Cooperation, and the sharing of knowledge lead the rational races out of the darkness and towards civilization. Having others to bounce ideas off of, or just help with a new perspective has always been a boon to the weaker races. Aväk's are one of the few species that take advantage of this as newborns. Swarm's are very tight nit and will lay down their lives to ensure that the eldest survive. They also have a blinding hunger that causes them to consume everything that they can. It is this very instinct that make swarms so dangerous. This instinct is a double edged sword for the outcasts of their race, the deväk. This, my friends is the reason that are not more deväk in the world, and why we find our little friend cover in the blood and guts of desecrator ants.
The Lost Woods were so much more than just woods. In the past, the term kingdom would have been apt. The entity in charge, the Woods as it's easiest to call her, had been a tyrant queen. This queen squandered the heights of her power, because she had more fun watching her things die then watching them grow and prosper. The Woods are still quite powerful, but they are no longer a queen. A queen needs subjects and hers were diminishing by the day. Well frankly, by the hour is more accurate.
The Lost Woods; elegant, pulsing with mystic energies, and mysterious. This combination made the Woods absolutely reeking of adventure. It is funny how adventure smells like mortal peril, but I digress. The trees, the leaves, even the ground seemed to vibrate with life. PIcturesque, if I had but one word to describe their outer beauty my friends that would be it. A captivating sight that could be enjoyed by anyone with eyes. Okay, so maybe not just eyes. They would probably require at least a quarter of a working brain.
So naturally our bug didn't notice a thing. While wandering, well stumbling is more apt with the bugs messed up anatomy. So while stumbling through the Lost Woods the infant deväk bumped into a patrol of the highly aggressive species known as desecrator ants.
In ages past this relatively small species of purple and black ants would use their corrosive venom to wipe whole settlements off the map. Many highly ranked and leveled adventurers came together to fight against the desecration, but they were never able to fully eradicating them. However, they did eventually end up seculding the bugs completely to the Lost Woods. You see dear friends, these specific ants need to eat a specific type of magical plant to use their specific venom. So eradicating the plants neutered the desecrator ants killing potential, and thus force them into the Lost Woods. The Lost Woods being the only place the plant still grew. As nobody wanted to go in there, and they would have probably had to kill the whole forest. Which most would agree is impossible, and a really dumb way to die.
Neither the deväk nor the five desecrators knew any of this, but being creatures of near pure instinct they were instantly at each other's throats. Both parties seeing the other as nothing more than food.
The ants screeched at the intruder spreading out to encircle the deväk, however our twisted bug used its misshapen, but powerful legs to pounce. Smashing into the lead ant, it began to tear into its foes chitin. Lacking the sharp claws of the auxiliary pair, the main arms began to punch and pull at the limbs of the ant. The auxiliary arms were currently jabing and trying to stab through the monsters plating. The ant was momentarily stunned by the sheer ferocity of the assault, but it wasn't long before it reared back. The ant opened its mouth to spit it's corrosive poison all over it attacker, but was interrupted when it suddenly had its arm ripped off. If this was anything other than an ant this would have been a debilitating injury, but being an ant has its advantages. However, such advantages didn't really factor in when something goes straight through your eye. The deväk stabbed it's claws through the ants simple eye and deep into what passed for its brain.
The four remaining ants were not deterred by this development. Since they were, well, ants, and they proceeded by launching an insync barrage of acid. This was only possible because the simple ants were all mentally linked. Expecting their prey to begin dissolving under their deluge, they moved in for the kill. The prey in question merely looked at itself and cocked its head in confusion. It didn't understand what had just happened, and it wondered if it had misread the situation. It didn't know what they had covered it in, and thought that it might have been food since it came from their mouths. If so, then was this them trying to nice and feed the starving deväk?
It was also warm and kind of tingling to the magical senses of its chitin. Neither aväk nor deväk had nerves in their chitin, but they did have enough magic in their chitin to almost feel stuff like normal skin. If they could feel normally like people do our little friend would probably be in quite a lot of pain. Thankfully the chitin magical, and repelled any serious damage.
Lucky our small bulbous friend decided that the ants were not trying to feed it. The deväk clued in when the ants started biting it all over. Not that this really did anything to it, again chitin. It wasn't full aväk chitin, but it was still roughly half as durable, which was more than enough to withstand the patrol ants mandibles.
Letting the ants continue was not high a priority. If it was on a list of things the deväk wanted to do, it would be near the bottom, if the bug even had a list to begin with. Which it didn't, so it began grabbing hold of the ants heads and trying to stab them through their purple glowing eyes. Which it thought of as their 'shiny soft bits'. It had learned early that the best way to get these annoyances to stop, was to aim for those bits.
Unfortunately, the ants were not very cooperative with their would-be brain surgeon, and did their best to get away from the slightly dripping deväk. Still two more ants fell to our bugs claws before the message, that they were outmatched, was received by the surviving two. Before the pair could flee with all due haste, their numbers were reduced to one. As their would be prey showed it's true colors as predator and it managed to force the slower ant to the ground. Forcing it's claws through a break in the chitin the deväk ripped the struggling ant's head clean off, covering itself in gore.
Seeing a bountiful meal in front of it eyes out insect didn't even consider chasing the escapee. Well it did consider it, but only because it wasn't sure it this bounty would fill its empty stomach completely. Just before it started to feast the little bug took the time to wipe off itself off. Being of an insectoid persuasion, having liquid on its shell was making it hard for it to breath. Like most insects the deväk didn't breath per se, its carapace was slightly porous and it pulled oxygen from the air without needing to inhale or exhale.
So being covered in liquid was a good way to suffocate.
After wiping itself off the deväk let both of it's marg-like tendrils free and tentatively took a bite, the marg's teeth and jaws easily pierced and crushed the chitin. It pulled off hunks of flesh with extreme ease. The deväk wished it used these in the fight earlier it would have gone so much faster, but its instincts had screamed that it was dangerous to be that exposed. However, It would definitely ignore those instincts if it made killing easier.
Finding the ants extremely tasty, the deväk began devouring them with gusto. It discovered that it still preferred the brain, but the meaty thorax was a close second. When it reached the poison sack it took a small bite and immediately regretted it. The poison's corrosive properties burned a hole in one of its mouths. Which is a lot better than having it injected, or accidentally ingesting it. They inject their poison into bigger targets killing them in seconds, which is the only real reason the deväk had done so well against the ants. Being the same size, and having a sturdy carapace saved the young deväk. It was like a rock, while the ants were scissors.
Nearing the end of its feast something unexpected happened.
[Parasitical Growth
Consume those around you grow. Strengthen your tries to your lineage, gain traits and stabilize genetic flaws by consuming within your gene pools.]
[Desecrator Ants, added to arthropod gene pool.]
Learning from earlier mistakes our little bug didn't run at the sight of the windows this time. Instead it relaxed and the messages pop with in its mind, and now understood that this would help it avoid the bad thing. Becoming reasonably more excited, the deväk focused on gene pools hoping to pull up another window.
[Gene pools. Parasitical Growth Progress
Arthropod Aväk 0/1, Des. Ant 4/1000
Mammalian Human 0/50
Morphis/Annelid Marg 0/100]
This one stalled the deväk's excitement just a bit because there was a lot that it didn't understand. It knew that three categories represented what it was, and they were what it had eaten as a larvae. It had no idea what the names in the categories meant, but it felt unimportant right not. It was also rather let down at the amount it needed to eat before it wasn't in trouble of expiring anymore. The deväk didn't know what numbers were, but it understood one hundred to be a lot and one thousand to be a lot of lots.
[Congratulations, combat level increases to 2. Attributes increases; Agi +2, Dex +2, Per +1.]
Not understanding pretty much anything that prompt had relayed, our bug was stumped. Its body didn't change in any significant way at all. On a fundamental level attributes were just a type of energy that could enhance the user beyond physical means, while changing nothing about the user. These attributes could make up for a weakness in one's physical stature. So our little bug, who was twisted and mangled beyond belief was almost constantly using all of its attributes to keep going. Almost all living things had at least ten percent in all physical modifiers, while our bug had next to nothing.
The fledgling deväk sat in the grass digesting its food blissfully unaware of how bad the situation was, and wishing it had chased after the escapee. More food would have been extremely nice right now, but the bug decided to let it go. Just relaxing, the bug suddenly noticed that there was a pulling in it head off in the direction that the ant fled in. Not realizing that this was a facet of its ability, parasitical growth, the deväk tried let the pulling sensation fade, but it was quite insistent. Finishing its mid morning meal, and not possessing the brain power to think of why this might be a bad idea it started walking in the direction of the pulling.
Our deväk followed the pull for about thirty minutes. Which for a creature just about four centimeters tall, wasn't as far as it sounds. However, at the end of the thirty minutes our young deväk came across a clearing a few meters wide that gives a very clear example of why these ants were called desecrators. The ground was black and dead looking, the trees bordering the clearing were sickly and dying, and what looked like the nest in the middle of the clearing was just a pile of assorted and decomposing meats. A line of ants the size of field mice were putting more meat on the pile in fist sized chunks. While flying variants with big stingers were guarding them, and the rest of the clearing. The deväk process this and came to the conclusion that its previous meal was just a light snack compared to the feast it was about to enjoy.
Putting no more thought into it than that, the intrepped deväk rushed into the clearing. Looking to sink its claws into something, and it found it almost immediately. A returning party of five scouts intercepted the deväk before it could make any real progress, delaying it and alerting the swarm to its presence. These scouts didn't make the mistake of trying to deluge the intruder with poison, since the queen had already warned all her subject of the threat should any stumble across it in the Woods. They were informed that the small black beetle that walk on two legs should be avoided at all cost because it was a bane to their existence. Well not exactly in these words the desecrators didn't have language. Their queen just relayed the images from the surviving scout. Instead of running the scouts tried to use their disproportionate strength to hold our deväk still, so that the flyer could deal with it. Unfortunately for the scouts that only made them slightly easier targets.
As the intruder, our little deväk, was striking the third ant in the brain the flyers finally began to show up. Two came in from behind and tried to lift the deväk off the ground. Only to find that it was much too heavy to fly with. The deväk's marg tendrils wrapped up each of the flyers and squeezed, and unsurprisingly the ants were crushed under the superior strength of the marg.It finished off the last two scouts holding it, raising the deväk's total kill count by seven in less than thirty seconds.
So you see my dear friends, even though our deväk wasn't a perfect blend of it genetic parents, at least not yet, it was still extremely potent. It's body had been altered very selectively, at random, which is what caused it such instabilities. The gene's the marg had bestowed upon it were only applied to its tendrils. Making the tendrils ropes of pure shapeshifter muscle almost as potent as the real thing. However, if the deväk was to survive it would need a more than an even blending of its gene's. It would also need a wider selection of genes. Deep in the very core of deväk some sleeping forgotten monster instinct cried out. Desiring to become the very apex of all life, to devour all and become a world eater.
It was this very instinct that the aväk had suppressed, believing they already reached the peak. But our bug would show them different. Our bug, the mangled little fighter would show everyone what it was to reach the apex. For now though, our bug still had an ant colony to destroy.
The near infant was usually potent in combat. The combination aväk, human, and marg began to develop a propensity for extreme violence. Plus the monster instincts of our deväk pressured our bug into taking no mercy, but not those of the aväk. No this time it was those of the marg. Margs loved combat almost as much as they loved human flesh, and our bug took after them. Ripping, tearing, and eating its way through hundreds upon hundreds of desecrator ants, in the most brutal ways possible.
The deväk didn't even bother to out right kill it opponents. Leaving them severely maimed, fully finishing off an opponent would take too much time. Instead it would just make sure that they wouldn't be able to get up again before moving on. Only letting the lucky ones dies from their injuries, all the rest were left bleeding in the dirt. Everytime the deväk began to tire it would just consume the defeated ant closest to itself, due to its aväk metabolism and unstable condition, it could recoup its lost strength in under a minute with all the food around. It was also getting bigger.
After an hour of near senseless slaughter, the deväk began to have trouble. It had long ago disabled all the flyers, and most of the scouts had fled to protect the queen. All that was left outside were the tank-like drones. All of which had extremely thick chitin, and were blocking entry into the hive. Our ferocious little bug needed some way to pierce the chitin, and since they had no eyes as far as the deväk could see, it was stumped. So it did what it was best at and began to feast hoping that something lucky, like the pulling, would happen again. It ate and ate, and ate some more, but this time the deväk remained stumped. It had just decided that it wait out the drones when a message popped up.
[Congratulation, combat level increases to 4. Attributes increases; Str +4, Dex +2, Per +1, End +7, and Con +4. Physical modifiers increases; Str +2.0%, Dex +0.8%, Mnt +0.9, End +8.7%, and Con +7.0%.]
Our deväk still wasn't exactly sure what all that meant, but it felt good to level up. Plus having more of something was a good thing, right? Well at least in it's mind it was. So deciding to be pleased with this almost monster relished in its slightly increased strength. Thanks to all the eating the new stats flowed into its increased stature of five centimeters.The chitin that covered our bug ever so subtly shifting. When the bug gained another centimeter or two gaps would begin to appear. This wasn't normal how it worked for bugs, but the deväk was different. Our little bugs chitin acted as an outer layer of skin instead of an exoskeleton. Unfortunately, even with its power up it still didn't think that it was strong enough to pierce those drones, but it did remember something.
Something that it hadn't ever tried before, its minor shapeshift ability.
While snacking some more, since the level up had made more room in its stomach, the deväk held out the tendril that had a hole it the mouth. It began to push and pull its flesh back together. At least it tried to, but shapeshifting was harder than one might think. Still eating the deväk closed its eyes and began to think about its tendril that was still whole, then it imagined the injured one becoming whole. Still nothing. So it tired to let its instincts guide it.
Its tendrils felt weirdly more distinct in it's mind's eye, almost like every single cell could move individually. Trying to spread them out, the flesh on it tendril suddenly began writhe. Knitting its flesh back together the deväk tried to take it a step further and it imagined the teeth growing bigger and becoming spear like. Which kind of worked, it had focused too much on the shape of the needle teeth, and instead a multi-pointed ampendage, it was left with a fleshy tooth tip spear. Which really wasn't a bad thing at all, although my friends, because of this initial failure our bug would develop a lifelong love for spears.
Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself.
The deväk finished his fourth meal of the morning and shifted the tendril that was a mouth into a second spear. It approached the nearest drone a bit cautiously before plunging both of its makeshift spear points into the side of the drones head. Sinking in like a knife through butter, the deväk almost jumped with glee, so happy that it could continue its slaughter. Our deväk methodically butchered all the drone, and even fended off a few scout patrols that were sent out in a vain attempt to stop it. It had long ago lost track of its total kills, but that really didn't matter to it all that much. All it really wanted to do was eat and fight, and these weaklings were perfect for it. That, and gaining levels.
For some reason the deväk it had a very strong urge to gain as many levels as possible. This was one of the few gifts that Leon had left the deväk, it was much like its aväk instincts that told it devour, and its marg side love for combat. Leon had given the deväk a lust for leveling. Which is why it continued to storm the nest long after it was full.
Contrary to the mound of flesh on the outside, the actual nest went a few meters underground, and fortunately for the stuffed deväk it had two things going for it. Firstly its aväk heritage gave it excellent dark vision, and secondly it only had to take a bite of each corpse in order for its ability to progress towards a thousand. Which meant that it didn't have to gorge itself trying to eat ever scrape. Unfortunately, it was only at three hundred thirty seven, which it thought of as three lots and a bit, but it was nowhere near its goal when it stumbled upon the queen desecrator.
A combination of the thick plating of the drones, the buzzing wings of the flyer, and it was twice the size of a normal scout. This added up to one pissed off purple and black striped bug they rest obeyed. It was definitely their queen. The ant looked distinctly more humanoid than the rest of its kin, flying upright and looking like it had four arms and two legs. Instead of just having six legs, they even had three fingers or toes respectively. Kind of like if you took a pixie and gave it the shell of insect. The deväk leveled its spear-tendrils at the queen, expecting a quick fight it rushed in only to find that it missed the queen completely, and the queen had kicked it across the face. Not wanting to be crushed to death the queen flew out reach. The kick didn't really inflict any damage to the deväk, it only managed to piss the deväk off. The queen didn't have a chance of beating this monster, since it was immune to its greatest weapon. Plus the nearly defeates queen wasn't nearly strong enough to do any actual damage. So the best she could hope for was to piss off the deväk until it got tired and left.
Our young deväk however, wasn't getting enraged like the queen had wanted. No my dear friends our young deväk was actually beginning to enjoy itself, because it finally had a challenge. Something that wouldn't crumble before it like a sand castle to the deväk's wave. So our deväk kept attacking, undeterred trying to pull the queen out of the air. Slowly it began to dodge the kicks, and notice the queen had a peculiar habit. No matter where it moved the queen always tried to stay between the deväk and the far wall.
Not fearing the slippery queen, the deväk rushed the far wall, and the queen reacted. An odd screeching rung out in the deväk's head, but sometimes having a less than stellar mental capacity was useful, and the psychic attack was shrugged off. Without knowing what else to do the queen rushed to pull the deväk out of the way, or maybe try to get in front of it. Unlucky for the queen, this is exactly what the said deväk wanted and it proceeded to stab the queen repeatedly in the chest, while ripping one of her wings off with its arms. Panicking, in death throes the queen acted off instinct and used the primary weapon of desolator ants. Spitting up corrosive poison all over the deväk the queen expired, and the deväk was thrust into blinding agony.