Meeting Thrud had been a blessing in disguise. It had given Vastor the opportunity to study a modern version of Arthan’s Madness while Manohar’s studies on her meat puppets had provided Vastor with the means to perfect his procedure for mixing different life forces.
The Master had never meant to use the Madness on himself. He planned to leave it as a gift for the future generations, like Lith who he had warned about the horrors of war or Quylla to whom he had shown the limits of fake magic.
Vastor had hoped that at least one of them would follow in his footsteps and complete his work. Yet after seeing what Lith had managed to achieve as a hybrid, after failing to protect Zinya, the Master had changed his mind.
‘Unlike me, Lith never lacked conviction. He must have become a hybrid by experimenting on himself to fix the cracks in his life force. I’ve treated him as a student and I’m certain that he was just a human back then.
‘If I want to be remembered as more than just a mass murderer, I must show the same resolve!’ He thought.
The flow of consciousness and the streak of defeats it carried caused the Abomination double one fit of Blood Madness after the other. Its young mind was incapable of shouldering so many horrors and so much pain at the same time.
Vastor kept pouring his life essence and memories into the creature until his external body turned into a handsome shadow with but a speck of pink on its abdomen. Then, the darkness started to crack, forming a vortex that merged with Vastor’s flesh, turning it into a shade of ashen grey.
The gene tank emitted a short buzz the moment the human-Abomination hybrid was born. It flushed out the nutrient liquid before opening the lid made of magic crystals to let the creature walk out.
Xenagrosh observed the newborn hybrid’s movements with her heart full of fears. The wobbling of Vastor’s knees could be due to the shock of the merging, but also due to the Abomination knowing the concept of walking but having no idea how to.
Its well-fed appearance was that of the Professor she knew and loved, yet there was a light in its eyes that didn’t seem right.
“Master, is that you?” She asked.
“For once, I didn’t fail.” Vastor said while clenching and opening his hand several times to get accustomed to his new body.
“Now come with me to my apartments. Before I go back to the White Griffon, I need you to teach me the basics of true magic. We have much to do and little time to do it.”
***
Rezar’s Fringe in the Blood Desert.
Nalrond woke up, finding himself covered in sweat.
At first, while looking at the familiar environment of the stone buildings and smelling the familiar scents of his village, he thought everything that had happened during the past year had been a nightmare.
The longest, most terrifying nightmare of all his life.
‘The village is safe and so am I. Dawn-‘ That name crushed his hopes, bringing him back to reality.
None of his beast form’s enhanced senses could perceive either the arrays that were supposed to contain the Horseman or her magnificent aura. Instead, Nalrond could feel the presence of several unknown magical formations and failed to recognize even one of the voices he heard.
‘Dawn killed them all.’ Warm tears streamed down his eyes while he grieved his village again. ‘I should have known it. Even if a few Rezars survived her attack, there’s no way they could have rebuilt the entire village.
‘On top of that, the only possible explanation for the presence of the woods and of so many people, is that two Fringes must have merged. A handful of survivors can’t have children this fast unless they are monsters.’
After checking that he had no missing limb and that his hosts had put no restraints on him, Nalrond was sure that monsters weren’t involved. He shapeshifted back into his human form and looked around his room.
It was a part of a cozy house made of square stones, about 5 meters (16.5 feet) long, 4 meters (13 feet) wide, and over 3 meters (10 feet) high. The room’s furniture consisted of a bed, a closet, and a small chest for personal possessions.
A large fur rug occupied the center of the room and kept his feet warm while he walked to the windows to look at the village.
‘Judging by the size of the bed and the room, this place has been built for someone bigger than a Rezar, but I remember to have seen only humans during my recon flight. Either this village is inhabited by Emperor Beasts or by another tribe of Werepeople.’ He thought.
Nalrond closed his eyes for a second, silently praying all the gods whose names he could remember for at least part of the villagers to be members of his tribe. Yet all the children he saw playing in the fields had the form of a Dewan and none of the clothes hanging to the clotheslines had a familiar design.
Dewans were humanoid Emperor Beasts who looked like rhinoceroses. They were taller and heavier than Rezars, yet incredibly nimble thanks to their affinity for air and water magic.
Their thick skin and powerful muscles made them akin to heavy infantry units that moved as fast as cavalry. While hybrid Rezars had been developed for mining operations, Dewans were living weapons.
Some of the people noticed Nalrond and returned his gaze while pointing at his window. Soon he heard knocking on his door.
“Come in.” He said with a sigh as his hopes shattered one after the other.
Everything from the furniture to the accent of his guests sounded alien to him, yet Nalrond didn’t cry again. He had come for closure and had finally found it. The only thing left for him to do before looking for the rest of his group was to thank his hosts.
“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better. Are you hungry?” A man in his late sixties asked.
He was about 1.70 meters (5′ 7″) tall, with greyed hair streaked black and brown eyes. His bronze skin was mostly tan and from the cut eye, Nalrond could guess that the unknown tribe wasn’t native of the Blood Desert.
He wore a simple white linen shirt and brown pants over poorly made leather shoes. Nalrond understood from both his guest’s attire and smell that the man was a fellow hybrid.
Emperor Beasts would craft for themselves shapeshifting clothes whereas hybrids usually lacked the necessary ingredients to practice Forgemastery. Despite the fact that Fringes were rich in world energy, they didn’t necessarily have crystal mines.
Quite the contrary, they usually lacked any sort of metal veins as well due to their artificial nature. Both gemstones and minerals required centuries, if not millennia to form whereas a Fringe would be created only under specific circumstances.
On top of that, it would only last as long as Mogar saw fit, making it pointless for the planet the add more than what was strictly needed.
The simple design of the clothes allowed Werepeople to shapeshift at will without worrying about the consequences. The stitches were loose on purpose so that they would rip easily without damaging the fabric, making it easy to mend.
