Juni watched on in awe as Neska’s evolutionary web encompassed her body and expanded to a significantly larger, humanoid size. She couldn’t see through the sticky green and blue fibers, but she could feel the slow, steady pulse of Neska’s heart.

  Jurik knelt and tried to give her an assuring hand on her shoulder. “She risked everything for you. For us. Do you think it was a chance that her journey crossed paths with ours?”

  She shook her head, ignoring the dull aches and pains of her body. Hadley had bandaged her ear and the other injuries, but…it was likely the scar would remain. Maybe if she evolved later, it would fade.

  If she lived that long.

  She turned, ears flopping down. “I don’t know, Jurik. But you and I wouldn’t be alive if Neska hadn’t had her own misfortunes and been forced down this path, too.”

  Hadley staked several arrows in the ground by the trees, positioning herself as a lookout for any more arrivals, friendly or otherwise. When she spoke, her voice was low, and she never turned her head to look at them. “Those serpents made enough noise to wake half the kingdom, and the road’s trashed. I hope someone comes looking for us soon. For Neska’s sake.”

  Ragnir calmly hefted his axe onto his shoulder. “I’ve got something to do. I need to…I need to retrieve Finks and Gort.” Juni saw the steadfast soldier’s weapon hand tremble a little as he said that, but stepped calmly to do what she assumed was a task no one should witness.

  In the meantime, Juni built a stone and dirt fortification around Neska’s cocoon, like a protective shell. Despite Jurik’s protests, she pushed her abilities to the limit so that Neska would remain undisturbed.

  Catching her breath a moment later, Juni finally took time to process the events. “How…in the name of the gods did that viper survive?” she asked. “Neska burned a hole right through it. It should have been dead.”

  Jurik glanced at Neska’s cocoon, then he made a surprised sound, as if something he saw gave him an idea. “I think he had [Regenerative Molt]. It’s like Neska’s [Sudden Molt] with additional Essence Point investment. But it also repairs bodily damage, to a certain point.”

  “Gods, I hope Neska gets that ability,” Hadley said, sounding weary. “She’s going to need it, at this rate.”

  Somewhere in the distance, Juni heard Ragnir scream in fury, followed by the sound of a wet splat and ringing metal.

  She heard that same sound repeat for several minutes, wavering in intensity. The wet splat was interrupted by a sharp cracking sound, like stepping on dry twigs. She didn’t dare to look at what he must be enduring. Hadley glanced over exactly once, while leaning on a tree trunk. Juni saw her fingers pressed tightly into the bark, knuckles bone-white.

  “All these monsters, not where they’re supposed to be,” Hadley murmured, walking back to her position where she could peek out from the grove, and turned to face them. “Jurik, you’ve been at this far longer than I have. What are we looking at?”

  “That, I can only offer conjecture,” he said warily, having taken the time to begin tending to his own wounds. Juni had to help him brace a cracked rib; the recovery potion hadn't been strong enough to heal the injury fully. “This is new. These are tactics I have not seen before. The creature's speech was a rarity. This was two in as many days. I think they are evolving. Learning and adapting. I've seen isolated cases of this before."

  “But, how, and why?” Hadley asked, her bow still held in hand. “And why did that…thing…call her the Daughter of Ouroboros? Was it spinning a yarn while it was dying?”

  Jurik considered the question and winced as he wound the bindings tightly, with Juni tying it off. “I’ve been fighting this fight a long time, Hadley. But now, I’m left with far more questions than answers. More learned men could probably lend insight.”

  Hadley finally sat down on the soft grass of the clearing, looking fatigued, and rubbed at her recently healed ankle. “Then tell me what you know, as far as you can reasonably guess.”

  “I’d rather cover it when Neska awakens.” He cast a sideways glance at the cocoon, with Hadley looking at him expectantly. “But, I suppose I can be brief. A few Awakened have successfully infiltrated behind the backlines of the monsters’ territories, giving us more insight. They occupy the towns and cities they wipe out, or we abandon. The more intelligent ones…they talk among themselves. The spies took great risks getting that close. Some didn’t make it back to report what they learned.”

  Juni finally sat down next to his flank, rubbing her bandaged body. Her stone form had kept the worst of the damage at bay, but her fur had flaked off, and her skin underneath was scarred on one arm. It might take a while to grow back, and she felt lingering pain. “So, what did they learn?”

  “They learned the monsters have a hierarchy. It is typically aligned with the Tiers we designate them as. But not always. The higher-tier monsters possess humanoid intelligence, perhaps more. They exhibit greater autonomy than the lessers. Maybe even free will. If you can call it that."

  Jurik pulled out a faded notepad and a nub of charcoal he’d used to mark the pages. “I’ve passed my findings to the army and the academy, over the years, of course. They didn’t believe that they could possess such cunning intelligence. We always thought it was Tier threes or higher that could talk. That’s no longer the case. And they talk of the Divine Beasts as if they were directing them...or controlling them. I thought it was a superstition, as the presence of the gods is still debated. But why would monsters care about humanoid deific constructs and beliefs?"

  “Jurik…you know who Ouroboros is, right?” Hadley asked, tapping her hand gently along her bow.

  “Allegedly? He’s one of the Divine Beasts. If I’m to believe what Lachmir the Damned did, he created another Divine Beast in his madness, upsetting the balance. A Beast who commands all the monsters, or some of them, and possibly even the Divines. If we killed him, it would cripple their ability to coordinate. If it exists, and if it can be killed...it could end the war tomorrow,” Jurik explained. Despite everything, Juni saw hope in his determined, yet grim smile. “That is, if the scribblings of madmen who started this disaster can be believed."

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “I find this troubling, though. Ouroboros is mentioned in the script of the gods of old. The world-spanning serpent, devouring its own tail. Before the tragedy of Arivol, he was associated with a domain of death, life, and rebirth. Ouroboros was a symbol of that. The never-ending regeneration of the world.”

  “‘Life after death. Death after life. The wheel turns, but only time moves.’” Juni was surprised to hear that from Hadley, sounding quieter than before. “I’m a scout. It’s my job to learn things. And I learned a lot about the old world. I spent time picking through forgotten libraries, trying to preserve the brilliance of the past. That was a mantra of the old priests dedicated to that god.”

  “Is Ouroboros real? Is an old god destroying his world?” Juni whispered.

  “Juni…I’m not sure what to believe. I know many believed he existed. And other Divine Beasts.” The hesitation in Jurik’s voice was not something she heard often.

  “But you believe it,” she pointed out, before glancing at the cocoon of Neska, wondering what was going on with her now. Juni tapped one side of her nose. “How can she be the daughter of a monster? That’s impossible.”

  Jurik considered the question...but sounded unsure. “Remember, the monsters the Awakened bond to all come from one of them. The serpent that Neska’s soul is bound to? That could very well be one of Ouroboros’s spawn. Or it's merely an honorific...but an ominous one."

  “Since when do the monsters have a concept of family? To designate one as a son or daughter?” Hadley asked observantly. “That suggests…a family or social structure among them. They think she’s the one to end them. A revolutionary.

  Jurik glanced at his notes, frowning. “I don’t know anything about a prophecy or a revolution. I’ve never trusted seers, and I didn’t believe the monsters had that kind of power among them. Or, I didn’t, until the past few weeks,” he added hesitantly, before clasping the notebook shut and tucking it into his satchel.

  His knowledge was too candid, and Juni asked a question to an answer she’d been suspecting for a while. “Jurik, are you really just Tier two? What I’ve seen in the past few days…seems above and beyond what I’ve seen of other classes. And you’re older.”

  He smiled wryly. “Figured I couldn’t keep that one under wraps much longer. I’m Tier three. But I’ve only passed myself off as Tier two. I’m stronger than I look. I wasn’t holding back in the battles we’ve fought against monsters. I do so because they are smart, and they learn important targets.” He rubbed at the scar tissue on his arm. “That, and behind the lines? I took some dangerous tasks.”

  “What is your class, exactly?” Hadley asked, glancing over her shoulder to look outside the grove. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  “They call it the bloodfire knight class. It’s rare.” He gestured his waxy-textured arm to her. “I wasn’t immune to my own arsenal, early on, you could say. It’s powerful, but it’s…”

  “High risk, high reward?” Juni finished quietly. “You sacrifice your own blood for it. You could kill yourself doing it. Even now, you look pale.”

  The warrior looked down at his battered body and gripped his uninjured hand tightly. “You’re not incorrect in that assessment. But just as fire can destroy…it can also soothe old, weary bones, cook a meal, provide comfort and healing. It just depends on how you look at it.” He took a swig from his water skin and used a small amount to wipe the blood from the metal armor.

  Ragnir returned, looking bloodied…but more calm, now. “I…took care of what I needed to.” He looked in disgust at two sets of silver tags, specked with blood, before he tucked them underneath the collar of his armor and clasped one hand to his chest. “This mission…this was supposed to be simple. Now I’ve got Seekers burning villagers with no due process, and monsters a stone’s throw from the Academy. And two good men, dead.”

  “They were soldiers. They died carrying out their duties,” Jurik said, and offered his water skin to Ragnir, who waved it away. “Ragnir, losses happen. And sometimes the loss is unfathomably cruel.”

  Juni saw the man's jaw unclench, and he swallowed uncomfortably. After taking off his gloves, he gestured for the water skin, and Jurik handed it over. He took a deep drink from it and gasped softly. And only once. “Jurik, do you know how many men I’ve lost over four years?”

  “Enough that I can see it in the creases of your eyes, and the weight on your soul.” The old warrior shifted to get comfortable, with Juni clenching his side softly. “I’d ask the same question of myself…But I knew that number was too high, a long time ago.”

  “Ragnir…what are our orders?” Hadley asked, brushing her disheveled hair out of her face. The man glanced up, his face bruised and bloodied, and looked at Neska’s cocoon. “I know we have our priorities...but..."

  "Can we move her safely?" Ragnir asked.

  Jurik shook his head. "No. Monsters are fragile when between forms. I would never take the chance."

  “Then that makes it simple: we stay. We wait for Neska to wake up. Because I’ll be damned if I let any monsters or Seekers get a cheap shot on her when she can’t defend herself.” The primal growl was back in Ragnir's words, but Juni knew it was spoken out of genuine care for their newfound and unexpected ally.

  Her unexpected friend.

  “Thank you, Ragnir,” Juni said softly. “I can put up an earthen wall, keep the grove closed.”

  “Do it. Jurik, I’ll take the first watch. Gods know, I can’t sleep right now. Not after that,” Ragnir hunched over, rubbing at his leg, and set his axe to rest on a tree trunk within arm’s reach. “Expect the Academy to send reinforcements if anyone heard that commotion. I ain’t moving from this damn spot until that girl wakes up. We’re getting her and Juni to the safety of the academy. And I guess, with some much-needed experience in the field.”

  “What will the academy say about all…that, exactly?” Juni waved to the general direction of the dead serpents and their leader. She’d ignored her notifications from the Interface for a while and noted she’d gained another level, putting her at level thirteen. She sank against Jurik, feeling fatigue setting in. “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t have…what Neska has,” she added, feeling her eyes watering.

  “And what does she have?” Ragnir asked.

  “Unwavering bravery.” Juni wrapped her paws around her chest, remembering that oppressive crushing force, and the sting of acid that left some of her fur gone–for now. “I don’t have that.”

  “You say that, but…you got both yourselves out of a trap that most new Awakened wouldn’t survive.” Jurik ran one hand over her shoulders, his skin carrying an intense warmth. She wondered if that was normal for him or if it was because of his class. “You don’t have to feel those things for other people to know what you’ve done. Or that you matter greatly to them.”

  Juni glanced at her slumbering friend and nodded before gazing up at the sky above, reflecting on his words. Jurik, you’ve been here since I was brought back to the world. But…I’m not the daughter you lost. I’m the one you cared for to fill a void.

  He’d never said her name once. That memory cast a shadow on him that the fire of his spirit couldn’t pierce. But he kept going on, despite it all. No matter how dire things looked…he never gave up.

  Neither would she. Fear was a barrier she’d break down, piece by piece. No matter how long it took.

  Eventually, she felt her eyes getting heavy, and she drifted off to the sound of nightbirds calling and the chirp of benign crickets. Her last thought was of her chance encounter with the most unlikely of friends.

  She really does give good hugs…

  The Apprentice of Ouroboros: End of Arc One

  Heroine and wrap up my other story that didn't pan out. I spent most of the summer acclimating to a new job, treating my own health as not just a 'when I get to it' item. It's always needed now. I also hashed out several ideas that I tested, but they didn't have the same spark of inspiration as my other stories. Not enough to keep working on them.

  The Apprentice of Ouroboros.

  Pillars of Eternity, and from Baldur's Gate. I wanted to tell a story about the rise of a hero--not a muscle-bound sword and board warrior, but a quick-witted, agile monster girl with a focus on evasion and disabling powers that work well with others on a team. Some of the power influence comes from the Witch class from Pathfinder--especially the hexes. Narratively, I wanted someone a little unusual, but who earns the trust and respect of others through her actions.