Aldar, our magnificent planet, is split into three continents divided by immense oceans. Interaction between land rarely occurs, as each ocean contains deadly creatures; lurking beneath the surface to prey on unsuspecting boats.
Our continent, Falyus, is originally home to the Dwaal, commonly known as Dwarves, and the Vaal, who later separated into the Elves, and Humans. All the other races inhabiting our land have either come from another continent or were man-made.
An example of a non-natural race would be the beast folk. They were created by Myra, the mad druidess, in an experiment to see how far a druid could merge with its contracted magic beast. In a way, you could say it was a success.
The other two continents are named Oros and Beliar. Oros is home to the giants known as the Titans, while Beliar is rumored to be the birthplace of the demon race before they migrated to another dimension. Some legend says that Beliar was sunk by the demons before they left, but we have no proof of that.
And that is the extent of our current knowledge about them.
-Encyclopedia of Aldar, chapter 4, introduction to the continents and their populations.
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How long did it take? A day or a week? Hard to say this deep in the ground. The hard-working spirit quickly found more insects to start its project. The chamber where it awakened was now connected to a network of small tunnels.
Each new addition to the minion army helped the spirit practice its mana manipulation skills. It was now able to purposely induce a mutation into its test subject. Choosing which alteration or even preventing one was still a bit too hard.
In the end, the colony numbered about twenty-five insects, happily digging for their master. Molly established herself as the colony's queen, ordering her new family to add some nesting and living spaces connected to the tunnels commissioned by the spirit. Three roughly made tunnels circle around the chamber at different angles. Each of them is linked to the next by numerous smaller ones. With the insects' quarters added to the mix, the place began to look like a small maze.
Some of the shafts and chambers carved out contained unknown crystals and minerals. Oddly, Molly took an interest in collecting those, digging even more places to serve as storage rooms.
The spirit chose the central chamber as his personal lab and remodeled it as such. A slab of rock used as a table designed for future test subjects was put in the center while multiple cells and shelves were carved out of the walls. The bottom of the sphere was filled to create a flatter ground.
One of the cells was currently occupied by a giant dead insect with three heads and wings in place of its eyes. A failed experiment. As for the shelves, for now, they were simply used to store crystals with magical properties that Molly and the others excavated.
"Experiment number 18, fusing a fire mana gem with one of my minions. The hypothesis is that by merging the crystal with the brain, it should become possible for the subject to develop an affinity with fire mana." The spirit was testing crudely if its minion could control mana with their minds with the help of a catalyst.
A tendril of mana grabbed the fire crystal while another one cut open the shell of the sedate insect on the table. Slowly the gem was put inside the head, ready to be merged with the brain. In the same way that the spirit could induce a mutation, it could stimulate brain tissue to grow around the crystal and hope that the new part could extract its mana.
After an hour of work, it was time to wake up the bug and see the result. The spirit quickly stimulated its brain, and the subject slowly got up, looking around in confusion without realizing that it still had a gaping hole in its head.
"Nothing... I should have guessed that much. I need to find a way to grow a new organ to harvest mana more efficiently than just more brain stuff. Maybe..."
Suddenly, interrupting the spirit in its reasoning, the bug screeched and wriggled as if it was just stabbed in its most sensitive place with a hot knife. Flames started to appear around its exoskeleton, engulfing it in an erratic fire. A minute passed, and the fire died down much like the insect. A mouth-watering smell filled the room.
"Oh… fascinating. I should go back to digging the place for now... Molly, dinner is ready!"
Luring Molly with the delicious smell of her deceased brother or sister, the spirit ordered a new digging operation, hoping to find something other than dirt and rocks. When visiting one of the tunnels around its lab, it felt a weak pulse of mana beyond the walls that looked promising.
Digging wasn't the forte of the spirit, minus the 'carving a whole room while being birthed' incident. In contrast, the insects were numerous and fast, easily shoveling dirt and rocks with zeal and pride, since their master commanded. It was like their immovable faces brightened up as they dug to fulfill their purposes.
The new tunnel was uneven and cramped, but nobody really minded. As time went by and the digging neared completion, the mana level rose to sky-high level. The closer they got, the more they felt like swimming in mana instead of walking and floating.
The claws of the spirit's minion pierced the wall. A blue ray of light invaded the dark tunnel, casting the first ray of light in the darkness of the spirits' home. The rest of the wall crumbled effortlessly, uncovering an incredible sight.
Here it was. A continuous flow of mana, so dense it looked like a liquid; And flew like a raging stream of condensed magic. The furious mana river seems to have carved its way in the ground, forming an endless, almost straight, smooth tube. Reaching far outside the perception of the spirit.
The light produced was blinding, so much that the insects crept back into the darkness of the tunnels, attracting the attention of their lord.
"Get back here, my minions." said the spirit as it threw an insect into the mana.