroughly today when I was almost swallowed by a multi-eyed whale." I said as a servant brought in a pitcher of water and a couple glasses. Sam's face turned serious as she sat there pressing her thumbs together nervously. "So... what does this mean?" She asked persing her lips like she knew she wasn't going to like the answer.
I sat back on the stool and took a deep breath. "I think the Gods need help but their pride is being temperamental. And on the side note of evolution I'm being pulled into an intergalactic war of some kind. And here I was just a Salamander a few years ago... Who would've thought." I said into the room.
I held up the shard again and wondered what it had belonged to before placing it before me on the side table. I stayed there on that stool till dawn and set out again. This time towards the mountains and hills.
The grounds were mostly barren and the mountains lacked any form of wildlife. (How could Kyle and Sam ever hunt anything out here?) I thought as I flew. It was as the sun met its highest point that I new why. The grounds shifted as small animals appeared out of there dens which had become to hot to stomach and there was a horde to hunt.