"Knock… Knock."
Harnio looked down and scratched his hand. He took a step back from the attendant knocking on Eiken's door. He looked at the bottom of the door as it swung open. "Ahh. Harnio you're here… good, good."
"What do you request professor?"
"Thank you attendant, you can go back to your usual duties… Harnio come inside. There's someone I want you to meet… Or at least hear what they have to say."
Harnio nodded and followed Eiken into his office. He looked at his chair and sighed. "I'll stand here." He looked at the bookshelf and smiled. He heard Eiken move things around in the office and sat back down at his desk. "Harnio this is… Stan nir… Is that how you pronounce your name? I'm not good at using the ancient languages."
"That's good enough. Not many people are able to pronounce the old language. Fire eater is it's translation, so you can call me that as well."
Harnio nodded and waved a hand in greeting before scratching his arms and looking around the room. "Professor… Why am I here?"
"Because of what this gentleman found in the swamps…"
Harnio watched as Stannir pulled out several green batterys and placed them on Eiken's desk. Harnio sighed and shook his head. He turned and looked at the muscular arms of Stannir. "Youuu also fffound soul batteryssss?"
"Soul batterys?"
Harnio turned and faced the bookshelf calming himself with a long breath. "Professor should know what a soul battery is… They use death of people and entrapment of their soul or spirit to fuel a dead body or make someone very strong."
"Harnio I must admit,that when I saw these, I also thought of soul batterys, but, I hoped that I was wrong." He heard the professor tapping the soul batterys. "These are also slightly different to normal batterys."
Harnio nodded at the bookcase. "Let me guess. This Stan nir found them in a beast when he was attacked. The beast didn't have a heart, but was living because of the battery."
"Yes… That's right. How do you know that?"
"Hunter's have been attacked by these beasts in the forests, and they brought some in to the smith asking what they were."
"Snap… Crack…"
Harnio heard the chair that Stannir was sitting on started to break and he sighed. "Please that's my chair. I like that chair."
"Ahh sorry… Are you telling me there are more of these beasts?"
Harnio nodded. "Yes. It seems their ability to reproduce and evolve is something never seen before."
"Evolve?"
Harnio nodded, and pulled out a piece of parchment that was rolled up. "In my hand here is the drawing of what the hunters faced. If Stan nir drew what the beast looked like they're going to be different."
He walked to the table and placed the parchment on the table while looking at the floor. He took a step back. "Where did you find the beasts?"
"The swamplands. I had to escape through some tunnels I found."
Harnio turned and listened as Eiken opened the parchment and started at the drawing that Star had made. "You're right… Harnio we've got a big problem then."
"How to stop these beasts? If we keep fighting them, they'll just get stronger and evolve like you said."
Harnio looked at his broken chair and sighed. "Find the alphas and kill them, before the children become alphas and start reproducing."
"How do we find the alphas?"
Harnio shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I… don't… know."
"Do you think there's someone in the tower that made these?"
Harnio shook his head. "There's no knowledge of these books in the main library… The only one book is here in this office, in that bookcase."
Harnio pointed to the bookcase, and walked to it pulling out a large book placing it on Eiken's desk. He opened it and lowered his head as Eiken and the one called Fire eater took a step closer. "Pleaseee take a stepp away… Let mee finish then you cann see."
Harnio felt his face start heating up.
"Sorry…"
"Just breath Harnio. I know it's hard for you to do this."
Harnio nodded and took a deep breath. He continued flipping through the pages, until the picture and information of the soul battery was visible. "This is the only knowledge of these batterys here. As you can see the batterys that have been found are much more advanced. Someone has continued his research."
"Are you saying…"
Harnio nodded as he walked away from the book with his head down looking at his shoes while scratching his arms. He heard the footsteps approaching and looking at the book.
"Cough… Sorry I can't read, but the picture looks similar."
"That's fine. I'm sure those in the north focus more on fighting then they do with heads in books. Harnio you can read over in the corner if you like. I'll tell our guest about some of the tower's history."
Harnio nodded and picked up a book from the bookshelf and sat against it opening it and started to read. He looked at the top of the book watching the legs of Eiken.
"Stan nir… There was a researcher who was once a major power here in the tower during the shadow wars. He came up with the idea of producing a battery that could heal injuries especially those during the war… However, after many failed experiments in creating this battery, there was a failed experiment where his students were killed."
"I see… What happened to the experiments?"
"Unfortunately, it was the death of those students that made the battery become charged… It was named the soul battery, and when it was used on an injury not only did it heal the wounds including missing arms and legs. The wounded person became stronger."
"A worthy sacrifice."
"You would think so, however those that were healed, evolved and turned into something that was not themselves. They killed everything around them. It was then the batterys were destroyed and the professor's research was also destroyed."
"What happened to the professor who made those batterys?"
"He died at the hands of his own creation… He was one of the first artificers here at the tower."
"So, there's someone somewhere on Athlos that has somehow been able to create these batterys, but also improve on them, creating this horde of beasts."
Harnio closed the book and stood up putting the book back in the bookshelf. "Whoever made those batterys not only has skill, but to let them evolve while beasts are born through death is incredible."
"Harnio what do you mean?"
Harnio tapped the bookshelf in thought. "I don't think killing the alphas will solve this."
"Why? Just a moment ago you said that it would."
Harnio nodded. "Think about it… A beast will hunt and eat something, say a bird or other animal. That animal's spirit would then be trapped in the battery, which would mean that beast has the ability to give birth to another beast with the qualities of what it just ate."
"Hmmm… That's a good point."
"Are you saying, that if a beast kills and eats someone who has knowledge of fighting, they'd be able to give birth to a beast with that knowledge as well?"
Harnio nodded. "Something like that. For example, the beasts in the swamps were all on four legs, like the animals found there. The ones in the forest, some ran on four and others were on two legs."
He heard Eiken and Stannir curse. "They perfected his work from way back then and twisted it to make these beasts. This person wants to be a god I think. To create a race…"
'You mean a race of monsters and beasts, using us as fuel for their growth and evolution."
"…"
"Harnio, why would the alphas be important then?"
"Bang!"
Harnio headbutted the bookshelf and cursed. He covered his bleeding head with one of his hands and felt tears forming. 'I'm stupid… I didn't think of that…"
"What do you mean Harnio? Just relax. It's going to be okay. We'll figure it out."
Harnio shook his head. "That's not what I mean… I mean the alphas would be the ones controlling the pack of beasts… If the alphas die, then we have a chance to kill the beasts in one go… At least until another alpha pair was found among them."
"If we remove the alphas, then won't the beasts just go crazy and attack anything they saw?"
Harnio smiled and nodded, he felt blood trickle down his face, and wiped it with his sleeve. He looked at his now bloody hand. "They would also attack each other to become the alpha…"
"So, until we find the alphas, we need to kill every single beast that we find."
"That sounds like the only solution. As long as they don't feed on too many people, they won't be able to evolve."
"Which means they should be going after strong targets or people that have value."
Harnio nodded staring at his hand. "That's right… The next question will be to find the location of the alphas… I wonder how far their means of communication are."
"The only way to know that is to catch one of them and pull it apart."
"You want to open a beast and look at it?"
Harnio nodded. "If we're going to hunt them down and kill them, we need to know what we're up against… That's unless you have a better idea."
"That's something that I can do for you… But you'd have to come in the field with me."
Harnio shook his head. "I'm busy heerree… Can't you bring it here or something?"
"If I have to bring one here, I'll be hunted by them, and could bring the beasts to attack the tower…"
Harnio took a step back shaking his head and scratching his arms. "Harnio… Stan nir, I may have a solution that can benefit the both of you. Protection as well as a place to open one up."
Harnio stopped shaking his head and looked at the robes of Eiken. "Do you mean the surface?"
"That's what I'm thinking. If you can find a safe place, the winds will keep them away, and since there's no living thing up there, they won't be able to evolve to survive the sharp winds…"
Harnio looked at the floor in thought. "That could work… I'll need to prepare the tools for the operation…"
"Cough… Did you also forget our guest here… He'll need something to also survive."
Harnio stopped and looked at Stannir's large chest in thought. 'Yes. His fire nature will not be able to do well on the surface. Get him to go to the blacksmith. I'll have something made up for him."
"Fire nature?"
"How else can you be that size and not freeze in the north… Earth nature possible, but the size of your body and chest, shows fire nature coursing through your veins."
"Don't you need to test him first?"
Harnio shook his head. "After my accident I'm able to pick up nature of people easily, however this person here I just had to look, and I can see."
"Is he always like this?"
Harnio looked at the door. "May I be excused? I must clean my wound and prepare."
"Fine Harnio… You can go prepare. In future don't hurt yourself especially in my office. Think what the other professors would say I'm doing to my one and only apprentice?"
Harnio nodded and opened the door walking through.
"I do apologize my apprentice is not so good at talking with people and can be a bit forward sometimes."
Harnio ignored them and closed the door behind him. "I must hurry. Lots to do in such a short time…" He stopped and looked at the closed door for a moment. 'I wonder if he's strong enough?" He shook his head. "That's not important now." He walked down the hallway from Eiken's office with his hand on his bleeding head. He sighed and ignored everyone he passed making his way to the infirmary.
He walked into the large infirmary and stood at the desk. He saw someone sitting there looking down at the book they were reading. "What's the problem?"
Harnio looked down and didn't open his mouth. "How can I help you if you don't say something… HHHHarnio… Your head… You better follow me."
Harnio nodded keeping his head down and followed the feet of the person who was now leading him into the infirmary.