GRANDORA: Chapter 3: Matter of Taste (Patreon)

Author’s note: Hi guys.

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Awesome to see that some of you like this story. Thanks for the support in the comments.

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On Friday, the second chapter of Ratchetmare.

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Enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 3: Matter of Taste - Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/96228193

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Chapter 3: Matter of Taste

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Ferracore.

Ferracore. Ferracore.

I repeated the name over and over in my mind so that I’d never forget it. It was a great act of disrespect not to know the name of the behemoth whose pressure - its might - had bitten into your body. In some lands, it was even a crime.

“Th-Thank you for h-honoring me with your name, Grand Ferracore.”

»HUMANS and their naming,« the Grand Beast growled in disdain, speaking as if it had experience with people. Was I not the first one it met after it awoke? Be that as it may, with a trace of disappointment in my heart, I lowered my head. “F--f-forgiveness; I d-didn’t mean to o-offend you, Ferracore.”

»AND you did NOT, child of mine. Humans are HUUMANS. And you ARE human.«

Was I? Was that how the behemoths saw us? While humans differentiated themselves into races according to the appearance we had acquired from individual Grand Beasts, we remained the same to them? They saw the way we were born? Humans? It was so odd. There were only a few True Humans in the world, those who remained unaffected by the pressure of the Grand Beasts until they died. The rest were just Foxkin, Hogkin, Bearkin, Bedgerkin, Nagakin, and so on. A dozen Grand Beasts walked Grandora, no more, no less, and twelve human races lived on it - not counting the True Humans. Thirteen now, with Ferracore, myself, and others who had not yet been touched by the pressure of this young behemoth.

»I have told YOU my name, child of mine. BUT I have yet to hear YOURS,« the behemoth growled in Ancient, and I froze in horror. To be fair, I hadn’t expected the Grand Beast to want to know my name. But my mother always taught me that if I wanted to know someone’s name, it was polite to introduce myself first. A common courtesy all over the world.

“Eirlys . . . it’s j-just Eirlys. I mean, my-my name is Eirlys,” I stammered, cursing myself for such a lame introduction to the Grand Beast. In my defense, the closest I’d ever been to one was a few hills over when my father took me to see Frostflame, let alone TALK to one.

»Well, just Eirlys. I will allow YOU to use my name.«

“W-w-what . . . th-that’s . . . I can’t . . . ”

»Why NOT? Isn’t that a custom of HUMANS, child of mine?«

“I-it is. But. I am, just . . . me.”

»True. WE are who we are.«

“Th-that’s not w-what I meant, Ferracore.”

»It is YOU who has failed to understand, child of mine.«

Did I?

Only priests were allowed to use part of the name of the Grand Beast as a suffix to their name. For others, it was part of the name that humans gave to the behemoths out of respect and concern for not misusing their true names. There were stories of humans cursing the Grand Beast, calling it . . . names, bringing the behemoth’s wrath down on more than just themselves. Idiots. While the most I could do in response to someone calling me a vixen was to punch them in the face, kick them in the balls, or give them a few scratches on their face, the behemoth’s wrath was a disaster. Whole cities laid waste, kingdoms destroyed.

Taking and using even a part of the Grand Beast’s name was simply a responsibility I was not prepared for.

“I-I am not worthy,” I stammered, trying to convince Ferracore. Which, I realized, was in itself a defiance of his will - in other words, I was begging to bring his wrath upon myself.

»AND who is the ONE to determine who IS worthy and WHO is not?«

This time, I understood what he meant. At least I thought I did. It wasn’t up to the priests to decide who could join their ranks, though they liked to pretend they were. “I-I don’t find myself worthy, Ferracore.”

»And YET I deem you are.«

“I u-understand,” I said, not daring to defy the Grand Beast any further, grateful for his patience and benevolence with me thus far; for bestowing such honor and trusting me with such responsibility when many would consider me unworthy - to put it mildly. Eirlys’ore it was, then. It wasn’t as if I could tell anyone else here my new name and have them question it. Besides, what other suffix would I use, since Ferracore didn’t have a name in the Common yet? How were behemoths even named? Who named them? Priests? Me, then? I certainly didn’t feel like a priestess. But who was I then? Was I worthy of naming Ferracore?

No, I wasn’t - I wouldn’t dare.

How would I even name Ferracore? I knew so little about it. All I saw was a huge . . . lizard, for lack of a better word. The Grand Beast, on the other hand, seemed to know so much about the world. To ask, however, seemed too bold, even nosy.

»What WEIGHTS so heavily on your mind THAT I can smell your thirst to know, child of mine?«

Though, my apparent bluntness aside, this was a chance to learn more, granted by the behemoth itself, so I took it. “F-forgive my rudeness, but . . . how do you know so much about humans w-when you’ve just been awakened?”

»YOU are mistaken. I awoke FROM my slumber with the DEATH of Vetrifyr, and with HIS death, I shared his life.«

“Oh . . . ” Ferracore had been awake for five years and possessed the memories of his predecessor. The implications of that sent my mind racing. “S-so you know who . . . y-you know . . . how he died?”

I was well aware that knowing wouldn’t change a damn thing.

It would not bring back my family or erase years of suffering. But despite all the misery, that was the question that burned in every Foxkin’s mind to this day.

»Unfortunately NOT.«

“B-but you said,” I blurted out, stopping myself from making a bigger blunder.

»To bear THE burden of death WOULD be too much. It IS simply not something to be shared with the newly awakened, WHEN a shared life IS burden enough. Even to this day, I have NOT fully digested the memories of Vetrifyr. He WAS very old.«

Ancient, actually. Frostflame was millennia old, one of the oldest Grand Beasts. Which made it all the more puzzling how he had died. The Grand Fox was powerful, not the strongest, but very powerful. Was it his age, then? It might be that the other older Grand Beasts would soon meet the same fate. The fear of that could sometimes be seen in Hogkin’s eyes - they didn’t want to end up like us, Foxkin. But instead of pity, all we got from them was more rage. Bastards - all of them.

Anyway, back to Frostflame, the Grand Fox. All that he must have remembered - I couldn’t imagine. Was the world the same then? Just as cruel? Or were people more kind to each other? Were there even humans back then? Was he one of the first? Or was there another Grand Beast before him? How did behemoths even come into existence? Or humans, for that matter?

Too many questions that even the greatest scholars could not answer, let alone me. I even found it impossible to imagine how difficult it must have been to sort through so many memories when my mind was constantly weighed down by mine, a few in comparison.

*GRRRR*

A bestial growl echoed through the cavern, making me wish I’d died when I had the chance. Instead, I was forced to face the worst of the beasts.

“M-my apologies, Ferracore, I haven’t eaten in . . . I-I don’t even know in h-how long.”

»No NEED to feel embarrassed, CHILD of mine, or afraid for something so NATURAL.«

That was easy for the behemoth to say. But up there in the pit, my hungry stomach earned me more than one punishment. The reasons varied. Once I was accused of disturbing the forewoman. Another time, it was for expressing my dissatisfaction with the way we were fed and cared for. In other words, I lacked appreciation for what they had done for us. Which wasn’t exactly a lie, but . . . I learned. So when my stomach growled again, I instinctively curled up even more, making myself as small as possible.

»EAT, child of mine.«

Daring to raise my head, I glanced at Ferracore, thinking I’d find some food - a beast it had hunted, albeit raw. Instead, I caught a glimpse of the Grand Beast grinding - or brushing his teeth - on a piece of rock. I was obviously left to fetch my own food. A little disappointed, my eyes traveled to the dark lake, a new question arising in my mind.

»ASK, child of mine.«

“Are th-there any . . . fish in the water, Ferracore?”

The thought of fishing in those icy waters terrified me, but I feared the hunger even more. It was an unforgiving beast that could grow incredibly cruel, if not fed.

The Grand Beast grunted, amused. »The water IS dead. Better FIND food under your FEET.«

Hoping he didn’t mean the water was poisonous, I looked down at the sharp stones I was kneeling on, confused. Was there anything alive under them? Some kind of crab? Or a bug? The idea of eating one might have been unappealing to me, but as far as I knew, the variously prepared insects, even freshly caught ones, were a delicacy to Falconkin.

»YOU still haven’t found the RIGHT rock?« Ferracore asked after a few minutes of me turning over the small stones in an effort to find a food source hidden underneath.

“I’m s-sorry,” I lowered my head, ashamed of how I had failed him. “It s-seems like all the critters ran away from me. I’ll try another place.”

»Critters?« Ferracore’s huge eyes went wide, the tone of his voice betraying that he hadn’t the slightest idea what I was talking about.

“Yes, th-there a-a-aren’t any,” I stammered, equally confused. What else did he expect me to find under the sharp stones?

»WHY would you want to FIND critters, child of mine?«

“To . . . eat?”

The cave shook with the Grand Beast’s laughter. »Have YOU forgotten THAT you are a child of mine?«

“O-of course not, Ferracore. I just . . . ” Only now did it dawn on me how ridiculous the idea of a giant Grand Beast living off tiny critters was. But what else was there to eat? Apart from the water, all I saw was stones and more stones. Sharp stones, a small fresh pile of which now lay at the front paws of the Grand Beast. Whether I wanted to believe it or not, Ferracore was feeding on rocks. As if to confirm my thoughts, the behemoth brought a larger piece to its mouth and bit into it. Small chips fell to the ground in front of him, and more with each bite.

I would have to be blind, and I would be in this darkness if it weren’t for my new eyes, not to see the similarity between the crumbs falling from its mouth and the sharp stones I was standing on. All the time, I was wading through the leftovers of the Grand Beast’s food that covered the entire shore.

So many questions popped into my head. Was this the behemoth’s lair? Was Ferracore the first Grand Beast to nest? Or was this just his favorite place to eat? Most of all, I wondered how it could expect me to eat stones. Sure, he made it look like he was chewing on a cookie, but I would only shatter my teeth on one of those. Or have my teeth changed as much as my eyes?

I ran my tongue over them, but I couldn’t tell the difference. Even my fingers traced the same teeth I had grown up with. And so I hurried to the lake’s surface, which was once again as still as a mirror. Alas, it stood too dark. My eyes could make no difference on my teeth.

Facing the inevitable, starving beast, I gathered my courage and looked at Ferracore. “I’m just a human, Ferracore.”

»Yes, you ARE. But a CHILD of mine, too.«

“If I swallow a . . . stone, I die.” That wasn’t exactly true. At least, I wasn’t sure - I’d never tried it. A small pebble might not hurt me. However, it wouldn’t be pleasant. That much, I was sure of.

»Then MELT it on your tongue first.«

I stared at the Grand Beast, confused. “Melt . . . what? F-forgive my ignorance.”

Ferracore laughed, and the cavern shook. »And YOU my thoughtlessness.«

Dread swept over me. Had the Great Beast just asked for my forgiveness? I must have heard wrong. And even if I hadn’t - no one would believe me.

»With the WAY you naturally use your SIGHT, I failed TO consider that I didn’t SHARE my knowledge with you.«

“You . . . you could do that?” Not that I would dare ask him to do such a thing. In fact, until a moment ago, I hadn’t thought such a thing possible between Grand Beasts, let alone between them and humans.

»OF course, if I SO desire. Come, CHILD of mine. SIT before me.«

My breath caught in my throat at the thought of what was about to happen. But I made my way over the sharp stones, careful not to cut my feet unnecessarily. The same went for sitting down. Finding a comfortable spot was not easy.

»Good,” Ferracore spoke. “NOW tell me, child of mine, did you EVER learn to USE the flames of Vetrifyr?«

“Huh?” The question caught me off guard. With the death of Frostflame and the disappearance of his might from the world, Foxkin lost all the power stemming from it. As they said, the Great Beast’s might was the darkness transforming our bodies, eating away at our humanity, but the darkness could not exist without the light. And that light was the ability to use certain powers of behemoths - to a limited degree, of course. Among the ones the grand fox honored Foxkin with was a blue flame, which I also learned to summon. I mean, any Foxkin could do that.

“I-I did, but I can’t anymore,” I stammered, as Grand Beast simply waited for my answer.

»Good. It will MAKE it easier for you to LEARN, for THISis no different.«

Eating stones and summoning blue flame was the same? Not to sit starving in the presence of the Grand Beast, I would love to disagree. But the beast in my stomach was relentless, and the one in front of me terrifying.

»Simply PLACE a ROCK on your tongue, CHILD of mine.«

Oh, stupid Eirlys. I don’t know why, but I thought I was in for some kind of knowledge sharing like this behemoth inherited from Vetrifyr. Instead, Ferracore resorted to a more traditional form of teaching.

Seeing that he was obviously waiting for me, I quickly looked around and found a stone small enough to fit on my tongue.

“Likkkke thhhis?” I muttered, finding the whole experience strange. I had never licked a stone in my life, and now I had one in my mouth.

»Correct, CHILD of mine,” Ferracore hummed, bemused. “NOW remember the FLAMES of Verifyr and BRING that same feeling to your TONGUE.«

Feeling, feeling, feeling, I repeated in my mind, wondering what the Grand Beast meant. The blue flames were more about the image of fire and a feeling of cold than about food. You couldn’t even cook food on it as the flames were freezing cold. But - worried about burning my mouth with the frost - I did what Ferracore said and imagined my tongue ablaze with blue flames.

Much to my relief, that didn’t happen.

Actually, nothing happened. The stone remained untouched on my tongue, and my stomach just as hungry. Of course, I didn’t just give up; I tried again and again. In the end, however, I had no choice but to tell the Grand Beast of my incompetence.

»You have never FELT Vetrifyr’s might?«

“No.” I shook my head and lowered my ear. “I wasn’t sensitive enough.” Nothing to be ashamed of, really. Most people have lived their lives without ever feeling the pressure, the might of the beast that devoured their bodies.

»I see. Yet your MIND seems to be SHARP. Imagine the ROCK melting on your tongue.«

“Like . . . w-wouldn’t that burn my tongue?”

»If YOU imagine so, yes.«

Shit! So there was a chance that I might end up with a hot piece of stone in my mouth, burning its way out. Even worse, now that I had imagined it, those thoughts were stuck in my head. But even if that didn’t happen, one question still burned in my mind. “And . . . what am I supposed to do with the molten stone on my toungue, Ferracore?”

»What else? YOU swallow it.«

Judging by his tone, a stupid question and the obvious answer. Yet I couldn’t help but shudder. To swallow a molten stone? I was hungry, very, very hungry, but . . . .a stone? Really, a stone?

It took me a while to wrap my head around it and take a second try. And then another and another, each attempt more desperate than the last as my hunger grew.

And then, when I least expected it, dreaming of food: tender rabbit meat with herb sauce, the small stone in my mouth melted on my tongue like freshly fallen snow. I swallowed and winced.

The stone was . . . quite bitter.

Seeing me, Ferracore laughed, and the whole cavern shook once more. »I LIKE the yellow ones; HUMANS call it gold. Very . . . SWEET.«

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Author’s note:

Thank you for reading :)

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